SEO keyword research

A SEO keyword research is the basis of any campaign in the search engines (both SEO and SEA). It provides direction in terms of the keywords you can optimize for. In this article, I talk more about how I conduct keyword research and what I consider in determining the right keywords.

What is an SEO keyword research?

A keyword research (also called keyword research) is a process in which you research what keywords people use to find information on the Internet related to your products or services.(1)

During a keyword research you will look at what keywords people are using, how often these keywords are used, how competitive these keywords are and finally which keywords can ultimately lead to conversions on your website.

Based on these insights, you can determine which keywords are best suited to target in your SEO and SEA campaigns, and which keywords to avoid because they are too competitive or not relevant enough for your business. Performing keyword research is therefore an important part of an effective SEO and SEA campaign.

The benefits of good SEO keyword research

A keyword research can have several positive effects on your website, SEO and marketing efforts:

• Avoid keywords that are unfeasible (for both SEO and SEA);
• estimating exactly how big a project is (more keywords with more competition is often a bigger project);
• Estimate exactly how expensive a project is (SEA);
• More relevant conversions (SEO and SEA);
• More targeted content writing (SEO);
• Get just as relevant clicks for a smaller investment through smart keyword selection (SEA);
• Immediately write the right content instead of “shooting with hail” (SEO).

My process for an SEO keyword research

My roadmap for conducting an SEO keyword research are as follows:

Phase 1: gathering information

In this phase, I try to get as much data as possible and lump it together.

1. Scan your own website for keywords that are relevant and use them in the initial brainstorming. The end result is a list of keywords (short list). If necessary, consult with internal departments to get further input on this.
2. Analyze the competition for the following:
   • For which search terms do they rank in the top 10?
   • For which search terms do they rank in the top three?
   • What search terms are they actively optimizing for?
   • What search terms are they buying ads for (SEA)?
   • For which search terms do multiple competitors come up and you don’t yet (content gap)?(2)

For all keywords, I put the volume, degree of competition and traffic potential (how much traffic can we get per keyword if we are at the top for this).

Stage 2: What is relevant to us?

In this phase, I determine what is relevant for us as an organization to focus on. This is an initial selection of search terms that could potentially be supportive of our goals (when this is generating conversions then I go with high intent keywords).

After this phase, we have a list of search terms that are relevant to us as an organization.

Phase 3: content strategy

When I conduct SEO keyword research for SEO, I always end with a content strategy. This content strategy shows the following (by page):

• Is it a new or existing page?
• What search terms will the page be written for?
• What is the main topic of the page?
• What are the sub-topics of the page?
• What is the level of competition of the search terms?
• What is the volume of search terms?
• Instructions for the copywriter (e.g., what is the tone of voice?)

From here you can also answer any specific questions such as:

1. What is the market share per competitor for certain search terms?
2. What can we achieve with SEA?
3. How much traffic would we obtain after 6 months of active optimization (estimate)?
4. What do we want to do with the website structure (if it is a new website)?

Types of search intentions

There are different types of search intentions that are important in determining the right keywords for a journey. I personally think a healthy division between these intentions is important, but always consider which intention fits well with which objective. For example, if you’re going purely for site conversions, then you can largely skip the informational search intent.

1. informational search intent (someone is looking for information);
2. navigational search intent (someone is looking for a specific Web site);
3. commercial search intent (someone searches for products/services);
4. transactional search intent (someone is looking to make a purchase);
5. local search intent (someone is looking for something local).

Always include this in the outcome of the SEO keyword research and the selection of keywords that follows.

Tools for keyword research

The selection of tools for keyword research also depends on the budget you have to spend and whether you want to invest a lot in SEO and SEA. Some tools I personally use for this are:

1. Ahrefs (competitor analysis, further develop keywords and provide input for content strategy);(3)
2. ChatGPT (further develop content strategy and look up synonyms if necessary);
3. Spreadsheets (writing down everything I find for conducting keyword research);
4. Übersuggest (develop keywords further when I have the basics in place);
5. Own input (based on the website, I can quickly create an initial list that I will work with);

Always when I teach someone to do keyword research I say, use your own creativity and try not to become too dependent on tools. When you start working only with tools, you will never find the “real” gems that no one else thought of in the market.

My advice

The search intent behind keywords is crucial. Look closely at long tail and short tail keywords. Is your target audience really looking for what you think they are looking for?

Once you have found the right keywords and interpretations, look closely at the volumes and relevance of these keywords. Volume is important, but relevance of a keyword is leading.

After finding the right keywords, devise a content strategy for the website. You have found the right topics and keywords to write quality content for your website’s SEO.