Keyword Research

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the process of identifying the words and phrases people type into search engines when looking for information, products, or services. It's the foundation of any successful SEO strategy because it reveals what your audience actually searches for—not what you assume they search for.

Effective keyword research answers critical questions:

• What topics does my audience care about?
• What language do they use to describe their problems?
• Which keywords have enough search volume to be worth targeting?
• Which keywords can I realistically rank for?
• What content should I create next?

Why Keyword Research Matters:

• 15% of daily Google searches have never been searched before
• Long-tail keywords account for 70% of all searches
• The right keyword can mean the difference between 10 visitors and 10,000

Key Metrics in Keyword Research

Understanding keyword metrics helps you prioritize which terms to target.

Search Volume

The average number of monthly searches for a keyword. Higher volume means more potential traffic, but also typically more competition.

Volume benchmarks:

Important considerations:

• Volume is an estimate, not exact
• Seasonality affects some keywords dramatically
• High volume doesn't guarantee conversions
• Low-volume keywords can be highly valuable if intent is strong

Keyword Difficulty (KD)

A score (typically 0-100) estimating how hard it would be to rank in the top 10 for a keyword. Different tools calculate this differently, but all consider factors like:

• Number and quality of backlinks on ranking pages
• Domain authority of competitors
• Content quality signals

Difficulty interpretation:

Cost Per Click (CPC)

What advertisers pay for each click on ads for this keyword. High CPC indicates commercial value—people are willing to pay for that traffic, suggesting strong purchase intent.

Search Intent

The reason behind the search. Understanding intent is crucial for creating content that actually ranks.

Keyword Trends

How search volume changes over time. Some keywords are:

• Evergreen - Consistent volume year-round
• Seasonal - Spikes at certain times (e.g., "christmas gifts")
• Trending - Growing or declining over time

Types of Keywords

Head Terms vs. Long-Tail Keywords

Why long-tail keywords matter:

• 70% of searches are long-tail
• Higher conversion rates due to specific intent
• Easier to rank for new websites
• Better match user questions

By Intent

Informational keywords:

• Start with "what," "how," "why," "when"
• High volume, lower conversion
• Great for building awareness and authority

Commercial keywords:

• Include "best," "top," "review," "vs"
• Users are evaluating options
• Good for comparison content

Transactional keywords:

• Include "buy," "price," "discount," "coupon"
• Users are ready to purchase
• Highest conversion potential

Branded vs. Non-Branded

Branded keywords: Include your brand name ("Rankwise pricing")

• Usually easy to rank for
• High conversion from existing awareness

Non-branded keywords: Generic terms ("seo content tools")

• Harder to rank for
• Capture new audiences

How to Do Keyword Research: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Brainstorm Seed Keywords

Start with broad topics related to your business. These "seed keywords" will generate more specific ideas.

Methods:

• List your products/services
• Think about customer problems you solve
• Review competitor websites
• Check your site's internal search data
• Talk to customers and sales teams

Example for an SEO tool:

• SEO software
• Keyword research
• Content optimization
• Rank tracking
• Backlink analysis

Step 2: Expand Your Keyword List

Use tools to find related keywords, variations, and questions.

Keyword research tools:

Expansion methods:

1. Keyword suggestions - Tools suggest related terms
2. Questions - "How to," "what is," "why does"
3. Related searches - Google's related searches section
4. People Also Ask - Questions Google shows in SERPs
5. Competitor keywords - What competitors rank for
6. Autocomplete - Google's search suggestions

Step 3: Analyze Keyword Metrics

For each potential keyword, evaluate:

• Search volume (is there enough traffic?)
• Difficulty (can I realistically rank?)
• Intent (does it match my content goals?)
• CPC (is there commercial value?)

Prioritization formula: Look for keywords with:

• Decent volume (100+ monthly searches minimum)
• Manageable difficulty (appropriate for your domain authority)
• Clear intent (you can create content that satisfies it)
• Business relevance (connects to your products/services)

Step 4: Analyze Search Intent

Before targeting a keyword, search it yourself and analyze:

• What type of content ranks? (blog posts, product pages, videos)
• What format? (lists, guides, comparisons)
• What depth? (quick answers or comprehensive guides)
• What angle? (beginner-focused, expert-level)

Match your content to what's working. If all top results are 3,000-word guides, a 500-word post won't rank.

Step 5: Group Keywords by Topic

Organize keywords into topic clusters—groups of related terms you can target with interconnected content.

Example cluster for "email marketing":

• Pillar: "email marketing guide" (main page)
• Cluster: "email marketing best practices"
• Cluster: "email marketing tools"
• Cluster: "email marketing automation"
• Cluster: "email marketing metrics"

This approach builds topical authority and creates natural internal linking opportunities.

Step 6: Map Keywords to Content

Decide what content to create for each keyword or cluster:

• Existing content to optimize?
• New content to create?
• What format fits the intent?

Avoid keyword cannibalization: Don't target the same primary keyword with multiple pages. Each page should have a unique primary target.

