Keyword research: how to approach it

What is keyword research?

Keyword research helps you find out and decide which keywords are worth ranking for in search engines like Google for your business. Solid research takes all kinds of factors into account. We zoom in on them in this guide.

Well-developed, well-founded keyword research is the basis for your content. It's part of the foundation of your SEO. Ideally, every SEO decision you make starts from your keyword analysis.

Keyword research guide available to everyone

Our keyword research guide has gone down well. We're happy to share some practical tips and proven techniques to get started with well-founded keyword research. After a lot of interest, you can now read the guide right here. Enjoy!

Keyword research is the foundation of your SEO. It connects what searchers are interested in with real opportunities to attract potential customers.

A keyword analysis tells you which keywords and search terms your target audience uses.

With the right filter, you'll also find keywords that add value for your organization. Search intent plays an important role here. More on that later.

Keyword research makes you take a step back. Instead of talking from your own point of view (I make products, this is what I like best about my products…), you look at what your customer needs and what they're searching for.

See keyword research as the foundation of your entire marketing story. Because yes, its positive effect goes beyond your SEO.

A real-life example

One of our clients markets one of his products as an ‘rvs paal’ (“stainless steel post”; rvs is the Dutch abbreviation for stainless steel). As an expert in his market, he hears that term everywhere. From suppliers, on order forms and invoices… In his world, rvs is the most common term for that product. Makes sense, right?

Then we do keyword research… And what do we find? In everyday language, people mostly say ‘inox paal’ (“inox post”).

The keyword research makes it clear that this client's SEO needs a mix of synonyms for rvs, with the focus on inox.

We carry that trend through to all of his communication. That way, we use the words his customers and prospects recognize.

The biggest benefit of keyword analysis is that you work in a more targeted way. You shine a light in the dark. Hoping for growth, new leads and customers, many people write blogs or produce content and put it online without a second thought. You guessed it: the desired effect never comes.

Starting from your keyword analysis? Then you're starting from your customer. And that happens to be the ultimate yardstick for good marketing: looking at what your customer wants and how you offer it.

And that's exactly what solid keyword research gives you: knowing what your (future) customers need.

Once you know that, you can create targeted content. Content that contains specific keywords and helps you rank in search engines.

You create the right content to attract your target audience. Still, that's no guarantee that it will actually rank. Dive into our SEO guide for more on ranking in Google.

Keyword research comes with its own terms and concepts. No idea what they mean? Check our SEO terms and you'll be fully up to speed for the rest of this article.

Keyword research is the foundation of your communication.
Yes, but… That statement doesn't always hold. For two reasons.

You only learn what's going on in the market at that moment.

You're looking at the present and the past. Future developments aren't known yet, so they're not part of the keyword analysis.

A practical example

A few years ago, keyword research could never have told you that today we'd all be driving electric cars. Or that a gigantic pandemic was on its way.

So keyword analysis is a tool, a good basis, but definitely not an absolute certainty.

Little things add up.

Keep that principle in the back of your mind during your keyword research.

A practical example

We're currently running an experiment called Hoeveel Kost Een Huis (“how much does a house cost”). It's a website that shows the average price of a house and how much it has gone up, per municipality.

You won't find search volume for ‘hoeveel kost een huis + gemeente’ (“how much does a house cost + municipality”) in any tool. The volume is so tiny it simply can't be detected. Still, lots of small ones together add up to a nice search volume.

So: little competition and relevant visitors. The two biggest advantages of Sniper SEO, side by side.

That's why it pays to know what's going on beyond your keyword research.

Try not to start from gut feeling. Real data gives better results. Then again, sometimes it's worth testing something. If so, don't let your keyword analysis hold you back.

Benefits of this strategy

• Less competition
• Easier to rank

These two factors often mean you get more results in the short term than when you focus on keywords with high search volume and lots of competition

Every beginning is hard. That's certainly true for keyword analysis. Still, once you get going and find your flow, you come across new keywords and things get a bit easier. Or is that partly experience? Hard to say. Either way, be prepared to flounder a bit at the start of your (first) keyword research. That's normal, and you just have to push through.

