Keyword Research – Find the Search Vernacular of Your Market and the Opportunities Your Competitors Are Missing

You’re probably here because you know how important keyword research is for any niche. You’ve already made it clear to yourself that the only way to get your site on Google’s first page is to play by their rules, and one of those rules is not letting up on the amount of high-quality content you create while also including relevant keywords within it.

But even if you’re already well-versed in the basics of keyword research, are you confident that you’re targeting the right keywords for your market – and more importantly, your competitors? In this article, we’ll show you how to do in-depth competitor research so that you can not only uncover untapped opportunities but also give you the advantage of staying ahead of your competition.

What Is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the process of finding and targeting the right keywords for your website or blog. For search engine optimization,  the keyword research process is extremely important.  By finding and utilizing the right keywords, you can dramatically improve your site’s visibility on search engines, which in turn can result in more traffic and higher conversions. 

Why Is Keyword Research Important?

The importance of keyword research is closely linked to the core rules of SEO. If you think about it, in order for Google (or Yahoo!, or Bing) to index your site, they need to understand what your website is about. 

Understand Your Brand and Your Business

Keyword research can help you to better understand your brand and what you offer. It can also help you to discover new keywords and niches that you may have not thought of before. This can help you to expand your business and take it to the next level.

What People Are Searching For

Keyword research will give you an insight into what people are searching for and how they search for it. This can help your business because you will know what keywords to use to direct traffic towards your site as well as determine which products or services that people want more information about.

Ranking on Search Engines

Keyword research can help you to rank higher on search engine result pages (SERPs). When you know what people are searching for, then it will be easier to come up with content that matches these keywords and postings. This can also help your website to get indexed faster by search engines which should improve the amount of traffic that you receive.

Generating Traffic

One of the main benefits of doing SEO keyword research is that you will be able to generate more organic traffic for your website. This is because when you know what keywords to target, you can create content that is centered around these keywords which will help to increase your site’s visibility on SERPs.

How to Perform Keyword Research?

There are many different aspects to the keyword research process which you should be aware of before starting. Many have said that the best way to do it is by using a multi-pronged approach because you will not only get more accurate results, but you will also gain a better understanding of your market and how people search for things.

How to Find Keyword Ideas?

Finding keyword ideas can be as simple as typing a phrase into Google and then looking at the suggestions that appear after you finish typing. These search queries can give you some idea of what your target audience is searching for, but since they’re based on other people’s searches, they won’t necessarily give you an accurate representation of your market.

Brainstorm ‘Seed’ Keywords

Before you begin the actual research process, it is important to know what your niche or topic area is. You should try and brainstorm as many related seed keywords as possible – both broad and long-tail (more on that later).

See What Keywords Your Competitors Rank For

Using your competitor’s website as a guide, you will want to go through the keywords that they target and try to come up with ideas of what people might be looking for.

Use Keyword Research Tools

There are many different keyword research tools that are available on the internet, and most of them are either free or have a free trial. These SEO tools allow you to type in a word or phrase and then provide you with a list of keyword suggestions as well as their search volumes.

Study Your Niche

The other thing you can do to generate keyword ideas is by studying your niche. What are the hot topics? What are people talking about? What are they searching for? This can be done by reading blogs, articles, and forums that are related to your topic.

Analyze Your Keywords

Once you have a list of keywords, it is important to analyze them. This includes looking at the competition, determining the relevance, and assessing the commercial intent. Monthly search volume is a crucial aspect to pay attention to when you are analyzing keywords. By doing this, you will be able to separate the good keywords from the bad, and it can help you determine which keywords are best for your website.

How to Discover Keyword Opportunities?

Once you have done your keyword research, then it is time to use the data that you have compiled. The information that you uncovered about your market can help you to discover opportunities that are untapped by your competitors.

Know Your Customer 

It is important to remember that somebody is searching for these keywords. You should try and put yourself in their shoes, and think about how you might search for something so you can find better keywords to use. You can do the following to know your customer;

Identify Search Intent

Having an understanding of the intent behind the search phrase is important. For example, if somebody searches for “best online marketing tools”, you will probably want to show the results that are related to everything from marketing strategies to specific tools.

Follow Conversations on Social Media

People share a ton of information on sites like Facebook and Twitter, so you can use this information to help discover new keywords. Just being a part of the conversation that is already happening, whether it directly relates to your topic or not, will allow you to gain insight into different ways that people search for things.

Check Communities and Forums

People often turn to online communities and forums when they are looking for specific information. This is another place where you can find keyword ideas as well as understand what people are searching for.

Check Google Search Results

Google is always changing, so it’s important to check the search results to see what keywords are being used. You can do this by conducting a search and looking at the related queries that show up under the “Searches related to” section.

Use SEO Tools

There are many different free keyword research tools available that will help you to determine the search volume for keywords. Some of them offer extra features at a premium. Some examples of these include; Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, and KeywordTool.

Find Out Which Keywords Lead To Your Website

If you have already set up Google Analytics, then you can use it to find out which keywords are leading people to your website. This can be found under the Acquisition tab and then by selecting “All Traffic” and “Sources.” Generating keyword ideas is just the beginning. You also need to determine if those keywords are a good fit for your business and website. There are a few reasons why it is important to find keyword opportunities:

Stand Out

Google and other search engines are designed to provide people with accurate and helpful results. This means that the chances of your website showing up in the search engine results pages is much greater if you can find keywords that play into what people are searching for.

Personalize Your Message

When you are able to provide people with quality content that is relevant to their needs, then it allows them to see your site as more of a resource. This will make it much easier for search engines to send interested visitors your way.

Keep Your Content Fresh, New and Relevant

Keeping your content fresh, new, and relevant will help you to guarantee that people are always coming back. If the information is related, then you won’t have to worry about your website becoming irrelevant because you can keep up with what people are searching for.

Don’t Lose to the Competition

The competition is fierce in the digital world, so just because you are doing well with search engine rankings doesn’t mean that there isn’t room to grow. This means that if you have an opportunity to rank for a big keyword, then it can be worth taking even though your competitors may already be ranking.

How to Use Competitor Keywords to Boost Your Digital Strategy?

Keyword research can help you identify what keywords your competitors are using. Using that knowledge can help you boost your keyword strategy in a few ways;

Competitive Benchmarking

You can use competitor keywords to see how you rank against them. This will allow you to find which ones are slipping and help to discover new opportunities.

Content Gap and Keyword Portfolio

Once you know what the competition is ranking for, then you can start to fill in gaps with your own website content. By doing this, you will be able to attract more visitors and improve your website’s ranking potential.

Crucial Keywords

When you are trying to determine which keywords to target, it is important to look for those that have a high search volume and are relevant to your business. This will help you to get the most out of your digital marketing efforts.

Look for New Competitors

It is also a good idea to keep an eye on your competition. This means that you should be constantly checking to see who is entering your space and what new keywords they are targeting.

From the Bottom to the Top

If you are trying to grow your website, don’t just focus on keywords that are at the top of Google’s results. This is because they might not have as much traffic as those lower down, so be sure to include them in your arsenal too.

Conclusion

Keyword research is an important part of any digital marketing strategy. By finding the right keywords and using them to target your content, you can improve your website’s ranking potential while also providing information that is relevant to your audience. Keep in mind that the competition is fierce, so don’t just focus on the top results. Instead, consider all of the opportunities that are available to you.