Keyword Research: A beginner’s guide in 2022

In this keyword research tutorial, my goal is to:

• Explain what is keyword research.
• How to discover and strategically choose keywords to get traffic quickly?
• Share with you free keyword research tools and how to use them.

Even though what you might have written is very informative, excellent value, and a masterpiece, sooner do you realize that all your hard work in building content has gone to waste. Ideally, you want to be found by users, you want to get traffic from search engines, but you are unable to do so because your content is invisible (not ranking)

You made a crucial mistake and neglected (like many) the keyword research step.

What is keyword research?

Simply put, it’s the art of discovering relevant terms in your content. Then, when your target customers search for your product, service, or topic, they use these words.

You must find keywords or terms worth including in your post to rank your website on search engines.

Why is keyword research important?

Keyword research is vital for content marketing. It eliminates the wastage of investment (time, money, and effort) into things that don’t matter. It is the pillar of SEO.

It will help you identify and understand:

1. Your target audience
2. The language (words, terms, sentences, and questions) they use to discover your product in search engines.
3. Craft more helpful content topics
4. Find quick wins and get relevant traffic to your site
5. Improve your lead quality
6. Your customer’s buying journey

Lots of websites are competing for the exact keywords as yours. Some are already established, have high authority, and are trusted by search engines. Keyword research will ensure that you do not waste time writing about super competitive keywords but covering topics that are a quick win.

With the right strategy, you can pick your battles wisely.

Paid and Free Tools for Keyword Research

If you are researching keywords, the truth is you will require tools. Even though there are many options available, we are presenting you with a few that have worked for us.

• Moz – Moz is one of the tools I like and use daily. In addition to the keyword tool, it has plenty of fabulous features, and it is not free. It is $99 a month for the basic program.
• KWfinder – You can use this tool for up to 5 keywords searched daily without payment. However, this can be a good choice if you are learning to optimize your site. The basic plan will cost you a monthly fee of $29.
• SpyFu– I have not used it, but I heard good things from other office staff. The basic plan is $33 a month.
• SEMrush – Packed with incredible features, SEMrush is another premium SEO tool that is not one of the cheapest either. Starting at $99.95 per month.
• Google AdWords Keyword Planner – Google has a lot of data, so utilizing the AdWords keyword planner is better. It is a free and great way to learn keyword research. Nevertheless, the AdWords interface is not for someone who is not patient in their learning process, as it takes some time to learn. You would need an account for AdWords to use it, but it is free.

Now that we’ve discussed tools let’s look at what one must look for when doing keyword research. A friend of mine got extremely frustrated while attempting keyword research.

He found a keyword he thought was ideal in his search and started using it, only to know it was not gripping. So what was the problem there, you’d ask? The keyword was super unattainable. So how to identify a keyword that is attainable for your website?

Monthly Search Volume

Monthly search volume results from how many people type in your keyword in the Google search bar every month. For example, I received frequent emails from someone who was upset that he did not rank for a specific keyword, but while I researched that keyword, I discovered a meager search volume for it.

There is no ROI if nobody is searching for that term. So why waste your time optimizing for a word that fewer people are searching for when you can do keyword research and choose a keyword that people search for?

On the contrary, if one selects a keyword with a lot of monthly search volume, you are racing into something that is also likely unattainable. If your website is new and small, it is highly unlikely that you will rank for a volume keyword phrase with a high search result.

Difficulty

Keyword difficulty is how difficult it will be to rank for a particular keyword. That is something you want to consider before choosing the right keyword. It does not mean you can rank for every keyword that appears perfect.

The more complicated a keyword is, the less likely you will rank for it. So instead, start looking for a similar but less complicated keyword. For instance, I would love to be on webpage one for the keyword “web design,” but it is reasonably unattainable for a small website. However, another similar term, “web design services,” can be a great keyword that will get a good amount of traffic but is not as complicated.

Relevance

It is crucial for keyword research. Do the present Google search outcomes show sites similar to yours? It takes us back to our example, Racheal attempting to rank for “websites for writers” while Google indicated that those keywords were irrelevant for web designers.

Remember always to carry out a Google search and look at what Google thinks users are looking for in your particular keywords. If the Google search result shows that you are not related to what you suggest, you might rethink how relevant your keyword is.

So what does happen after you select your keywords? Is the work done? Well, SEO is never done as its rules change time and again. Nevertheless, SEO is not a race, it is a marathon.

You cannot be contented with your chosen keyword and never check back at them. You need to keep researching for the right keyword. What someone searched for five years ago may not be what someone is searching for today.

Keyword research does take a lot of time and effort, but the outcome is much better if you do it effectively. Conversely, keyword research done half-heartedly will get you no or poor results.

A web design company that offers SEO will understand how to efficiently implement keyword research for your target audience to get you the best outcomes. So my advice to you is to be realistic, be thorough, and know how to implement your keywords, and you will find that the payoff is definitely worth the time in your investment.