How do you do keyword research?

Good keyword research is extensive, and you repeat it regularly.

By extensive, we mainly mean not focusing only on the obvious keywords. Look for related words and phrases that use your keyword, check the frequently asked questions around your keyword or topic…

Investing a bit more in your initial keyword research saves you a lot of time in the long run. You don't have to keep hunting for new keywords, and you don't have to start from scratch every time. Because the start, as we said, is the hardest part.

Repeat your research regularly? Then you'll stay on top of trends, changes and new keywords. By regularly, we mean updating your keyword analysis every six months to a year.

Yep, SEO is a long-term game.

How do you build a keyword analysis?

Our favorite tool for keyword analysis? It is and always will be Excel. That classic program offers endless ways to work with your data. Simple filters and quick overviews take your research a big step forward.

And no, you don't need to set up a complicated structure for that. An overview you can filter and sort is usually enough.

• Download our keyword research template

Besides Excel, there are of course dedicated SEO tools. They often let you create an overview and analysis of your keywords right away.

Still, we like to fall back on Excel ourselves, because it gives us complete freedom.

SEO vs SEA: the two differ in fundamental ways. Sure, they're both part of search engine marketing, but the focus is completely different.

For the most part, you can use keyword research for both your SEO and your SEA. Still, we recommend keeping the goal of your analysis firmly in mind: what will you use the results for?

For SEA, for example, you're best off focusing on transactional keywords. You pay for every click to your website. So that click had better bring some money in.

For SEO, you include informational keywords as well as transactional ones. Here, you don't pay for every click. Which, by the way, doesn't mean SEO is free.

So with SEO, you don't focus on transactional keywords at all?

It depends, as usual with SEO. The well-known, short, transactional keywords often have more competition, so they're harder to rank for. On the other hand, they do bring results for your business faster. So what do you do?

Combining SEO and SEA

Test your ideal keywords with SEA. That way, you quickly find out whether those keywords actually work once visitors land on your page. Is your page any good? Are you targeting the right keywords? And exactly how much traffic is there? (Don't forget: tools always give an estimate)

Keyword research gives you hundreds of keywords. But which ones are the best for your business? How do you filter them? How do you rank them from interesting to not interesting? And which words do you prioritize?

Keyword research pointers

These pointers give you a good start with keyword research. Depending on your role, you might put them in a different order.

As an external SEO agency, we always start with keyword research. Then we check everything with the client. That gives us an immediate view of the market, and the first ideas start bubbling up.

We check those ideas with the client, following the steps below. To avoid influencing the client's input, we share as little as possible of those ideas and the preliminary research.

Speedstorm

The speedstorm is one of our hobby horses and maybe even our favorite tool at the start of an SEO project. We really get to know our client's business. What questions come up on their side? And which keywords do they think are the most interesting?

• What is a speedstorm?

Competition

Look at your competitors' websites. Think of both your offline and your online competition. Which keywords do they rank for? How is their website structured? Where do their priorities lie? What can you do better?

Important questions to keep in mind. Although here, it's mainly about getting inspiration for your keyword research.

How is that different from a competitor analysis?

A competitor analysis is a whole different story. Although it's closely tied to keyword research, we cover it separately. That way we can give you the best explanation there too, and keep the focus clean.

Related searches

Type your first ideas from the speedstorm and your competitors' websites into Google. At the bottom of the page, the related searches appear right away. Data made available by the big G itself.

From that data, you can deduce two things:

1. other related searches that may also be interesting for you
2. extra ideas to work into your content

Useful information that always comes in handy at some point.

Of course, you can also do this step in an SEO tool. But it's often worth it, especially in the Dutch-language market, to look at the data in Google itself.

Suggestions while typing

Google also suggests completions the moment you start typing your keywords. You can use that data the same way for your keyword analysis.

Forums

The tips above are very practical. To get back to the less tangible, you can browse forums (like Quora). People ask questions and look for answers there, just like in Google. A forum is often the last resort when someone really can't find an answer to their question.

So it's ideal for you to pay attention to them!

Questions people care about that nobody has answered yet? Jackpot!

