How to do Keyword Research for SEO in 2024?

Have you ever created a website for your business done keyword research with low search volume made a list of those keywords and used those keywords 5-7 in your content and still struggled to get rank on Google?

And you felt SEO is not a crucial aspect of your business and you neglected SEO for your business?

Have you ever done this in your business?

I know most of you may have done this.

But Can I ask you a question?

Have you ever done keyword research in the right way?

You may say, yes, I entered the title made a list of those keywords, and added 5-7 times on my content.

Frankly speaking, that’s not the right way to do keyword research.

You are not alone, but most of the businesses make this mistake.

Keyword research is not about a search volume anymore.

Those days are gone.

I am not saying completely ignore the search volume.

But I am saying it’s not only about the search volume.

The goal of keyword research is not just to rank your website by adding keywords to your content.

However, the goal of keyword research is to deliver the solution to your target audience.

And that is possible when we understand our audience’s problem.

Here is where search intent comes in.

Let’s dive deep into “How to do Keyword Research for SEO in 2024?”. Let’s dive into the comprehensive guide on keyword research and discover how to do keyword research effectively.

What is keyword Research?

Keywords are the words and phrases used by the audience while searching.

In simple words, it is the language used by the audience to search on Google.

Most businesses believe adding low search volume keywords can help them rank easily.

Here is where most businesses fail to get rank.

Keyword research is not just about low search volume anymore.

An effective way to do keyword research is to understand the intent behind the search.

Keyword research is about understanding what our audience is searching for.

What’s the problem they are facing?

Keyword research plays a crucial role as it includes three stages.

That is

• Relevancy
• Authority
• User signals

Relevancy shows how your content is relevant to the search query.

Does your content provide a solution that the audience is looking for?

Authority shows how authoritative your page content is.

User signal shows how your audience is engaging with your content.

Types of Keywords

Now we have understood what keyword research is let’s understand its 4 types of keyword research and their purpose.

There are 4 types of keywords and it’s has a different use.

• Short-tail keywords
• Long – Tail keywords
• Transactional keywords
• Information keywords

1. Short-Tail Keywords

Short-tails are also known as head keywords or broad keywords.

Typically these keywords consist of one or two words.

They are highly generic and have a broad search intent.

Examples:

• “Shoes”
• “Digital Marketing”
• “Fitness”

Pros:

• High Search Volume: These keywords attract a large number of searches and have massive traffic.
• General Appeal: It covers broad topics that attract a wide audience.

Cons:

• High Competition: As it’s a broad topic and attracts a wide audience it is difficult to get a ranking.
• Low Conversion Rate: Because it is a broad topic and it doesn’t show a clear intent it might not attract the user or audience who are already purchasing or taking any specific action.

When to Use: Short-tail keywords are used in the early stage of content strategy to create general awareness and attract a broad audience.

However, they should be complemented with more specific keywords to drive conversions.

2. Long-Tail Keywords

Definition: Long -tail keywords include 3 or more words it is more specific and clearly show the intent behind the search that the audience is searching for.

Examples:

• “Best running shoes for flat feet”
• “How to start a digital marketing agency”
• “Home workout routines for beginners”

Pros:

• Lower Competition: These keywords are less competitive, and it is easier to rank higher in search results.
• Higher Conversion Rate: As it shows clear intent and is more specific, it helps to attract the users who are closer to making a decision or purchase.

Cons:

• Lower Search Volume: They attract fewer searches compared to short-tail keywords, which can limit the traffic potential.
• Targeted Appeal: While this is also a pro, it can limit the audience reach if not balanced with broader keywords.

When to Use: Long-tail keywords are perfect for targeting specific queries and capturing users with clear intent. They are ideal for blog posts, product descriptions, and FAQ pages where detailed information is required.

3. Transactional Keywords

Definition: Transactional keywords indicate a user’s intent to make a purchase or complete a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter or downloading a resource.

Examples:

• “Buy Nike running shoes”
• “Sign up for digital marketing course”
• “Download SEO eBook”

Pros:

• High Conversion Potential: Users searching for transactional keywords are often ready to convert, making these keywords highly valuable for driving sales or leads.
• Specific Intent: These keywords are usually very specific, helping you target users who are in the final stages of the buying cycle.

