Last updated on August 22nd, 2024 at 02:23 am
Do you have a clear strategy when it comes to your blog content?
Do you research what keywords to use before writing your blog posts?
If not, you could be wasting valuable time. Tell me about it, I write blog posts day in day out.
Keyword research has been around since the dawn of SEO and while the main principles of it have remained the same, how you go about doing it has changed.
Whether you’re new to keyword research or want to make sure you’re following the right process, this step-by-step guide will help you.
Hopefully, I have made it simple enough so that you can refer to it as a form of the checklist when planning your content calendar.
What is Keyword Research?
Before I go straight into the step-by-step guide, let me first explain what keyword research is.
In short, keyword research is the act of someone using keywords to research which search queries their audience are using.
Think of the list of keywords as a guess and the list of search queries as the fact.
Knowing which search queries are being used will not only help you to optimize your blog posts but will also help you to come up with ideas for your blog posts.
Keyword research can also help in other areas such as SEO and even PPC.
How to Research Keywords for Your Next Blog Post
Now that you have a general idea of what keyword research is, it is time to get down to business.
In this guide, I will explain step-by-step how you can use a list of keyword to find out what search queries your target audience are actually using.
1. Make a List of Topics Related to Your Business
The most important thing to do first is the map out the different topics that relate to your business.
You can use your website’s navigation to help with this process.
It is very similar as to how you would map out an AdWords account.
You can use the categories and maybe the subcategories of your website as the topics.
This is an important part of the process as it will help you to come up with a list of keywords.
If you’re already blogging then you can also look back on the topics, you have talked about to come up with your list of important topics.
You can also think about what questions your customers frequently ask to come up with the list of topics.
Finally, you can put yourself in the shoes of your customers to think of what topics they would search for.
As an example, the ClickFunnels list of topics could be:
- Sales Funnels
- Landing Pages
- A/B Testing
- Webinars
Are you still with me?
2. Make a List of Keywords for Each Topic
Now that you have a list of topics, it is time to add a list of keywords under each topic.
Have a think to yourself or with your team about which keywords you believe your target audience are using.
This is guesswork at the moment but to do the research you’re going to need a starting point which is what this list of keywords acts as.
As an example, for the topic “sales funnels” I believe that my target audience might use the following keywords:
- Sales funnel tools
- How to build a sales funnel
- What are sales funnels
- Why are sales funnels important
- Conversion funnel
- Sales funnel builder
- Top sales funnel tools
I would keep going like this until I could no longer think of any keywords relating to that particular topic.
Remember that this list of keywords isn’t your final list of keywords to use.
It is a mere starting point for your keyword research.
Another way to add keywords to your list is to use the Google Search Console.
This will provide you with a list of search queries your website is also receiving traffic for so it makes sense to add them to your lists.
Repeat this same process for however many topics you have listed.
3. Research Related Search Queries
The next step to finding the right keywords to use for your next blog post is to research search queries that are related to the keywords and topics you already have.
This will help to bulk out your keyword lists and make sure you aren’t missing out on any great traffic and ranking opportunities.
You can find related search queries very easily by simply using a keyword from your list and searching for it in Google.
You will then see at the bottom of the search results page, a list of related search queries.
You can add these to your list of keywords, and it may also trigger ideas for other keywords too.
Want to find even more keywords?
Use those related search queries to search in Google again to find their related search queries.
You can keep doing this until there are no more.
4. Gather a Mix of Generic Keywords and Long Tail Keywords
The next step is to gather a mix of generic and long tail keywords.
If you’re unsure of what these are, let me explain first.
The generic keyword is a term used for short keywords that aren’t specific and could cover a number of things.
Long tail keywords is a term used for longer keyword (usually three words or more) that are specific and tend only to cover one thing.
Having a mix of both generic keywords and long tail keywords is important as it will give you the opportunity to build authority around both.
Generic keywords usually carry more traffic but can be a lot harder to rank for.
Whereas long tail keywords can provide a much more targeted traffic and can be easier to rank for.
For example, which of these do you believe would carry a higher volume of traffic but will be harder to rank for?
- How to build a sales funnel
- Sales funnels
The second option is the one that would drive more traffic because it is generic.
While keywords that come up with high amounts traffic sounds great, they aren’t actually as wanted as long tail keywords.
The reason long tail keywords are wanted more is because those that are searching for them are going to be more qualified than those searching for something more generic.
For example, it is clear that someone is searching for “how to build a sales funnel” is looking to build a sales funnel whereas we don’t know why someone is searching for “sales funnels.”
The reason could be entirely unrelated to your business and product.
Go over your list of keywords to make sure that you have a good mix of generic and long tail keywords but mostly long tail keywords.
5. Find Out How Competitors are Ranking for These Keywords
The next step is to find out whether competitors are trying to rank for the same keywords and how they are ranking for the keywords on your lists.
Think of it as a seal of approval of your competitors are trying to rank for some keywords that are also on your list.
This doesn’t mean that you should ignore the keywords that are on your list that they are not attempting to rank for as they could potentially be a good opportunity for you that your competitors have overlooked.
You want to end up with a list of keywords that include some quick wins which can usually be done with long tail keywords as well as generic keywords that are more challenging that you can continue to chip away at.
The question is how do you find out which keywords your competitors are ranking for?
It’s easy, simply use your keywords to search in Google and see which competitors are ranking for those keywords.
You can also use SEMrush, which is a free tool that allows you to find out competitors top ranking keywords.
6. Narrow Down Your Keyword List Using AdWords Keyword Planner
The final step is to narrow your keyword lists down using AdWords Keyword Planner.
You don’t need to be running a PPC campaign with AdWords to be able to use this keyword research tool.
This is where you will remove any of the guesswork out of your keywords by adding their search volume and competition level.
Another tool you can use to determine the competition of your keywords is the Moz Keyword Difficulty tool which is unfortunately only available to paying customers.
Use the Keyword Planner to weed out any keywords in your lists that have little to no search volume.
Before deleting these keywords, though, check on Google Trends that the search volume isn’t just low during that current month.
If they are seasonal, then now might be the best time to target them.
You will also need to weed out any keywords that are too competitive for you to target right now.
Make sure you have the right mix of generic and long tail keywords like I mentioned earlier when narrowing them down.
Conclusion
You should now have a good quality list of keywords for every topic that relates to your business and products.
You can use these lists to choose your keywords for upcoming blog posts.
Do you have any tips and tricks when choosing keywords that I have not included?
Feel free to share them using the comments section below.
Stephen, Nice Guide!!
It provides tons of information worth the weight of pure gold. This article will help me to find the keywords for my next topic.
Glad you liked it!