Google Search Console

This tip doesn't apply to everything and everyone, but it often holds golden data. Google Search Console, aka Google's own tool, shows you which keywords you rank for, how often they get clicked and what position you're in. Plus a whole range of other data, but that's less relevant to your keyword research.

If your Google Search Console account has been running for a while, you've already collected plenty of data on big and smaller keywords. It often turns up long tail keywords that are easy to rank for, too.

Never heard of this tool? Then you know what your next task is: adding your business to Google Search Console. Unfortunately, you won't have enough data right away to really use for your keyword research. That simply takes time. SEO is long term, remember?

Tools play a big role in your keyword research. They give you data (often estimates) on search volumes, difficulty and related keywords. Keep in mind, though, that every tool calculates this itself (in its own way) and that you won't find conclusive data anywhere.

Tip: want exact data for your search volumes? Then run an SEA campaign for that keyword, with enough budget.

The best tools for your keyword analysis

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a very extensive tool that we like to use ourselves. It has a large number of features that make your life easier. Keywords Explorer (paid) and Keyword Generator (free) are the go-to features for your keyword research. Our Ahrefs guide will help you get started.

AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic is the ideal tool to start your keyword research with. It combines searches from Google and Bing and gives you insight into what people look up in these search engines. The free version lets you run three searches per day. Read our AnswerThePublic guide to get started.

Keyword Planner

Google's own Keyword Planner is a free tool for discovering new keywords. You can also launch a Google campaign straight from the Keyword Planner. The tool suggests new keywords and shows you all kinds of information that helps you choose the right ones.

SEMrush

SEMrush is a versatile but paid SEO tool with plenty of options. One of them is the Keyword Research Tool Kit, which gives you insight into how keywords are used and how much competition there is for them. The program also shows you relevant and similar keywords and indicates how difficult it is to rank for them.

Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest makes it easy to find new keyword ideas and gives you an extensive overview of information about your keywords. You can use this tool for free to a limited extent, but you need a subscription if you want to run more than three searches per day. Ubersuggest also lets you find out which keywords your competitors use and how well they rank for them. Our Ubersuggest guide explains in detail how to get started with this tool.

SE Ranking

SE Ranking helps you find new keywords. It also gives you a thorough analysis of each keyword and helps you determine the competition for keywords. The tool shows you the difficulty, search volume and cost per click for a given keyword. SE Ranking is paid, but you can download a free trial to test it first.

Keyword Surfer

Keyword Surfer is a browser extension for Google Chrome. It lets you see a keyword's search volume right in the search results. It also shows you keyword ideas, cost per click, related search terms and other data. You can download the Keyword Surfer browser extension for free from the Chrome Web Store.

MOZ

MOZ is an online SEO tool with a wide range of features. One of them is Keyword Explorer. With MOZ's Keyword Explorer, you can start or add to your keyword research. The program gives you all the information you need, like search volume and difficulty. MOZ is a paid tool, but the trial version lets you try it for free for 30 days first.

Google Trends

With Google Trends, you “explore what the world is searching for”. As the name gives away, this is a tool from Google itself, just like the Keyword Planner. Google Trends lets you easily check how often a word was searched for, in which period and from which location. You can also compare the data of different keywords. Google Trends is completely free.

Google Search Console

We already mentioned Google Search Console briefly. Google Search Console gives you useful insights, and you can use the tool for your keyword research. The difference with other keyword programs is that Google Search Console only shows you keywords for which you received at least 1 impression. So to discover new keywords, you're better off using a different tool. With Google Search Console, though, you get the information straight from Google itself, such as the number of impressions and your average position for a keyword.

Keyword research gives you clarity on potentially interesting keywords for your business. Search volume shows you how often people search for something, search intent shows what the searcher wants to achieve.

But can you actually rank for that keyword?
That depends on your competition.

A competitor analysis shows you how feasible your keyword analysis is. How quickly and easily can you get to the top of the search engines with your keyword? What does it take? What is the competition doing to rank? How can you do better?