Cons:

• Limited Reach: They may attract fewer users compared to informational or navigational keywords since they target users with a specific intent.
• High Competition: The high conversion potential often leads to increased competition, especially in e-commerce and service industries.

When to Use: Use transactional keywords in product pages, landing pages, and PPC campaigns to capture and convert users who are ready to take action.

4. Informational Keywords

Definition: Informational keywords are used by users who are looking to gather information on a particular topic. These keywords typically start with question words like “how,” “what,” “why,” or “best.”

Examples:

• “How to tie a tie”
• “What is digital marketing”
• “Best SEO tools for beginners”

Pros:

• Educational Value: These keywords help attract users at the top of the funnel who are in the research phase.
• Content Opportunities: They offer plenty of opportunities to create in-depth content that can rank well in search engines.

Cons:

• Lower Conversion Rate: Users searching for informational keywords may not be ready to make a purchase or take immediate action.
• High Competition: Depending on the topic, there can be significant competition for informational keywords.

When to Use: Informational keywords are essential for blog posts, guides, and tutorials. They help establish your authority in a particular niche and can drive significant organic traffic to your site.

Why understanding the Intent Behind the search is crucial?

One of the biggest misconceptions about keyword research is including more keywords in your content will result in easy ranking.

As I already mentioned it’s the biggest concept and it’s not an effective way of doing keyword research.

An effective way of doing keyword research is by understanding the intent behind the search.

The goal of keyword research is not just to get your blog rank.

But the goal is to provide a solution that your audience is looking for.

Once we understand the intent behind their search we can create content that solves their problem and give an effective solution.

By understanding the intent behind the search we can understand what’s our audience pain points, their desire, and goals.

Now, the question arises, How many times should I use keywords in my content?

And to be honest their no answer to this question.

The goal of creating content is to provide a solution.

If we focus on adding keywords we get lost in providing solutions to them.

When we focus on providing the solution, the keyword will come up naturally in our content.

Using keywords naturally in our content will be more effective.

For instance, the keyword is “Tomato Plant”

In this case, we have to neglect this keyword as it doesn’t provide a clear intent of the search.

Whether the audience is looking for the meaning of the tomato plant how to grow or where to buy it or looking for a picture of the tomato plant.

It doesn’t provide any clear intent behind the search.

Let’s take, “Why my tomato plant is turning yellow?

Here the intent behind the search is clear and we can understand what actually our audience is looking for.

Here it clearly shows the audience needs to know the reason why his tomato plant is turning yellow and he needs to solve this problem.

As the intent here is clear we can focus on creating problem-solving content.

The intent is to understand the stage of search is an awareness, discovery to purchase.

Is the audience getting awareness about the product or in the discovery stage or to purchase?

Read this blog on Medium: How to do Keyword Research For SEO in 20204?

How to do keyword Research For SEO in 2024?

A step-by-step guide to do keyword research.

Step 1: Understand Your Niche

Before diving into keyword research, we need to have a clear and solid understanding of our niche and our target audience.

Ask yourself which market

• Who is my target audience?
• What problems do they need solutions for?
• What are their pain points, goals, and interests?

Figuring out your niche and target audience is important because we need to know for who we are creating content.

This helps to make our content resonate with our target audience and tailored content made for them.

Step 2: Make a List of Relevant Topics

Once we know who is our target audience is, now we have to brainstorm ideas related to your niche.

These ideas are the foundation for your keyword research. Let’s say your niche is digital marketing, your list may include

• SEO
• Content marketing
• Social media marketing
• Email marketing
• Paid advertising

These are broad topics that you can break down into more specific keywords in the next steps.

Step 3: Create a spreadsheet with the general topic as the primary keyword volume. Secondary keyword volume and LSI keyword and volume.

Create a list like this.

This sheet helps to make a list of primary, secondary, and LSI keywords with their search volume.

This will give clarity on the search volume of the keywords and we use those keywords naturally in our content as we know what words and phrases our audience is using for the search.