Step 7: Prioritize and Plan

Create a content calendar based on:

• Business impact (keywords that drive conversions)
• Difficulty vs. authority (what you can realistically rank for)
• Content gaps (what competitors cover that you don't)
• Quick wins (low-difficulty, decent-volume keywords)

Keyword Research for Different Contexts

For Blog Content

Focus on informational keywords with clear questions to answer:

• "How to" guides
• "What is" explanations
• Comparison posts ("X vs Y")
• Listicles ("best X for Y")

For Product Pages

Target commercial and transactional keywords:

• Category terms ("email marketing software")
• Comparison terms ("best email marketing tools")
• Feature terms ("email automation features")

For Local SEO

Include geographic modifiers:

• "[service] in [city]"
• "[service] near me"
• "best [service] [location]"

For GEO (AI Search)

Consider how people phrase questions to AI:

• Conversational queries
• Complex, multi-part questions
• Natural language patterns

Advanced Keyword Research Strategies

Competitor Keyword Analysis

Discover keywords your competitors rank for that you don't:

1. Enter competitor URLs in Ahrefs/Semrush
2. Filter for keywords where they rank top 10
3. Identify gaps where you have no ranking
4. Prioritize by volume and difficulty

Content Gap Analysis

Compare your keyword coverage to multiple competitors:

1. Enter your domain and 2-3 competitor domains
2. Find keywords all competitors rank for but you don't
3. These represent validated opportunities

SERP Feature Targeting

Identify keywords with specific SERP features you can target:

• Featured snippets (position 0)
• People Also Ask boxes
• Image carousels
• Video results

Trending Topic Discovery

Find emerging keywords before they peak:

• Google Trends for trajectory
• Exploding Topics for early signals
• Social media for emerging conversations

Common Keyword Research Mistakes

1. Ignoring Search Intent

Targeting keywords without understanding what users actually want. Always analyze SERPs before committing to a keyword.

2. Obsessing Over Volume

High-volume keywords are often too competitive. Lower-volume keywords with strong intent often convert better.

3. Keyword Stuffing Mentality

Modern SEO isn't about cramming keywords into content. Focus on topics and natural language.

4. One-Time Research

Keyword research should be ongoing. Search trends change, new opportunities emerge.

5. Ignoring Long-Tail

The collective traffic from many long-tail keywords often exceeds head terms, with less competition.

6. Not Considering Competition

A perfect keyword means nothing if you can't rank for it. Be realistic about your domain's ability to compete.

Keyword Research for GEO

As AI-powered search grows, keyword research evolves:

Traditional keywords still matter - AI systems still index and retrieve based on traditional search patterns.

Conversational variations - Consider how people phrase questions to AI assistants:

• "What's the best way to do keyword research?"
• "Explain keyword research like I'm a beginner"
• "Compare SEO keyword research tools"

Topic depth over keyword density - AI systems understand topics comprehensively. Focus on covering topics thoroughly rather than keyword placement.

Measuring Keyword Research Success

Track these metrics to evaluate your keyword strategy:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many keywords should I target per page?

Focus on one primary keyword per page, with 3-5 secondary/related keywords. The primary keyword should appear in your title, URL, and H1. Secondary keywords appear naturally throughout the content.

How often should I do keyword research?

At minimum, quarterly. But keyword research should be ongoing—continuously discovering new opportunities and monitoring existing ones.

Free vs. paid keyword tools—which do I need?

Start with free tools (Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest free tier) to learn the process. As you scale, paid tools provide more accurate data, better competitor analysis, and time savings worth the investment.

What's a good keyword difficulty to target?

It depends on your domain authority. New sites should target KD < 20. Established sites with DA 30-50 can target KD 30-50. Only high-authority sites should pursue KD 60+.

How do I know if a keyword is worth targeting?

Ask: (1) Is there enough volume? (2) Can I realistically rank? (3) Will this traffic help my business? (4) Can I create better content than what currently ranks? If yes to all, it's worth pursuing.

Related Terms

• Long-Tail Keywords - Specific, multi-word search phrases
• Search Intent - The purpose behind a search query
• SERP - Search Engine Results Page
• Organic Traffic - Visitors from unpaid search
• Search Engine Optimization - The practice of optimizing for search

Why this matters

Keyword Research influences how search engines and users interpret your pages. When keyword research is handled consistently, it reduces ambiguity and improves performance over time.

Common mistakes

• Applying keyword research inconsistently across templates
• Ignoring how keyword research interacts with canonical or index rules
• Failing to validate keyword research after releases
• Over-optimizing keyword research without checking intent
• Leaving outdated keyword research rules in production

How to check or improve Keyword Research (quick checklist)

1. Review your current keyword research implementation on key templates.
2. Validate keyword research using Search Console and a crawl.
3. Document standards for keyword research to keep changes consistent.
4. Monitor performance and update keyword research as intent shifts.

Examples

Example 1: A site standardizes keyword research and sees more stable indexing. Example 2: A team audits keyword research and resolves hidden conflicts.

FAQs

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword Research is a core concept that affects how pages are evaluated.

Why does Keyword Research matter?

Because it shapes visibility, relevance, and user expectations.

How do I improve keyword research?

Use the checklist and verify changes across templates.

How often should I review keyword research?

After major releases and at least quarterly for critical pages.

Related resources

• Guide: /resources/guides/keyword-research-ai-search
• Template: /templates/definitive-guide
• Use case: /use-cases/marketing-agencies
• Glossary:
  • /glossary/search-intent
  • /glossary/long-tail-keywords