SEO is a tricky field when it comes to finding information. There are still articles floating around from the good old days, when hardly any rules applied, or different ones did. The same goes for the myths around keyword research.

The higher the search volume, the better

Not! Search volumes are a good indication. Still, with the right strategy, it's perfectly possible to rank just as well, and often even better, on smaller keywords than when you go straight for the big fish. Start small and build up, that's the message. (Again: SEO is long term)

On top of that, search volumes in tools are estimates. So always compare different tools and ideally check them against your Google Search Console and an SEA campaign.

Every page can rank for a keyword

Nope! Seeing only online stores in the SERP? Then a blog, for example, isn't the right tool to rank. Take the search intent and the other results in the SERP into account, and put together your page's content based on that.

Search volume is a constant

No way! Some keywords are seasonal or time-bound. Think of Christmas lights or chocolate Easter bunnies. Another example is coronavirus-related searches. Some of them have a huge search volume, but you know as well as we do that it won't last forever. Use your common sense and don't blindly start with SEO tools.

Starting from keyword research gives you a head start in several areas. And with the right angle, you get even more out of your research. The combination of the right keywords and the most suitable format is what makes the difference.

Building content clusters from your keyword analysis

A content cluster can work wonders. It lets you fit a ton of information in a clear, organized way. The principle is that you cluster related topics on different pages. On top of that, you have one main page that links to each subtopic. Those subtopics all link back to the main page, and they also link to each other where relevant.

So from your keyword research, you take one main keyword and link several smaller keywords to it. Think mainly of related keywords and questions about your topic.

Combining search terms based on your keyword analysis

So your keyword analysis gives you countless insights. About keywords you can combine, synonyms you can use and related topics. How best to structure them varies from case to case. A content cluster is often a good solution, but it's not an absolute.

Thinking logically often already reveals keywords that belong together. Whether it's always worth actually putting them together on one page depends on the situation.

Now that you've collected your keywords, it's time to put your data into practice. Keyword research in an Excel file won't help you climb higher in Google. But based on your keywords, you can now start building your content.

What do you do with the results of your keyword research?

SEO is based on three pillars:

• Technical
• Content
• Authority

The technical side is step 1. If you focus on the technical part, you can start on it regardless of your keyword research. Still, for the build and structure of your website, it also makes more sense to do your keyword research before everything else. Read why, plus all the technical details, in our SEO guide.

With the outcome of your keyword research, you start on your website's structure and content. You know which keywords to target and what you need to do for them.

Once your content is done, you move on to link building.

Ready to put your keywords into practice? Keep the following guidelines in mind. Then you're all set for your success story.

One page per keyword you want to rank for

Each page focuses on one keyword. Combining several keywords is not a good idea. Your page loses focus and Google doesn't understand what it's about. It's confusing for the user, too.

Tip: Synonyms and related questions can often be used together.

Pay attention to search intent

When selecting your keywords, search intent is one of the most important yardsticks. Not search volume, not difficulty. But what the user is looking for and what impact that can have on your business.

So you're best off filtering on search intent without looking at search volume. I know, it's tempting to go straight for the big hitters. But don't underestimate the little gems that are waiting for you.

Make sure you have a solid foundation

You can run as many keyword analyses as you like; as long as your website's foundation (aka the technical side) isn't right, you make it really hard, if not impossible, to rank in the search engines. So starting at the beginning is essential.

Tip: Work in a structured way and don't rush headlong into optimizing your website. Every step matters.

Can I do keyword research myself?

Absolutely! There are several free and paid tools available to do keyword research yourself. Experience helps when it comes to selecting the right keywords, but common sense and logical thinking will already get you a long way in the right direction.

Is keyword research free?

That depends on how you go about it. SEO is generally seen as a free form of marketing, but that's not true. Good keyword analysis takes time, and you have to invest that time. On top of that, not all tools are free. Outsourcing your research to a specialist? Then you can put an actual price in euros on it.

Is keyword research only for SEO?

No. You use the results of your keyword research in every form of communication. The analysis shows what your target audience cares about, and how they name your product or service and type it into search engines. So using the right words pays off on your website (for SEO), on your social media channels and in your email marketing.