When we talk about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) we can’t avoid talking about keyword research. This is one of the most important skills to learn if you want to get traffic from Google and other search engines.

In this article, we will explain what is keyword research, how to use it for creating a highly conversion content and what tools to use.

What is keyword research?

Let’s say your website is about food and restaurants. If a user is searching for the best Italian restaurants in a specific city, you want them to find the answer on your web page.

But how can they find you? Usually, they go to a search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) and write their question. A number of websites and pages will appear and they will choose which one to open.

This usually happens within the first five pages of results. So, you definitely want to be in those pages. Even better, in the first one. How can you do that?

Know your customers’ questions

Probably you already know a lot about your industry. But remember, the questions and conversations on the web shifts constantly every day.

As a result, you need to know exactly what the users are talking about today, what they are searching for and which words they use. This is it: those words will be your keywords, the focus of all your content writing.

Still confused? You won’t be in a couple of minutes.

How do search engines work?

When you type a word or phrase on Google’s bar,a complicated algorithm takes a few seconds to analyze it. Then it “scans” the entire web to find the most valuable and pertinent results.

If you want to be among those valuable and pertinent results, you need keyword research. This tool will help serach engines to find you immediately when a user search for your content.

The mysterious algorithm

Every search engine has a special algorithm and many of them change through the days and years. Their goal is to provide users with the most pertinent, valuable and interesting content in the wide web.

And that’s why their formulas are so ever-changing and mysterious. They put together a number of elements such as keyword research, content relevance, website reliability.

In order to appease search engines, you need to:

• use the right phrases and keywords;
• be up-to-date with relevant informations;
• convey a certain sense of reliability;
• have a fast and easy to navigate website.

Keyword research for SEO

So, you see, it doesn’t matter how clear, well written and correct your content is. No one will read it, if you don’t apply keyword research.

The definition of keyword research can be described as

the process of understanding the language your target customers use when searching for your products, services, and content.

Tim Soulo on ahrefs.com

How to use keyword research

When writing a text for a website, you need to ask yourself “What do users need?”. Also, another important question is “What do I want them to find?”.

A correct and effective SEO strategy has a clear goal. Whether it is to gain more views; sell more products; get more subscribers on your newsletter; establish youself as an influencer in the field. In order to achieve it all, you need keyword research.

An example of keyword research

Let’s go back to that food blog example. Say you want to be the n.1 influencer on food and restaurant. Thus, you need to know what people are searching for about this topic.

Are they looking for the best restaurant in the area? Or maybe what’s the right way to cook an ingredient? These are two completely different researches that will involve different keywords. So you also need to know what words, phrases and questions users are typing into Google’s bar.

Keyword research for Google

Google is probably the most used and famous search engine, so you better start analyzing keyword research from its point of view. In order to be in the first pages of Google’s results, you need to meet certain criteria.

First, your content must be unique and original. Google hates plagiarism, as most search engine do. So try to be as original as possible in your content writing. Avoid difficult phrases, subortdinates and complicated words. The simpler your writing, the higher your readability score will be.

Then, do an intensive keyword research and use the most searched for words and phrases organically. If you put too many of them in your text, you will be penalized for keyword stuffing.

Tools for keyword research

How can you know what people are searching for on Google? There are a lot of tools for keyword research you should apply to your SEO strategy. For example, here are a couple of the most famous.

Google Trends

It’s the easiest tool to use and it offers a lot of cool fuctions. Also, it’s obviously a Google favourite. You just need to type the general topic of your next post or article. Then choose a Country, a time period and the most search for keywords will appear. You can also compare different topics and words (up to five) and look for correlated themes. Google Trends is completely free.

Answerthepublic

This is a slightly different tool for keyword research. As the name suggests, it will give you the most searched for questions about an argument or theme. This will lead you to high-converting long-tail keyword. In other words, you will know the users’ questions and therefore will be able to provide an answer.

SEMrush kewyword research tool

This is one of the favourite tools for marketers. It will let you analyze keywords in a deeper way. In fact, you can find out each keyword value, competition and ranking. It can also be added to your website and provide data about the organic performance of your content.

Keywordtool.io

Completely free and easy to use, this tool for keyword research is also focused on long-tail. These are the most important data you can get in order to write exactly what users are looking for. For instance, if you write about paint, a long-tail keyword such as “how to paint on glass” will lead more people on your website than “paint on glass”.

Google auto-complete feature

Maybe most of the copywriters and marketers don’t think about it, but it’s a powerful tool. Just type the main word on Google homepage and see how it completes it. In this way, you will have a sense of the most searched for questions on Google.

Keyword research tips and tricks

Remember, you need to satisfy users as well as search engines. So, don’t just focus on what Google wants from you. Instead, ask yourself what do people really need from your website.

They will want valuable content, clear answers to their questions or doubts, a relevant knowledge to gain from your writing. So, write your content thinking about them as well as Google and its collegues.

Who will work on this?

When organizing your website, you will need several professional figures. The web marketing specialist will be the person in charge of attracting new customers.

So, they are the right people to work on and organize keyword research. Of course, they will interact with copywriters and web editors, as well as graphic designers and email marketers. Your whole team will be responsible for keyword research.

Hire professionals

In creating your website, you could be tempted to do everything on your own. But remember, no one can be good at everything and asking for help is no shame.

Hire professional copywriters, web content editors, marketing specialists and SEO experts once your website is wide enough to need them.

In conclusion

Keyword research is an effective tool in web marketing. In fact, it can be crucial in acquiring new customers and gain the old ones’ loyalty. Moreover, it is important to establish your brand identity and your reputation in a specific field.

So, put it in the right hands. They can be your own or a professional’s. Even better if a team of SEO experts such as Mailsenpai’s is responsible for your content creation. Explore our services to know more about this.