Keyword Research
Keyword research is the foundation of search engine optimization (SEO). These words, which users search to find a product or service, contribute to the prominence of a business or brand. Keywords; It is very useful for reaching the target audience, understanding this audience better, attracting organic users to the website and determining a strategy that suits the needs of the target audience.
The most practical way to find these words is to do keyword research using the right tool. Keyword research tools are divided into two groups: paid and free. To highlight your brand and reach more users, you can perform search engine optimization by using a free tool or hire an SEO agency and have an experienced team carry out the entire process.
What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is a core SEO task to identify the most popular words and phrases that visitors use in search engines. It is an attempt to know exactly what is ranking in search engines. With keyword research, marketers; can determine how much demand certain keywords will be, better understand how tough the competition is in organic search results, and better understand how effective it is to increase optimization efforts.
Keyword research is not just about calculating how many searches a particular keyword matches, it is also about exploring the language people use when doing research in a variety of ways. For these reasons, keyword research is not only an important part of search engine optimization, but also an important element of content marketing as a whole. Why do keyword research? Because keyword research helps you come up with ideas for your next blog post, gain more insight into your audience’s needs, and stay up-to-date with the ever-changing search language. In short, you can ensure that your site receives more accurate traffic by researching the words people enter into search engines and using these researches to create target-oriented content.
What is a Keyword?
Keywords; It creates phrases that make it easier for you to reach your target audience and represents the product, service or just an answer that the target audience wants to reach in its shortest form. Keywords correctly included in the prepared content are useful for ranking or recommending the website containing your content in the search engine. It also gives information about the content you need to prepare to reach the target audience; because it also contains clues about what they want and why they want this thing.
Why is Keyword Research Important for SEO?
SEO, that is, search engine optimization, is the general name of the work done to make websites more visible in search engines and rank higher. Search engines match the user’s question with the websites that best answer it and direct the user to these sites. Keyword research is very important for SEO because it is necessary for more visitor traffic. The way for a business to connect with its target audience or deliver more products and services to relevant people is to prepare SEO-based content. In order for the business to be noticed, grow and maintain its existence effectively, keyword research should be done and all content should be created accordingly.
What Should Be Considered in Keyword Research?
There are some tips for keyword research to make your content stand out. The list of words that will bring you the audience you need is very important, so this list must be created carefully. In this process, it is necessary to take into account the needs of the target audience, the words and query expressions they use to find a solution. The issues in the rest of the article, especially relevance, authority and volume, are important factors to pay attention to.
1. Search Intent
User intent is among the most important factors that determine rankings in search engines. Search engines such as Google highlight content that addresses the problem in the most comprehensive way and offers an answer to it, rather than highlighting content containing the words users are looking for. What needs to be done; The aim is not to include keywords in the content as they are, but to interpret them correctly and write them down comprehensively. It is necessary to take this detail into consideration when doing keyword research.
2. Monthly Search Volume
The number of monthly searches for a keyword is an important element in prioritizing the keywords you find. Monthly search volume (MSV) is a useful measure of how much a keyword is searched for and helps guide you when creating your content. It allows you to see how much a keyword is searched worldwide or just in one city.
As a result of keyword research, it is not always right to choose the words that are most searched and have a high MSV. Frequently searched words also bring high competition. These words must be interpreted and selected correctly for visitor traffic.
3. Relevance
Relevance and user intent are similar elements. The search engine algorithm also analyzes other pages that users click on for the words they search for and highlights the appropriate content. In a way, the user’s intention is interpreted. For example; For the website query, attention is also paid to details such as how the website was set up, how long the installation took or what tools were used. Examining the SERP during keyword research will guide you on the details of the content you will create.
4. Word Challenge
Search volume and keyword difficulty (KD) are two key metrics you should pay attention to when doing keyword research. Word difficulty indicates how difficult it is for a word to rank in a search engine result. In calculating this value, criteria such as content quality, brand strength and website authority come to the fore. The higher the resulting value, the more difficult the ranking is for that word. In this context, words with high search volume also have a high difficulty level. If you do not have a high authority website, it is recommended that you prioritize words with low difficulty levels to stand out at the first stage.
How to Do Keyword Research?
You need to do proper keyword research to attract the visitor traffic you need to your website. There are some details you need to pay attention to when starting to determine a strategy.
1. Make a list of broad topics related to your topic
You can start keyword research by making a list of topics that concern your business and that you think are important. Identifying a broad topic group makes it easier for you to do keyword research in later stages. For example; If you are writing a blog about software, relevant topic groups will also be in this area and the search volume of the topics will shape your keywords.
2. Create a list of queries you think your target audience uses
Correctly interpreting search intent is a factor that brings you the audience you need. For this reason, you need to put yourself in the shoes of the target audience and do keyword research on how you want to solve the problem. The purpose for which you use the keyword in the content is more important than the word itself. Looking at the results page or typing the keyword into the search engine and analyzing what content stands out can guide you.
3. Find relevant search terms
Keep a list of terms that come up as suggestions when you type a keyword into a search engine. At the bottom of the suggested websites is a list of related terms that contain your keyword. The words written here may give you an idea. If you need more ideas, you can search for the relevant terms you find and include the suggestions for those terms in your list.
4. Analyze your keywords
While doing keyword research, you also need to analyze the power of the words you find. For this, you can use paid tools or free tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner. Things to consider include whether the keyword matches the exact search term, whether the search volume is high, how high the competition is, and whether there are other related keywords that you may have missed.
5. Research which keywords your competitors rank for
Searching for your keywords in the search engine and seeing which competitors are ranking can help you when creating a strategy. When you find a website that ranks high and is similar to the product or service you offer, you can analyze which keywords it attracts users to. You can also access a list of related terms on a broader scale with the help of the competitive research tool. The trick you should pay attention to is to do this research for as many competitors as possible. SEO keyword research always puts your brand ahead of your competitors.
You can contact us immediately to get support on professional keyword research and SEO.
Source:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-do-keyword-research-ht
https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-research/
https://www.semrush.com/blog/keyword-research-guide-for-seo/
