Keyword research is an important part of a site’s SEO strategy. In fact, before you start producing content, you need to see what keywords users are searching for the most. The keywords that users search for are the keywords you need to work on. Now that you have researched your keywords and found the best keywords, you need to start producing quality content.
In this article, we want to help you fully and comprehensively with “keyword research” so that you can find the best keywords and achieve top rankings in search results by producing content.
What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is one of the most important SEO skills that all SEOs and content producers should be well versed in. By researching keywords you can find the phrases that have the most searches among users. In fact, by doing this you can produce content that attracts more traffic (higher quality) to your site and is closer to your site topic.
In general, by researching keywords, you can reach a larger target audience. Keep in mind, too, that the keyword research process never ends. In fact, if you want to have a reputable and strong site, you should always do this to get better rankings in Google results (SERP) day by day.
Why is keyword research important?
Keyword research is very important. Because by doing this you can specify what keywords most users use to search. In our experience, one of the problems with most online businesses is that they use low-keyword phrases to generate content. In fact, because they do not have keyword research skills, they are not able to find and work well on search terms. As a result, they lose a lot of customers.
For example, if you want to write an article, you have to choose a title that is searched by more users. If you can not write a proper title, you will definitely attract less traffic and you will lose a large part of web users. With the help of keyword research, you can better understand what your target audience is looking for the most. This is a great and exceptional opportunity to reach a much larger audience.
Basic concepts in keyword research
Before we get into keyword research, it’s best to get acquainted with some of the basics. For this reason, in the following section, we have briefly explained the important and basic concepts to you dear ones.
The meaning of the keyword or keyword phrase; It’s actually the word or phrase that you want your site to rank in Google results. By researching keywords, you can find a collection of the best keywords and phrases and optimize them on your website to get good rankings over time.
There are a total of 3 keyword examples that you can work on and boost your SEO.
- Short-Tail Keywords: This type of keyword is just one word. Like WordPress, SEO and…
- Mid-Tail Keywords: This type of keyword consists of 2 to 3 words. Like WordPress template, WordPress plugin and…
- Long-Tail Keywords: This type of keyword is longer than 3 words. Like site design training with WordPress, comprehensive WordPress SEO training and…
Now it’s entirely up to you to decide which keyword to use for SEO. Of course, it is better to note that “long keyword” is usually more specialized and has lower search statistics. But one of the advantages of a long keyword is that it is easier to compete. This is because most websites focus on the short keyword.
In general, you should pay attention to what your site’s audience is looking for the most and what they want to achieve by searching the web. With this trick, you can consider a suitable strategy and work on it.
A complete guide to keyword research for SEO
So far, you are familiar with the basics of keyword research. Now it’s time to get to the heart of the matter. In general, there are 8 very important steps for researching keywords, which we are going to explain to you in the following.
1- Set a goal for the business
The most important issue is goal setting. You must first determine what your goal is and what audience you want to attract to the site. In order to be able to set a suitable goal with the theme of your site and business, you must answer the following questions.
- What is the main goal of your business?
- What makes you superior to your competitors?
- What do you want to achieve with the site you have launched?
With a little thought and answering these questions, you can easily set a goal. These questions also do not have a fixed answer that you want to look for a ready answer. In fact, every business has its own market.
There are several things to look for when selecting yours. For example, some markets are very competitive and there are large companies operating in which it is very difficult to compete. Because these companies usually spend a lot of money on marketing. So you can not set big goals like these companies from day one.
Now suppose you have a site ready for tourism. You certainly know very well that it is very difficult to work in this field. Because big companies work in this field. However, there are simple solutions that can set you apart from other competitors in this area. Consider, for example, a special discount for people under 20; Or give great discounts for young couples. These small tasks are a good feature that sets your business apart from other competitors.
In general, we suggest that you look at your job market first and then set small goals for yourself. By doing this, you will leave small goals behind over time and progress day by day.
2- Prepare a list of keywords
Once you have set the right target for your site and business, you need to make a good list of keywords. There is a very simple way to make a list of keywords, and that is to answer users’ questions and problems. No matter what field you work in, the users you are looking for will definitely have different problems. Therefore, you can find the right keywords to answer their problems and possible questions.
Suppose you work in WordPress, you can easily consider the following questions as keywords.
- How to update the site template and plugin?
- How to buy hosts and domains?
- What is WordPress?
By asking various questions, in addition to being able to make a good list of keywords; You can easily gain the trust of users. So this is a simple way to make a list of keywords.
3- Research on the right keywords for SEO
Once you have a list of keywords, there is one very important thing to do, and that is keyword research. In fact, just trying to make a list of keywords does not help you; You should be able to review and evaluate this list. This way you can work on the keywords more effectively. Fortunately, there are many keyword research tools to help you do just that.
Now the first tool you can use to research keywords is the Google search engine. In fact, whenever you want to search for a phrase, Google offers suggestions that you can use. Because all Google offers are based on users’ searches.
Additionally, after searching for a phrase on Google, if it comes to the bottom of the page, you will see other Google suggestions in the Related Searches section, which you can also use. Our suggestion is to use Google suggestions for keywords so that you can attract more traffic to your site.
4- Use Long-Tail Keywords
Unfortunately, many webmasters and content creators tend to work on short keywords from the beginning; But this is a big mistake. Because competing in short keywords is very difficult. In fact, powerful sites work on short keywords and it is very difficult to compete with them. That’s why we suggest you go for long keywords at the beginning. These types of keywords are less searched, but they are very easy to compete with.
