When building an SEO strategy for your business, keyword research should be one of the top steps on your priority list. Using keywords helps your website gain valuable organic traffic that fits within your target market.
Before we can learn about how to conduct successful keyword research, we need to learn what a keyword is. A keyword is a search term or phrase that a user enters into a search engine like Google or Bing to learn more about that topic. Keywords can either be short-tail or long-tail. Short-tail keywords are broader search terms like “shoes” or “dentist”. Long tail keywords, on the other hand, are longer and more specific, like “women’s Nike tennis shoes” or “top-rated cosmetic dentist near me”.
Keyword research takes more than just finding a few relevant keywords to use throughout your content. To be successful, you’ll need to track the performance of your given keywords, audit competitors sites, and see how well your website ranks for each of them. Thankfully, you don’t have to do it alone. Here are some helpful tools that can help you plan and tweak your SEO keyword strategy.
WordStream Keyword Tool
A top-quality free tool for SEO keyword research is the WordStream Keyword Tool. This tool not only shows you relevant keywords in your industry, but it also displays metrics like keyword variations, search volume, competitors’ rankings, and more. You’ll be shown the top 25 keywords automatically, but if you want a full list, simply enter your email and they’ll send it to you for free.
One of the most helpful features of WordStream is the ability to enter a URL. You’ll be provided with keyword suggestions tailored to that URL, allowing you to more accurately and effectively customize your strategy.
Soovle
Soovle is perhaps one of the most underrated SEO keyword tools available. This free tool lets you enter a seed keyword and presents you with the most entered keywords and phrases related to your query. You can also receive auto suggestions as you type, giving you ideas for additional keywords to target.
This tool doesn’t only take Google SERPs into account, but it also includes search engines like Bing and Amazon. When you enter a keyword, you can see relevant searches separated by the search engine, and when you click on one, you’ll be taken to that engine to see what your audience is finding there.
Keywords Everywhere
For those who use Google Chrome or Firefox as their primary web browser, the Keywords Everywhere browser extension can be extremely valuable. This tool is helpful for any business, as it is available in both a free and a paid version.
The free version allows you to identify which keywords a specific web page is ranking for in search results. The paid version offers additional features like search volume, competition data, and trends on the keyword or phrase that you enter. It all happens from Google, making it quick and easy to conduct keyword research on the fly.
Keyword Keg
If you’re looking for a keyword tool that is affordable yet powerful, consider Keyword Keg. This tool allows you to identify metrics on your current keywords, discover related keywords that you may want to target, and learn about new keywords that are already successful in your industry. You can also see data from Google, YouTube, Amazon, Bing, and other search engines.
Keyword Keg is available for $22 per month if you opt to pay for an entire year of services.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs Is one of the most popular tools for SEO keyword research, and for good reason. When you enter a seed keyword, you will be presented with additional keywords and phrases, metrics for your website, and more. If you enter a keyword that you are considering integrating into your content, you can see the predicted keyword difficulty, the estimated number of clicks you can expect, and the current search volume for that keyword.
Many SEO keyword tools only focus on statistics from Google. However, Ahrefs sets itself apart by offering statistics from Google, YouTube, Yahoo, Amazon, and more. Ahrefs begins at $99 per month.
SEMrush
If you’re able to spend a bit of money, SEMrush is a worthwhile investment. This platform offers a plethora of tools that can show nearly everything you need to know about your keywords, from keyword overviews with standard metrics to SERP analyses that reveal information about backlinks and URL keywords.
SEMrush is ideal for planning your keyword strategy in advance and seeing how it plays out over an extended period of time. By seeing historical data about certain keywords or phrases, you can better position your content around the times when they are the most successful. SEMrush begins at $99 per month.
Google Trends
One of the best ways to improve your SEO performance is by creating relevant content for your audience, and the free Google Trends tool can help you do just that. You can research relevant keywords and phrases in your industry to get data about their popularity, even learning about the times of day when those keywords are often searched. Google Trends can help you see when a keyword starts losing traffic, allowing you to adjust your strategy accordingly.
Be sure to reference the Google Trends feed, which shows what searches are popular and allows you to capitalize on the added attention. You can even narrow down your results to show the trends in your region or city.
Google Search Console
Google offers lots of tools to help you improve your website’s SEO performance, and Google Search Console is one of the best. Here, you can view all kinds of statistics about your website’s search traffic and performance and gain insights into why your website is positioned where it is in Google search results. Perhaps the most valuable feature here is the ability to see what keywords you’re ranking for and how many clicks you’re getting for each one.
If you notice that a particular keyword or phrase is especially successful, you can then incorporate the same word or phrase into other areas of your website, including meta descriptions, title tags, and landing page content. This strategy is virtually foolproof and will almost guarantee an increase in your traffic for those search terms.
AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic allows you to gain all kinds of valuable insights with one simple seed keyword. Just enter a keyword into the tool, and you will be presented with related keywords, comparisons, questions, and more. This tool allows you to ensure your content is relevant and valuable to your audience, driving more traffic and solidifying your position as an industry authority. Using the results you get from AnswerThePublic, you can directly address trending topics in your field or specific questions or searches that your audience is seeking.
This tool can be helpful in a number of ways, from creating landing pages on your website to coming up with blog topics. You can find related keywords and topics that you may not have previously identified, helping you to extend your reach and get your website in front of more users.
Google Autocomplete
You’re likely already familiar with Google Autocomplete. When you begin to type in a search keyword or phrase on Google, you’re presented with suggested searches that are trending or often associated with what you’ve already entered. By simply entering your chosen keyword into Google and seeing the Autocomplete results, you can gather several long-tail keywords in seconds.
Additionally, when you scroll to the bottom of your search page, you can find a “Related Searches” feature. This is another great place to look to find long-tail keywords that you may not have already thought of. On top of that, these related searches can give an insight into what your customers are actively seeking out so that you can better market to them and serve them.
Google Keyword Planner
This free tool from Google, formerly known as the Google Keyword Tool, is an ideal option for businesses of all sizes. You can find this tool within Google Ads.
The Google Keyword Planner lets you find new keywords based off of a seed keyword, opening up the possibilities for more content topics tailored to your audience. You can also use this tool to track metrics like cost-per-click rates and search volume. Enter your location to see more specific search metrics related to your region. You can even see the exact monthly search volume for certain keywords, allowing you to get deeper insights into your performance and adjust your strategy effectively.
As long as you have a Google Ads account, you can use the Google Keyword Planner for free. There is no need to run an ad campaign to take advantage of this tool however higher spending accounts can get access to more accurate search volume estimates.
Get Help With Your SEO Strategy
SEO keyword research can seem overwhelming at first, and it’s just one part of your overall strategy. But you don’t have to go at it alone, and you can still gain significant traffic from just a few small changes to your approach.
OneClick Media Group is here to help you build or improve upon your SEO strategy, bringing in more traffic, engagement, and conversions. We work individually with each client to create customized strategies tailored to your goals. Contact us today to learn more about our services!