Keyword Research

Step 1: Define Client's Goals and Understand Client's Target Audience

Before I begin SEO research, I establish first what my client’s SEO objectives are. I’ll ask for the following:

  • What is the purpose of their website? (e.g., lead generation, e-commerce sales, brand awareness)
  • Who are their target audience? (Consider their demographics, interests, and pain points)
  • What problems does their product or service solve?
  • What type of content will attract and engage their audience?

Understanding the audience’s search behavior helps me choose keywords that align with their needs and the client’s business goals.

Seed keywords are broad terms related to the client’s niche. To generate them, I do the following:

  • Think about the client’s business and industry-related terms (e.g., “SEO services,” “digital marketing”).
  • Consider words and phrases the client’s customers might use.
  • Explore the client website’s existing content to extract relevant keywords.
  • Use Google Autocomplete and “People Also Ask” for keyword ideas.

Once I have seed keywords, I use tools to expand the keyword list and gather data. These are some of the tools I utilize:

  • Ahrefs & SEMrush – Analyze keyword difficulty, search volume, and competitor rankings.
  • Ubersuggest – Get keyword suggestions and competition insights.
  • Google Search Console – Identify keywords already driving traffic to your site.

Not all keywords are valuable. These are the key metrics I look at to evaluate them:

  • Search Volume – How many people search for this keyword monthly? Higher volume is better but often more competitive.
  • Keyword Difficulty (KD) – A score indicating how hard it is to rank. I Aim for low-to-medium difficulty keywords.
  • Cost-Per-Click (CPC) – The average paid advertising bid for a keyword (useful for commercial intent keywords).
  • SEO Competition – I look at how many high-authority sites rank for the keyword.

Understanding what the client’s competitors rank for can reveal keyword opportunities.

  • I use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to check competitors’ top-ranking keywords.
  • Identify high-traffic, low-competition keywords that we can target.
  • Look for content gaps—keywords competitors aren’t ranking for but have search potential.

Not all keywords serve the same purpose. I categorize them into these 4 searcher intents:

  1. Informational Keywords – Users seeking answers (e.g., “What is SEO?”).
  2. Navigational Keywords – Users searching for a brand or website (e.g., “Ahrefs keyword tool”).
  3. Transactional Keywords – Users ready to take action (e.g., “hire SEO expert online”).
  4. Commercial Keywords – Users considering a purchase (e.g., “best SEO tools for businesses”).

I prioritize transactional and commercial intent keywords to drive leads and conversions.

Search intent determines why users are searching for a keyword. I do the following to validate this:

  • Google the keyword and analyze the top-ranking pages (Are they blogs, product pages, or service pages?).
  • If the results don’t align with the content type, I would reconsider using that keyword.
  • Look at Google’s “People Also Ask” and Related Searches to refine intent-based keywords.

The actual keyword research was completed on step 7. This step is already in the realm of On-Page optimization. However, the success of the SEO keyword research will only be observed once the keywords are integrated strategically into the client’s website:

  • Title Tags & Meta Descriptions – Ensure primary keywords appear naturally.
  • Headings (H1, H2, H3) – Use keywords in a structured way for better readability.
  • URL Structure – Keep it clean and keyword-friendly 
  • Content – Place keywords naturally in the first 100 words and throughout the text.
  • Alt Text for Images – Use keywords in image descriptions for SEO.
  • Internal Linking – Link to related pages using keyword-rich anchor text.

Now that the keywords are integrated into the client’s website thru On-Page optimization, I make sure to regularly track keyword performance using:

  • Google Search Console – Check impressions, clicks, and ranking positions.
  • Google Analytics – Analyze traffic and user behavior.
  • SEO Tools like Ahrefs & SEMrush – Monitor keyword ranking changes and competitor performance.

SEO Keyword Research Process

SEO Keyword Research is a strategic process of identifying and analyzing keywords to enhance content relevance, improve rankings, and maximize website traffic potential. Let me walk you through my general process on how I research keywords for SEO.

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