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Keyword research has been a cornerstone of SEO (search engine optimization) for almost three decades.

The idea behind it is pretty simple: Create content based on what people are searching for on Google to increase your organic visibility and drive more qualified traffic to your site.

But effective keyword research isn’t as simple as choosing the most popular terms related to your business and optimizing your pages accordingly. Instead, it requires careful consideration of a variety of factors, including monthly search volume, keyword difficulty, and search intent.

This article will explain why thorough keyword research is the foundation of all successful SEO campaigns . We will also guide you on how to choose the right keywords for your website.

But first, let's briefly remind ourselves of what we mean by keyword research.

What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is the process of determining what search terms you should target on your website so you can rank for them on Google.

The goal is to create a list of keywords that people use when searching for products and information related to your brand. You can then optimize your pages for those terms to increase the likelihood that they will appear in Google's results when someone searches for those terms.

For example, if you run an online store that sells handmade jewelry list of us cell phone numbers you might choose ‘handmade bracelets’ as the target keyword for your bracelets category page. In an ideal world, your page would appear when someone searches for that keyword on Google.


Why is Keyword Research Important for SEO?
Why Is Keyword Research Important for SEO?
As we all know, Google's job is to surface content that best answers its users' queries.

So how does one determine whether a particular piece of content matches a user's search?

One of the main clues she uses is keywords. A page with the keyword ‘handmade bracelets’ signals to Google that it could be a relevant result for anyone searching for ‘handmade bracelets’.





Conversely, a page that doesn't mention 'handmade bracelets' (or a similar term) gives Google no reason to rank for that keyword.

In other words, if you want Google to rank your content for relevant search queries, you need to identify and implement keywords.

Moreover, keyword research is crucial for SEO because it allows you to:

Create In-Demand Content
Keyword research gives you an understanding of what kind of content your target audience is looking for. This means you can develop a content strategy that speaks to search demand, rather than writing about topics your target audience doesn’t care about.

The more high-quality content you create that matches what people are searching for, the more your site appears in search results and the more traffic you will receive.

Understand What Your Competitors Are Doing
Search engine results pages (SERPs) are often highly competitive environments, especially when it comes to keywords with high search demand.

Keyword research allows you to evaluate the search landscape so you can gauge how difficult it is to rank for a particular term. If there are a lot of high-profile, authoritative sites already ranking for a keyword you have in mind, you’re probably better off targeting a less competitive keyword.

In fact, the biggest benefit of extensive keyword research is that it allows you to prioritize terms with (relatively) untapped potential. As you start ranking for multiple low-competition keywords, your site’s authority will gradually increase, allowing you to compete for more ambitious keywords.

Prioritize Search Intent During Keyword Research
Google doesn’t just serve a user results that contain the same keyword as their query. Instead, it works to serve content that best meets the search intent behind the query . The closer your content matches the search intent behind a query, the more likely it is to rank.

Search intent is another way of referring to the problem a user is looking to solve when they search for something on Google. For example, do they want to make a purchase, find information, or go to a specific page?

Since Google favors intent-optimized content, you can understand the search intent for a particular keyword by examining the top-ranking results. Understanding this intent will allow you to create a piece of content that has the potential to rank much higher.


How to Do Keyword Research Effectively
How to Do Effective Keyword Research?
Now let's look at how you should approach finding the right keywords to target .

The following tips will help you give your keyword strategy the best chance of success.

Clarify Your SEO Goals
Before you develop your keyword list, you need to set some clear goals for your SEO campaign . Doing so will ensure that your keyword strategy is tailored to the results you want to achieve.

Here are some questions to think about:

What are your business goals and how can SEO help them?
What brand values ​​do you want your content to convey?
What sets your business apart from your competitors?
Who is your target audience and what do they care about?
Brainstorm Topic Ideas for Keyword Research
The next step is to create a comprehensive list of topics related to your business that will interest your target audience.

You probably already have a good idea of ​​what these topics will be, but for more inspiration, consider the following:

What content has performed best for you in the past?
What topics are your competitors addressing?
What questions or issues are your audience members discussing on social media?
Create a Keyword List
The next step is to find out what people are searching for regarding your topics.

Using a premium keyword research tool is the fastest way to collect multiple keywords related to your topic, but if you don’t have access to such software, using Google itself is a great alternative.

When you start typing in the search bar, Google automatically offers some suggested searches.