How to Do Keyword Research for SEO: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

What Is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the process of identifying and evaluating the specific words and phrases (known as “keywords”) that people enter into search engines such as Google, Bing, or YouTube while looking for information, products, or services. Keyword research is the cornerstone for developing content and advertisements that attract the correct audience and deliver genuine results in digital marketing, particularly SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay-Per-Click).

Developing a keyword strategy is the process of determining which keywords to target and prioritize in organic search.

There are numerous approaches, but they all boil down to identifying terms that:

• Potential customers are looking for something.
• Create value for your business.
• Are in your wheelhouse to rank for.

Identify keywords with traffic potential.

Targeting keywords that no one types into Google is pointless since they will not get you traffic even if you rank first. The first step is to identify keywords that potential clients are searching for.

See which of your competitors’ pages get the most traffic

Targeting keywords that no one types into Google is pointless since they will not get you traffic even if you rank first. The first step is to identify keywords that potential clients are searching for.

Here’s how you may determine which of your competitors’ pages receive the most search traffic:

• Go to Semrush  Domain Overview
• Enter a competitor’s domain
• Go to the Top pages report

For example, if you want to find keywords for an online sports equipment business, you can use a competitor’s domain, such as decathlon.in. The report displays the top pages based on expected organic traffic, as well as the keywords that drive the most people to each page.

Keyword research tools such as SEMrush provide extensive keyword databases that can be searched and filtered.

Here’s how you can utilize SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to identify keywords with high traffic potential:

• Go to SEMrush Dashboard and activate the Keyword Magic Tool.
• Enter a few broad keywords associated with your niche (these are your “seed” keywords).
• Use filters like search volume, keyword difficulty, and CPC to narrow down the results.
• Look for terms that have high traffic potential and business intent.

For example, if you own an online sports equipment store, you may use seed keywords such as cricket, badminton, football, sports shoes, or gym equipment. The results can then be filtered to focus on long-tail keywords or those with high volume and low competition, which is how successful businesses like Decathlon rank naturally.

Check their value for your business

Each keyword that potential clients search for has some worth for your company. However, some offer greater business potential than others.

Consider these three keywords, for instance:

• “Sports shoes” – Searchers are browsing. They are considering their choices but have not made a decision.
• “running shoes vs training shoes” – Searchers compare. They’ve limited their options and are almost ready to make a buy.
• “Nivia football shoes size 9” – The searcher knows exactly what they want. They’re ready to buy right now.

Given that some of these people are more likely to purchase sports equipment than others, it makes logical to favor phrases with strong commercial intent and business potential. These are the ones that are more likely to result in a sale and should be a main component of your keyword strategy, much as a brand like Decathlon could optimize their product pages.

Check ranking difficulty

There are several reasons why keyword ranking difficulty varies. This is not to say that you should avoid keywords that are more difficult to rank for, but it is crucial to consider ranking difficulty while developing your keyword strategy.

Backlinks are one of Google’s primary ranking factors. The current top-ranking pages have more high-quality backlinks, making it more difficult to compete with them.

The Keyword Difficulty (KD) score in SEMrush’s Keyword Overview tool will help you estimate how many backlinks you’ll need to get into the top ten. This score considers the backlink strength of pages currently ranking for the term. Scroll down to the SERP Analysis section for a more detailed examination. The “Ref. Domains” (referred domains) column shows how many unique websites link to each ranking page.

Keep in mind that these metrics represent the amount of backlinks, not their quality. To evaluate link quality, click on the backlink numbers to view each page’s backlink profile using SEMrush Backlink Analytics. Look for authoritative domains, contextual links, and follow vs. nofollow ratios to determine genuine link strength.

Authority

Many SEOs assume that popular websites have an easier time ranking in Google. As a result, when determining the difficulty of ranking a keyword, most consider a website authority metric such as Domain Rating (DR).

https://twitter.com/timsoulo/status/1519156156786044929
Google personnel have repeatedly said that Google does not consider a site’s authority. However, there are a few ways in which a site’s so-called authority may indirectly influence rankings.

Internal links – High-DR sites have more high-authority pages, which can help other pages rank higher.
Familiar brands – For certain inquiries, searchers are inclined to look for familiar names. If that is not you, you may have a more difficult time ranking.

If you believe Google considers site authority, or you simply want to be cautious, check the DR ratings of the top-ranking pages in Keywords Explorer. If they’re all significantly higher than your site’s DR, consider prioritizing different keywords.

Search intent

People that search are looking for something specific. This is referred to as their search purpose. Because Google aims to give searchers what they want, you will struggle to rank for keywords unless you can provide material that is relevant to intent.

For example, users who search for “backlink checker” are plainly looking for a free tool. We know this since all of the top results are free tools.

To have any chance of ranking for this keyword, you must create a free tool. Unless you have a backlink database like ours, this will be nearly difficult. As a result, we propose studying the top-ranked results for the three Cs of search intent to determine the difficulty of ranking a keyword for you.

Content type: Are they blog entries, landing pages, product pages, or something else?
Content format: Are they listicles, how-tos, recipes, tools, or something else?
Content aspect – Is there a main selling point, such as how easy it is?

Quality

If the top-ranked pages for your term are of high quality, competing will require more time and effort.
For example, the people who ranked #1 for “best air purifier” spent eight years testing 47 air purifiers before making their suggestion. Competing on content quality will require a significant investment of time, effort, and money.

Compare this to the top results for numerous other queries that provide no information about how recommendations were selected. It will likely be considerably easier to outperform these in terms of content quality than the former. Based on your assessment of the four criteria listed above, you can assign keywords a “ranking potential” score as follows:

4. Bring it all together

Develop a keyword strategy. Using this approach entails consolidating everything into a single, well-organized document. You can handle it all with a simple Google Sheet or Excel template, exactly as marketers do when exporting data from SEMrush.

Use SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and Keyword Overview to collect and export the following information:

Keyword

• Search Volume (To Estimate Traffic Potential)
• Keyword Difficulty (KD) (to determine ranking potential)
• Business Potential (BP) (assign this based on how relevant or profitable the keyword is for your product/service)

To make your spreadsheet even more efficient, use conditional formatting to highlight

• Keywords with high volume and low difficulty (green).
• Medium priority or competitive terms (yellow)
• Terms with low value or that are irrelevant (in red)

FAQs

1. What is keyword research in SEO, and why is it necessary for beginners?

Keyword research is the process of identifying the appropriate search terms that people use on Google. It teaches beginners how to develop content that ranks well, attracts traffic, and meets user intent.

2. How can I get the ideal keywords for my website as a beginner?

You can begin with seed keywords and then use free tools like Google Keyword Planner , Semrush Ubersuggest to locate relevant search terms. Concentrate on long-tail keywords with low competition and obvious purpose.

3. How do I determine keyword difficulty and select realistic terms to rank for?

Examine data such as Keyword Difficulty (KD), search traffic, and competition using tools such as SEMrush or Ahrefs. Check the top-ranking pages to determine content quality and backlink strength.

4. What is the difference between informational and transactional keywords in SEO?

Informational keywords answer inquiries (e.g., “how to tie a tie”), whereas transactional keywords indicate purchasing intent (e.g., “buy silk tie online”). Beginners should aim for both, depending on their content purpose.

5. Can I do keyword research without using any paid SEO tools?

Yes! Google Autocomplete, People Also Ask, Google Trends, and Keyword Planner are all free tools that can help you generate keyword ideas and track trends.

Also Read:- How to Do Keyword Research for PPC