Keyword research is the first step in the SEO copywriting
process and an essential part of any SEO strategy. Before you write your
website content you need to think about which search terms you want to be found
for and this means getting inside people’s heads to find out which words they
use when searching. Then you can use these exact terms in your content so that
you start ranking for them. This is keyword research and this ultimate guide
will take you through the many steps involved.
What is keyword research?
Before we start explaining the process of keyword research,
let’s look at the most important concepts behind it.
Keyword research can be defined as the work you do to come
up with an extensive list of keywords you want to rank for.
Keyword strategy is about the decisions you make on the
basis of that keyword research.
Key phrases are keywords containing multiple words. We tend
to use the word keyword all the time, but we don’t necessarily mean it’s only
one word. ‘WordPress SEO’ is a keyword, as is ‘Google Analytics plugin’.
Keywords usually consist of multiple words! So, in this guide, when we talk
about keywords, we usually mean a phrase, rather than a single word.
Long tail keywords are more specific and less common because
they focus more on a niche. The longer (and more specific) search terms are,
the easier it will be to rank for the term. Keywords that are more specific
(and often longer) are usually referred to as long tail keywords.
Focus keyword is the keyword or the key phrase you most want
your page to be found for. You should put your focus keyword into the meta box
of the Yoast SEO plugin.
Search intent is all about discovering what a searcher
actually wants. These are not just keywords, but the underlying goals of what a
searcher wants to know, do or buy.
Why is keyword
research important?
Proper keyword research is important because it will make
clear which search terms your audience uses. At Yoast, we frequently come
across clients who use one set of words when describing their products, while
their target audience uses a completely different set of words. These sites
aren’t found by their potential customers because of a mismatch in word use.
It doesn’t make any sense to optimize for words that people
don’t use. Good keyword research makes sure that you use the same words as your
target audience and this makes the whole effort of optimizing your website far
more worthwhile. In addition, by looking at search intent, you find out which
questions your customer has. Those questions should get an answer in the form
of quality content.
Doing keyword
research for SEO
For us, there are three steps to keyword research. First,
you write down the mission of your business. Next, you make a list of all the
keywords you want to be found for. Finally, you create landing pages for each
of those keywords. This ultimate guide takes you through these three steps in
much more detail.
Step 1: What is your mission?
Step 2: Make a list of keywords
Step 3: Look at search intent
Step 4: Construct landing pages
Step 1: What is your
mission?
Before starting anything, think about your mission. Think
about questions like: Who are you? What is your website about? What makes you
special? And what promises do you make on your website?
A lot of people can’t effectively answer these questions at
first. You have to figure out what makes you stand out from the crowd. So take
your time and literally write down your mission on a piece of paper, a computer
or an iPad – anything will do, as long as you do it. Once you’re able to answer
these questions in detail, you will have taken the first and most important
step in your keyword strategy.
Step 2: Make a list
of keywords
The second step of keyword research is creating a list of
your keywords. With your mission in mind, try to get into the heads of your
potential buyers. What will these people be looking for? What kind of search
terms could they be using while looking for your amazing service or product?
Ask yourself these questions and write down as many answers as possible.
If your mission is clear, you will have a pretty clear image
of your niche and your unique selling points (the things that set your business
apart from others). These are the terms you want to be found for.
Tools you can use
Making a list of possible search terms is hard. Up until a
few years ago you could just check Google Analytics and see the terms people
used to find your website, but unfortunately, that’s no longer possible. So you
have pretty much no idea which terms people use in search engines to end up at
your website. Luckily, there are still some other tools which make your keyword
research a bit easier. Read our post about tools you can use in your keyword
research for more tips and tricks.
Step 3: Look at
search intent
Much of today’s SEO strategy should revolve around answering
the questions people have. Whenever someone enters a search query into a search
engine, they are on a quest for something. Every type of question needs a
specific answer. In my SEO basics article on search intent, I said:
“Search intent has to do with the reason why people conduct
a specific search. Why are they searching? Are they searching because they have
a question and want an answer to that question? Are they searching for a
specific website? Or, are they searching because they want to buy something?”
When planning your
content, always ask yourself these questions. There are four types of intents:
Informational intent:
Just like it says on the tin, people are trying to find information on a
specific topic.
Navigational intent: People
want to access a specific website by entering the term in a search engine.
Commercial intent: People
want to buy something sometime soon and are doing research before making a
purchase.
Transactional intent:
People are looking to buy something after doing their commercial intent
searches.
Step 4: Construct
landing pages
The next step towards a long-term keyword strategy is to
create awesome landing pages. In the past, every one of the keywords you want
to be found for got its own landing page. Today, however, search engines are so
smart that they mostly use search intent to give searchers the best answer to
their questions. The page that answers those questions best will rank on top.
Search engines also understand subtle differences between keywords so you don’t
have to do your utmost best to distinguish singular and plural terms, for
instance. So you can optimize a page for multiple keywords.
We would advise you to build your page structure in a
well-structured way – using a spreadsheet programme like Excel or Google
Docs/Sheets is a great way to do this. Create a table then add your list of
keywords. Using a table forces you to set up a structure and to make relevant
landing pages. Put the search terms in the first column and add columns for the
different levels of your site’s structure.
Then you’ll need to build a landing page for your search
terms, but you don’t have to create all these pages immediately – it can be a
long-term thing. The more specific your search term is, the further down into
your site structure the term’s landing page belongs. The most important
keywords will lead to your cornerstone content articles. These are the keywords
you definitely want to rank for. To do this, you create the best possible
content about that keyword – authoritative and all-encompassing, just like the
ultimate guide you are reading right now. All your supporting articles will
link to this cornerstone content. This should be part of your internal linking
strategy, which Yoast SEO Premium can help you implement.
After completing your keyword research for SEO, you should
have a clear overview of the terms people use and the terms you want the pages
on your site to be found for. This overview should guide you in writing content
for your website.
Long-term keyword
strategy
No website should rely on one single keyword or one
keyphrase for its traffic. You should use your mission as a starting point,
then take our three steps in carrying out proper keyword research and work
towards a solid base: a keyword strategy. This section of our ultimate guide
explains why it’s important to have a long-term keyword strategy.
How many keywords?
We can’t tell you the exact number of keywords you should
have, but we can tell you that you need a lot of them – as many as you can
think of. However, more than 1000 keywords is probably too many!
Even if you’re a reasonably small business, you’ll probably
end up with a couple of hundred keywords. But there’s no need to create pages
for all of these straight away. The great thing about having a Content
Management System (CMS) like WordPress is that you can add content bit by bit.
Think about what keywords you want to rank for now, and which ones aren’t
immediately so important. Understand your priorities and plan the creation of
your content.
Ad hoc keyword
research strategies
In an ideal world, you would do your keyword research, make
a beautiful table and create landing pages for each one. Your site structure
would be flawless and you would blog and write every day making your site rank
higher and higher in Google. Unfortunately, we live in the real world.
Of course, your keyword research will not always be as
extensive. And some posts or articles aren’t written as part of an awesome
strategy, but just because the topic was in the news or something inspired you
to write it. That’s just how these things work. But this doesn’t have to be a
problem.
If you’re writing something that doesn’t exactly
fit your strategy, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to make that content
rank. You could still use it to rank for something related to the terms in the
list of your keyword strategy. Use tools like Google Trends to choose which
keyword you’d like to rank for. At least take some time to think about how to
make your article or blog fit your strategy. After all, if you are writing
valuable content, you might as well make it rank!
