How to do Comprehensive Keyword Research

Suppose you would like to create content for your website, and you want to ensure you’re targeting the correct keywords. A crucial step is conducting keyword research to check the keywords you plan to target have good search volumes and are targeted to the correct audience.

A good option is to contact an SEO copywriting expert who will normally complete the keyword research for you. However, if you would like to do everything yourself, we’ve provided three popular options below.

Semrush

SEMrush is a powerful SEO tool that provides keyword research capabilities. Here’s how to do keyword research using SEMrush:

1. Log in to your SEMrush account and navigate to the Keyword Research tool.
2. Enter a keyword or phrase related to your topic in the search bar and click “Search.”
3. SEMrush will provide you with a list of related keywords, along with their search volume, competition level, and other metrics.
4. Analyze the list of keywords and filter them based on criteria such as search volume, competition, and keyword difficulty.
5. Identify keywords that have a high search volume and low competition. These are the keywords that are most likely to bring in traffic to your website.
6. Use the Keyword Magic Tool to further refine your keyword list. This tool allows you to enter multiple keywords and generate a list of related keywords.
7. Analyze the search results for each keyword to determine the intent behind the search. This will help you understand what kind of content to create for each keyword.
8. Use the Keyword Difficulty tool to identify how difficult it is to rank for each keyword. This will help you prioritize your keyword list and focus on keywords that are easier to rank for.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is another powerful SEO tool that provides keyword research capabilities. Here’s how to do keyword research using Ahrefs:

1. Log in to your Ahrefs account and navigate to the Keyword Explorer tool.
2. Enter a keyword or phrase related to your topic in the search bar and click “Search.”
3. Ahrefs will provide you with a list of related keywords, along with their search volume, keyword difficulty, and other metrics.
4. Analyze the list of keywords and filter them based on criteria such as search volume, competition, and keyword difficulty.
5. Use the “Keyword Ideas” tab to generate more keyword ideas based on the initial keyword you entered.
6. Analyze the search results for each keyword to determine the intent behind the search. This will help you understand what kind of content to create for each keyword.
7. Use the “Phrase Match” and “Having Same Terms” filters to find more related keywords.
8. Use the “Questions” filter to find keywords that are phrased as questions. These keywords are often used by people who are looking for answers to specific problems.
9. Use the “Exclude Keywords” filter to exclude irrelevant keywords from your list.
10. Use the “Keyword Difficulty” tool to identify how difficult it is to rank for each keyword. This will help you prioritize your keyword list and focus on keywords that are easier to rank for.

Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is a free tool provided by Google that allows you to research keywords and estimate their search volume. Here’s how to do keyword research using Google Keyword Planner:

1. Log in to your Google Ads account and navigate to the Keyword Planner tool.
2. Click on “Discover New Keywords” and enter a keyword or phrase related to your topic in the search bar.
3. Google Keyword Planner will provide you with a list of related keywords, along with their search volume, competition level, and other metrics.
4. Analyze the list of keywords and filter them based on criteria such as search volume, competition, and keyword difficulty.
5. Use the “Add to Plan” button to add keywords to your keyword plan.
6. Use the “Get Forecasts” button to get estimates on clicks, impressions, and cost per click (CPC) for your keywords.
7. Use the “Historical Metrics” tab to see how keyword performance has changed over time.
8. Use the “Top of Page Bid” and “Low Range Bid” metrics to estimate how much you would need to bid on a keyword to rank at the top of the search results.
9. Use the “Keyword Options” tab to adjust your keyword match types, locations, and languages.