In SEO, finding a keyword is the first and most critical step. Before generating content for your website, you must know high-volume search keywords relevant to your industry.
SEO keywords will guide your material, ensuring that your published information is relevant and readily indexed by Google. In short, searching a keyword is all about this.
For the most part, this is a time-consuming and challenging process that requires a lot of work to sort through figures, details, and large keyword lists. It’s critical, though, that you do it correctly. Therefore, comprehensive keyword research is the cornerstone of every successful SEO campaign.
Keywords are the basis of SEO. If people are not searching for what is about your content, then you won’t get Google traffic.
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How to Find a Keyword
Here’s how you discover the best keywords for SEO, from competitiveness to search volume.
Step 1: Creating a Keyword List
Create a massive list of keywords. You don’t need to worry about competitiveness or CPC right now. The purpose is to compile a list of keywords.
So, here’s how to create keywords for your Keyword List.
Tools for Keywords
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Google AdWords
The Google Adwords Keyword Planner is developed for ad campaigns.
But it’s also a great free tool to find SEO keywords.
Create a Google Ads account first. Then click the “Google Keyword Planner” link at the top.
Then, add a relevant keyword in the “Find new keywords” area. Google will also suggest similar terms.
They’ll also provide plenty of keyword info (such as “top of page bid”).
At this point, collect relevant keywords to your keyword list.
As I said, I use Google Sheets for my keyword list, but you may use Excel, Word, or whatever works for you.
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SEMRush
My favorite keyword tool is SEMRush.
Why? Because it displays your rivals’ keywords.
How it works:
First, enter a competitor’s site.
(Pro Tip: Use a competitor of similar size; a considerable authority site will show WAY too competitive terms.)
Then click Organic Research Positions to check their Google rankings.
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Google Suggest
Suggest is great for long-tail keywords. Just input a term that’s linked to your business.
Google Suggest – Enter a term for a list of suggestions.
(And they’re based on current searches, so you KNOW they’re famous).
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Seed Keywords
SeedKeywords.com is a fantastic free keyword tool. Seed Keywords help you uncover phrases customers use to find your site offers. It eliminates a lot of guessing from keyword research.
Make a “Scenario” using it.
Generate seed keywords
Imagine how consumers might search for your product or service on Google.
Then spread your scenario.
See what they said.
Seed Keywords are keywords entered into a keyword research tool. Most individuals make up seed keywords. Or they employ Seed Keywords they THINK Google users use. This tool is excellent for finding real search terms.
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Ahrefs Keyword Explorer
Keywords Explorer is an Ahrefs SEO tool. It creates ideas depending on your seed term.
What sets Ahrefs unique is the quantity of data it provides on each term.
Step 2: Identify Low-Competition Terms
It’s time to assess the opposition. First, identify the non-competitive terms on your list.
How?
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Use Chrome MozBar
Keyword competition is shown inside the search results. In addition, it displays you a page’s Page Authority (the quality of links leading to that page). You may also see a site’s Domain Authority (a measure of a site’s total authority, in Google’s opinion).
There is no minimum PA or DA. It varies significantly by specialty. Fortunately, a few searches can reveal what is “low competition” in your niche.
Lesser the DA and PA is preferable.
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 Find Keyword Difficulty Score
These tools usually provide a “Keyword Difficulty Score.”
Also, KWFinder employs “Keyword SEO Difficulty.”
The sole disadvantage of using a Keyword Difficulty Score is that it only considers backlinks.
Yes, backlinks are a significant ranking element. But they’re just one part. It includes how effectively a website is optimized for that phrase if the content matches the searcher’s needs and hundreds more.
Keyword Difficulty Scores indicate a keyword’s degree of competitiveness. But they’re not perfect.
Step 3: Determine the search volume
Next, you’ll want to examine how many people use your terms.
This data is available in the Google Keyword Planner. They term it “Avg. Monthly Searches”.
You may also limit the results to display just keywords with a high or low competition or CPC.
So:
Even though the data is from Google, it is an estimate, not an actual figure.
For example, the GKP estimates that 1k to 10k individuals search for “SEO Tools” per month.
Also, most keyword programs (like SEMRush) use GKP data for search volume.
But two technologies estimate monthly searches using internal data.
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Data from Moz and Ahrefs
They both utilize “Clickstream” data to estimate search volume.
That is:
They don’t use GKP search volumes. Instead, their estimates are based on actual user behavior.
Consider the word “SEO Tools.”
Moz estimates “6.5k-9.3k” monthly searches. According to Ahrefs, 12k searches each month.
It’s only to demonstrate how various tools estimate search volume.
One question remains:
How many searches does a term need to be optimized?
It depends.
There is no minimum search volume. Every industry is unique. In my niche (B2B), a term with a monthly search volume of 25k is relatively high. But in B2C fitness, 25k is nothing.
So choose a term with a high search volume for your industry.
Then comes step #4.
Step 4: Evaluate Earnings Potential
It’s one thing to have high search volume and little competition.
But the real question is:
Will that keyword pays off?
Two methods to find out:
1. Page One Bid
This is Google’s estimate of what an advertiser typically pays per click.
In other words, it’s how much it costs to have your ad appear (and get clicked) at the top of Google’s first page.
A keyword is worth more if the “Top of page bid” is high.
Choose keywords based on commercial purpose (and search volume and competitiveness).
2. Product Keyword
The second factor is “Product-Keyword Fit.”
That is:
Does this keyword relate to what you sell?
Obviously, the closer the term is to your product or service, the better.
But:
You don’t always have to target keywords linked to your product.
As in:
If your company is an SEO training firm.
So, don’t only target SEO or internet marketing keywords. Instead, target terms your consumers use when they aren’t looking for my products. And write SEO-friendly text around them.
Do you sell SEO auditing software? No.
Do you provide SEO audits? Nope.
People searching for “SEO Audit” are clearly in my target demographic. And content is a method to reach this vital population.
Move on to step #5.
Step 5: Calculate organic CTR
This phase measures how many people click on the search results.
To clarify:
They estimate how many clicks the results received from #1, #2.
But such graphs don’t show how cluttered the search results are now.
Like Google now utilizes millions of Featured Snippets to answer your question without you having to do anything. It is because photographs, movies, etc., mask the organic findings.
That is:
Search volume aids. Unless someone hits on the results, no one searches for that term.
That’s why you need an organic CTR estimate. How?
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See the SERPs
Look up your phrase on Google’s first page.
A lot of crap on the top page means a lot of people won’t even SEE the organic results, much alone click on them.
Consider the word “life insurance.” And see the results.
But it’s something to consider when you narrow down your keyword list.
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Ahrefs
Ahrefs analyses Clickstream data to determine how many users click.
Look at the search results. But “Clicks” may assist you in filtering out poor CTR terms.
Step 6: Pick Trendy Keywords
Finally, check to determine whether your keywords are heading upward or downward. You want to choose popular terms. So you receive more traffic from such phrases over time.
Google Trends is your partner.