An Ultimate SEO Guide: How to Use Keywords in Research

A keyword in research refers to the term you use to find relevant resources. For example, if you’re a student looking for information on Pluto, you would use Pluto as your keyword.

It may also refer to a feature of your research study that relates to the knowledge that you are looking to find. Just like generic search, the keyword in research brings you to the page or source of your choice. The keyword often appears in the title and various tags or metadata.

Let’s delve deeper into the subject by studying its elements and learning how to conduct keyword research for SEO.

Primary Considerations for Keyword Research

These considerations refer to metrics for determining the right keywords as well as the inner workings of the process. While conducting keyword research, there are three primary considerations.

1. Importance

Google uses its ranking system to determine which information is most relevant. As such, the idea of search intent becomes relevant. One of the most important factors in determining how well your content performs for a specific keyword is how well it satisfies its criteria.

Furthermore, your content should be the most useful option for that search. After all, Google won’t promote your content’s ranking if it’s not better than other online topics.

2. Authority

Google will give greater prominence to content it considers credible. Your site needs to be enriched with useful, informational material and promoted to earn social signals and backlinks to achieve this goal.

Your content’s chances of ranking on the first page of SERPs are diminished if you aren’t recognized as an authority in the field. It also decreases if the SERPs for a particular keyword already features many authoritative sites, such as Forbes, that you cannot hope to outrank.

3. Monthly Search Volume

Even if your site achieves first-page rankings for a keyword, it won’t generate any clicks if nobody ever searches for that term. It’s like opening a store in an abandoned town.

The MSV (monthly search volume) is the average number of times a keyword is looked up in a given period across all user groups.

How to Use Keywords in Research For SEO

There are factors to consider when writing an article. When preparing a written piece, you should consider the search intent your keyword will attract and how best to structure the article. Here are steps to conduct meaningful keyword research.

1. Compile a list of relevant issues

To begin this approach, consider the topics you wish to rank for in broad categories. You will generate five to ten topic buckets that you believe are relevant to your business. Then, you will use these topic buckets to generate specific keywords later in the process.

If you are a frequent blogger, these are likely the themes you write about the most. Or perhaps these are the most prevalent subjects in sales interactions. Put yourself in the shoes of your buyer personas; what types of search terms might your target audience use to locate your business?

2. Fill the topic buckets with keywords

Now that you’ve identified a few topic buckets to focus on, it’s time to select keywords that fit within those buckets. These are keyword terms you want to rank for in SERPs (search engine results pages) since your target audience searches for them.

You merely need to construct a list of search terms for a single topic category. Although Google encrypts more terms every day, another way to obtain keyword ideas is to see what your website is being searched for.

To do this, use Google Analytics or HubSpot’s Sources report, accessible through Traffic Analytics. Dig deeper into your website’s traffic sources and organic search traffic bucket to select keywords.

You should repeat this practice for as many topic buckets as you have. If you’re having trouble thinking of appropriate search phrases, ask your Sales or Service colleagues what terms and questions their prospects and customers use. Those are frequently excellent places to begin keyword research.

3. Intent, keyword research, and analysis

As stated in the preceding section, user intent is currently one of the most important ranking factors for Google and other search engines. It’s no longer enough to include the keyword a user typed into a search engine. Your website now needs to address the issue that prompted that search. So how does this impact your keyword research?

It’s simple to take terms at face value, but unfortunately, phrases can have multiple underlying meanings. Because a search’s motivation is crucial to your ranking potential, you must be more cautious when interpreting your target keywords.

Consider researching the keyword “how to start a blog” for an article you intend to write. “Blog” can refer to a blog post or the website itself; the searcher’s intent will determine your piece’s path. Does the searcher wish to discover how to create a blog post? Or do they want to learn how to build a website domain for blogging? Before committing to a keyword, you must confirm its intent if your content strategy exclusively targets individuals interested in the latter.

To determine the user’s intent behind a keyword, it’s a good idea to enter the query into a search engine and observe the results. Ensure that Google’s content closely resembles what you intend to publish for the keyword.

4. Investigate relevant search terms

You may have already considered this creative approach while conducting keyword research. If not, it is an excellent method to fill in the blanks on such lists.

If you can’t think of more search phrases, look at Google’s related search terms. When you key in a term and scroll to the bottom of Google’s search results, you will get a list of similar search recommendations. These keywords can stimulate thoughts for additional keywords you might wish to examine.

Need a bonus? Enter a few of these search terms and examine their associated search terms.

5. Utilize keyword research tools

Keyword research and SEO tools can help you generate exact match and phrase match keyword ideas based on your existing keyword ideas. Among the most popular keyword tools are Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Ubersuggest.

Conclusion

This article shows how you select keywords and conduct keyword research for SEO keyword analysis and recommendations. We hope you implement the strategies learned in your next SEO strategy.