How to Do Keyword Research for SEO

Keyword research is the practice of discovering the words and phrases people type into search engines when they’re looking for information, products, or services you provide. By uncovering these search terms, you can create content that answers real questions, rank higher in search results, and attract customers who are already interested in what you offer.

Think of keyword research as market research for the digital world: it tells you in plain language what your audience wants. The better you understand those words, the easier it is to match your pages with user intent, gain visibility, and drive predictable, long-term growth. It is the compass that guides every other SEO activity.

• Informational — The user wants to learn something (e.g., “how to fix a leaky faucet”). They expect tutorials, guides, or answers.

• Navigational — The user wants a specific site (e.g., “Facebook login”). A homepage or login page is ideal.

• Commercial investigation — The user is comparing options before making a choice (e.g., “best cordless drills 2025”). They appreciate reviews and comparisons.

• Transactional — The user is ready to buy, sign up, or call (e.g., “buy iPhone 15 Pro Max deals”). Clear product pages or contact forms work best.

Quick intent check: Google the phrase, scan the top ten results, and note the dominant page type. The pattern you see — blog posts, product pages, or videos — tells you which format Google believes fulfills that intent.

Real-world example: Imagine you sell running shoes. The keyword “best trail running shoes” is commercial investigation; searchers want comparisons and reviews. If you publish a listicle with pros, cons, and expert tips, you meet intent. Trying to rank a product page for that term rarely works because Google assumes users need information first.

• Brainstorm your offerings — List every product, service, industry term, and location you serve. Keep it short and plain.

• Talk to customers — Ask, “What would you type into Google to find a company like ours?” Real language beats jargon.

• Mine on-site data — Check your website headings, product names, blog post titles, and even internal search queries.

Aim for 20–30 seeds. That’s enough to feed any tool without overwhelming you. Local businesses should add geographic modifiers such as neighborhood names and nearby landmarks. National or online-only businesses should focus on product attributes, use cases, and industry jargon instead.

• 1)
  Google Keyword Planner— Free inside any Google Ads account, shows average monthly searches and related ideas.
• 2)
  AnswerThePublic— Visualizes questions, prepositions, and comparisons people ask around your topic.
• 3)
  Ahrefs Keywords Explorer— Paid, but offers deep data on volume, clicks, difficulty, and return rate.
• 4)
  Semrush Keyword Magic Tool— Generates millions of variations and filters by intent and SERP features.

Plug in one seed keyword, export the suggestions to a spreadsheet, repeat for every seed, then combine and deduplicate the list so you’re not analyzing the same phrase twice. Remove phrases with zero volume, wildly high difficulty, or unrelated intent. Tag keywords by funnel stage (awareness, consideration, decision). Organized data accelerates content planning.

Tip: Sort your sheet by search volume descending, then scan for obvious winners and low-relevance outliers you can delete.

• Search volume — The average number of searches per month.

• Keyword difficulty — Tools score difficulty on a scale from 0 to 100. A brand-new site should focus on scores below 20.

• Relevance and intent — A keyword only matters if it brings the right people at the right stage of the buyer journey.

• Cost-per-click — Even if you don’t run ads, CPC serves as a proxy for commercial value.

Create a simple scoring system: assign points (1–5) for volume, difficulty, and relevance. Add them up and rank keywords from best to worst. This objective approach removes bias and helps you focus on the terms most likely to deliver results.

Picture a Venn diagram. The sweet spot lies where volume, low difficulty, and high relevance overlap. Flag those phrases in green inside your sheet so you can prioritize them during content planning.

• Higher conversion rates — Visitors arrive knowing exactly what they want.

• Lower competition — Many long-tails have zero ads and weak pages.

• Voice search friendly — People speak in full sentences.

• 1)

  Identify 3–5 direct competitors in your niche and region.

• 2)

  Export their organic keywords, paying attention to position, volume, and traffic value.

• 3)

  Filter out branded terms and irrelevant products.

• 4)

  Highlight gaps — keywords they rank for that you don’t. These are quick wins.

• 5)

  Spot weak spots — keywords where they sit on page two. A stronger article can leapfrog them.

Treat competitor data as inspiration, not a blueprint. You still need to add unique insights and brand voice to stand out.

Example: A boutique gym sees a national chain ranking for “HIIT workout plan printable.” The chain’s page is thin and dated. The boutique gym creates a 3 000-word guide with a downloadable PDF and quickly overtakes the national brand.

Reverse-engineering success: Use the “Top pages” report in Ahrefs to find which competitor articles bring the most organic traffic. Study their structure, word count, and backlink profile. Improve on each element rather than copying it.

• 1)

  Sort your master sheet alphabetically.

• 2)

  Highlight phrases with overlapping words or intent.

• 3)

  Choose one term as the primary keyword and list secondary terms underneath.

• 4)

  Plan a single, comprehensive page that answers all related questions.

Pillar and cluster model: Create a central “pillar” page that targets the main keyword (e.g., “Email Marketing Guide”) and several “cluster” posts targeting long-tails (e.g., “How to Build an Email List from Scratch”). Interlink them to boost overall authority and signal topical depth to search engines.

Mapping prevents duplicate targeting and exposes content gaps. Use a pivot table to see how many keywords map to each URL. If a page carries too many unrelated terms, split the content into focused assets.

• Will ranking for this term realistically lead to sales or leads?

• Does the keyword attract the demographic we serve?

• Which customer-journey stage does the term cover?

Set quarterly goals for target keyword clusters, track them in your CRM or analytics tool, and tie ranking improvement back to sales KPIs.

• 1)

  Monthly — Check Google Search Console for new queries and impressions, and refresh pages that dropped in clicks.

• 2)

  Quarterly — Re-run your seed keywords in a tool to capture emerging terms, and audit competitor rankings to see who is gaining ground.

• 3)

  Yearly — Remove or redirect obsolete pages and update buyer persona keywords if your product line or target market changed.

Set up Google Alerts for your main keywords to receive notifications when new pages appear. Early awareness lets you react before competitors gain too much momentum.

• Chasing vanity volume — High searches but zero purchase intent.

• Keyword stuffing — Repeating a phrase excessively is spam.

• Ignoring search intent — The wrong content format leads to bounces.

• Creating duplicate pages — Consolidate thin, overlapping articles.

• Neglecting site speed and usability — Slow pages won’t convert.

• Setting and forgetting — Trends change; review data regularly.

Share this guide with your marketing team, block time on your calendar for monthly reviews, and watch organic traffic become a predictable growth channel.