Step 4: Use Keyword Research Tools

Now we have the list of topics, now it’s time to figure out relevant words and phrases that our audience is using while searching on Google. There are many tools to do keyword research, Here are a few keyword research tools

• Google Keyword Planner: This is a free keyword research tool and it helps to give keyword ideas based on broad keywords.
• Ahrefs: Ahrefs gives keyword details including the search volume of the keyword and its keyword difficulty and much more.
• Semrush: It’s a comprehensive tool for keyword research and it shows the keyword analysis of competitors.
• Ubersuggest: Free tool that provides keyword suggestions, search volume, and competition data.

Input your broad topics into these tools to generate a list of potential keywords.

Step 5: Analyze Keyword Metrics

Not all keywords are equal and not all keywords are worth targeting. These are a few things to consider when doing keyword research to make keyword research effective.

• Search Volume: This shows the average number of times a keyword is searched per month. The higher volume indicates the higher traffic potential.
• Keyword Difficulty: It measures the difficulty of the keyword to get rank. Higher difficulty means having more competition for a keyword.
• Cost Per Click (CPC): If you’re considering paid advertising, this metric shows how much advertisers are willing to pay for clicks on ads for that keyword.
• Search Intent: It’s very crucial to keyword research. Search intent indicates the intent to find when they search. Are they looking for a piece of information, making a purchase, or discovering the product and services?

Choosing a keyword with high search volume, having a low to medium difficulty, and relevance to your content goal.

Step 6: Consider Long-Tail Keywords

Considering the long tail keywords will be the best practice for your keyword research.

Long-tail keywords are more specific and it shows the clear intent behind the search.

Long-tail keywords have a lower search volume but it helps in higher conversion rates.

For instance, If we choose “SEO” the intent here is not clear. Whether the person is looking for meaning or how to build a career. the intent here is not clear.

Instead, we choose “How to improve Local SEO for Small Business”.

Here the intent is clear. Here to improve a local SEO for his small business.

The intent here is clear and it helps in creating relevant content.

Long-tail keywords are less competitive and can help you attract a more targeted audience.

Step 7: Analyze Your Competitors

Knowing and understanding what keywords our competitors are ranking can help us to provide valuable insights about the keywords.

We can use tools like Ahrefs, and Semrush to analyze their top-performing keywords and look for an opportunity where we can target similar or related keywords.

Step 8: Organize Your Keywords

Do you remember we have created a spreadsheet? Now it’s time to organize the keywords with their search volume and keyword difficulties.

Once you have a list of potential keywords, organize them into groups based on topics or themes. This will help you plan your content strategy more effectively, ensuring each piece of content targets a specific keyword group.

For example, if you have keywords related to “content marketing,” you might create sub-groups like:

• Content creation tips
• Content marketing strategies
• Content promotion techniques

This organization helps you cover topics comprehensively and prevents keyword cannibalization, where multiple pages compete for the same keyword.

Step 9: Prioritize and Plan Content

With the keywords organized, based on their relevancy, search volume, and competition, start with keywords that offer a balance of traffic and ranking potential.

Plan your content calendar that aligns with your keywords create each piece of content optimize those keywords naturally in your content and provide valuable and engaging content.

Step 10: Monitor and Adjust

Another biggest misconception about keyword research is it is a one-time process.

Most businesses believe keyword research is a one-time process.

Keyword research is not a don’t time task.

We need to regularly monitor the performance of keywords and adapt to them.

Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console help to track the metrics of

• Keyword rankings
• Organic traffic
• Click-through rates (CTR)

Based on the date, we need to adjust our keyword strategy when needed and if certain keywords aren’t performing as expected sometimes, we need to consider optimizing the exciting content or keyword to target keywords.

Conclusion

Keyword research is crucial for SEO and doing it effectively is crucial for driving targeted traffic and achieving the SEO goals.

The goals of keyword research are not just to get rank but also to understand the intent behind the search to create problem-solving content.

As we have seen choosing the right keywords is crucial and it is also not a one-time process.

Keyword research needs to be monitored and adapted according to the metrics required.

Targeting the long-tail keywords or phrases shows clear intent and understanding of the type of keywords and optimizes it for your content to achieve your SEO goal.

Read this blog on Medium: How to do keyword research for SEO in 2024?