As mentioned, long keywords are more specialized and this will attract very good users to the site. So at the beginning of the path, you have to work on long keywords. Once you have good rankings on long keywords, you should move on to medium keywords. Again, once you’ve got good rankings in search results, you need to go for short keywords. This is a good SEO strategy.
5- Competitive situation analysis
One very important task that is sometimes overlooked is the analysis of the competitive situation. After working on keywords for a long time, you should do a Google search for those terms and see where your site ranks. For example, in some areas, you may easily rank first in search engines. But in some areas, you may even be on the second page of Google.
Now if the competition for your site activity was simple and easy, you should try to get first place in the search results. Then go for medium and short keywords. But if the competition in your site activity was tough, you need to work on optimizing and producing better quality content. You should also publish more articles with long keywords. This way, over time, with the help of internal linking, you will definitely get better rankings in search engine results (SERP).
Of course, if you want to get to the top of the search results much faster, you have to go to Google click ads. This is a very simple and easy way for you to advertise your site in the Google search engine for very low and insignificant costs and be in the top rankings of search results.
6- Find the target users of the search
Users do not search the Internet for no reason. In fact, everyone has a specific reason or purpose for searching. You need to be able to figure out what most users are looking for after searching for the phrase. Users usually search the internet for one of the following reasons.
- Obtain information (or research)
- Quick and direct access to a website
- Transaction (purchase or sale of product)
If you can target users well, you can definitely produce more effective content.
7- Determine the keyword strategy
Now it’s time to set the right keyword strategy with the data collected so far. In fact, if you have gone through the previous steps well; You need to know the right information about the business goal, the list of the right keywords, the status of the competitors, and the purpose of the users to search.
You should now be able to earn and maintain a good position in search engine results (SERP). Unfortunately, most sites stop working altogether after gaining a foothold. But if you want to have a professional business, you should not give up site activities. Instead, you need to implement newer strategies on a regular basis.
For example, if you can budget for marketing, you need to go for advertising and attract customers. But if you can not budget for it, you have to work on the same long keywords and then move on to the medium and short keywords after you get the top rankings.
8- Build landing pages
In general, this section can not be considered part of the keyword research process; But because it’s important, we’re going to mention it as a final step. In fact, if you want to get more traffic to your website, you need to think about designing and building landing pages. Of course, you do not need to think about designing these pages from day one. It is enough to design a landing page for the most visited pages of the site over time.
Also, do not forget to produce cornerstone content on your website. Because it has a huge impact on SEO. The contents of the cornerstone content are usually longer and they are given many internal links.
Research keywords and highlights!
You might think that all of the above is very simple and easy, but unfortunately, many people do not pay attention to these issues. You may also encounter a number of problems or questions when using the items mentioned above. That’s why we decided to point out the important points; In this way, if you encounter a problem, you can solve your problem by referring to this educational article.
Prioritize keyword lists
In one of the keyword research steps, you were asked to make a list of appropriate keywords. Now you need to sort this list and prioritize your keywords well. Prioritization means starting to generate content for important keywords first, and then moving on to less important keywords over time.
Use related keywords
A very important issue that has a big impact on site ranking is the use of relevant keywords. In fact, by doing so, Google and other search engines can understand the subject matter much more easily. You can use various tools such as SEMrush to help you find relevant keywords. Of course, if you are a professional in your field, you know the relevant keywords.
Suppose you have launched a technology site and you want to write a complete article about the Galaxy A72 mobile. Surely you know that in addition to the keyword of Galaxy A72 mobile, you can easily use the phrase “Samsung Galaxy A72 mobile”. This is a simple example of using related keywords. Now you need to find similar phrases and use them in the content of the site, depending on your field of work and the content you want to produce.
Use the original keyword only once
Be careful not to use the original keyword more than once. If you want to produce several separate contents for an important phrase, it will confuse the search engines. For example, if Google notices that you have published several different contents with one keyword, it will give a negative rating to all your content. This will cause you to miss out on top search results rankings. So when publishing content, be sure not to use the keyword more than once.
If you have used the keywords more than once before, you should do one of the following:
- Remove extra content and use redirect 301
- Use the canonical tag
Review and re-evaluate the contents of the site
After you have done all the work mentioned in this tutorial, you should review and evaluate the contents of the site. Now it’s time to check out the content published in the Google Search Results (SERP). This way you can check the status of your site and identify better strategies for your business.
For example, if you look at published content and find that you are not in the top Google results and you are on pages 2 and 3, you should work on Long-Tail Keywords. But if you’ve got good rankings so far and are in the top Google results, you can consider the next strategies for Short-Tail Keywords.
So if you want to improve your SEO and get top Google rankings, do not forget to review and re-evaluate the content published on the website.
Keyword Research for SEO (Quick Guide)
If you want to work on keyword research and optimize your site for search engines, you must first create a list of appropriate keywords and save them in an Excel file. Then prioritize the keywords based on their importance, and design an incredibly beautiful and engaging landing page for the keywords. Also, try to publish content on your website on a regular and daily basis to get better rankings in Google search results (SERP) day by day.
It is recommended that you use powerful tools such as Google Trends and SEMrush to research keywords. Also, do not forget that the production of your content must be principled and correct. If you produce poor quality content, in addition to not improving your site, you are also regressing. Finally, remember to check your site. By carefully reviewing and evaluating the site, you can implement better strategies day by day, and this will improve your site.
Conclusion
Researching keywords is not a difficult task, you just have to put in the time and pay attention to these small points. Undoubtedly, if you can pay attention to the above, your website ranking will improve over time. We hope you find this article useful and informative.