Keywords are the basis of SEO, If you can’t find keywords or user queries on Google, you cannot see your organic traffic increase. Indeed, keywords allow you to position yourself on frequent and relevant searches.
This is why mastering the art of keyword research is essential to your SEO strategy and efforts, Poor keyword analysis means a waste of resources, energy, and money.
Conversely, choosing the most strategic and priority keywords on Google is an advantage in pursuing the best places. Moreover, this is a significant issue of an SEO audit.
If the search for keywords is simple in theory, embarking on such a decisive activity without mastery or knowledge turns out to be a mistake that will cost you dearly, We offer you some advice and tools to find better keywords on Google and improve your positioning.
What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research involves uncovering search queries that your target audience enters into search engines when looking for information, products, or services.
Identifying the right keywords is a crucial prerequisite in the SEO process, By knowing the words and phrases, site publishers can optimize their websites around those search terms.
To designate this strategic process, we also speak of “keyword research,” “keyword study,” “keyword audit,” or “keyword analysis.”
Why is keyword research important in SEO?
Finding the right keywords is often overused and often underestimated by neophytes.
Yet if you want your audience to find your website, whether on your blog, a forum, a showcase site, or an online store, you need to develop a strategy to position yourself in their buying journey, in their search solutions for their needs or desires, This is where keyword research comes in.
To help you understand the issues of SEO, remember that only the first three positions concentrate 75% of clicks.
By the time you rank on the second page of Google, less than 1% of users click on each result.
To direct your audience to the website, you need to find the keywords they are looking for and create content that matches their search intent.
Keywords make it easier for Internet users to search… and for your target audience, He enters these keywords to search for content online and chooses the content to click on in the search results.
Well-optimized, targeted, and constructed content helps people find a solution and move on to convert.
Prioritize, rationalize and make profitable, Keyword analysis on Google is also used to optimize the return on investment of an SEO strategy.
Good keyword studies generally get a better return on investment (ROI) from SEO because they target the most valuable keywords.
Experts will know the difference between top keywords, golden keywords, long tail keywords, or low competition expressions.
A keyword study also gives indications on your industry, the needs of your target, the size of your audience, or even to know more about your competitors.
Indeed, a market’s positioning strategies and SEO data provide valuable information to feed the business strategy.
Understand the search intent behind a keyword
In addition to finding and analyzing the best keywords, it’s helpful to look at each keyword’s search intent, Search intent is the reason a user searches for a keyword or phrase.
The search intent for some keywords is obvious, but it requires further investigation for others.
There are generally four types of queries in terms of search intent:
- Informational request: Help users find a solution to their problem, an answer to their question. Example – How to change a bicycle wheel?
- Commercial request: Facilitate the search for solutions to guide a purchase. Example – What are the differences between a mountain bike and a VTC?
- Transactional request: Help Internet users find the best solution for their purchase. Example – Buy a 28-inch men’s hybrid bike.
- Navigational query: Help users find the store they are looking for. Example – Decathlon 28-inch men’s hybrid bike
The best way to determine the search intent of a keyword is to type the keywords into Google and examine the first page of results.
Google does a great job of understanding real user intent, so what it displays on the first page is very close to what users expect.
It would help if you did this exercise to find and eliminate keywords from your list with a different intent than what you are offering.
You don’t want to waste your time targeting keywords that won’t bring you the right traffic.
How to research and analyze keywords on Google?
Instead of guessing what your target is looking for to find companies like yours, you have a much more accurate and representative view based on numerical and concrete criteria.
Keyword research starts with putting yourself in your prospects’ shoes, Ask yourself what words and phrases they might use to solve their problems.
Keyword research tools will confirm or refute your assumptions about keywords… but also find hundreds or thousands of other relevant keywords.
It’s a simple process when you combine a good knowledge of the sector and a technical mastery of keyword research.
List all the critical expressions of your sector.
First, you need to list your industry keywords – the must-have keywords intimately related to your industry or expertise.
The first step in keyword research is brainstorming a list of possible keywords.
These keywords can be as broad as you want and anything related to your industry, products, or services.
So, for example, if you are a bike shop in Montpellier, your keywords could be something like “bike shop in Montpellier,” “bike rack,” “bike saddles,” “bike repair,” or any other product or service you sell or offer.
You can also use location-based keywords, which are words and phrases that describe your state, city, region, or other terms people might use to describe your area. We will return more specifically to local keywords.
Know the keywords of your competitors
Spy on competitors to save time! Knowing which keywords drive traffic to your competitors’ sites is usually the best way to speed up your keyword research.
But first, you need to identify those competitors, This is where the first keywords you had in mind come in handy.
Just do a Google search on those seed keywords and see who is ranking on the first page.
If none of the top-ranking websites for those keywords resemble your site, you should try searching for something more specific.
For example, if you sell coffee-making equipment on your website, you may find more actual competitors in search results for “cappuccino maker” rather than “cappuccino.”
Indeed, e-commerce sites like yours are mainly ranked first and blog second.
Once you’ve found a competing website that matches your generalist keywords, you can use an SEO tool to set up your competitive intelligence.
SEO tools will be used to check which pages bring them the most traffic and which keywords are targeted on these pages.
You will end up with a relatively extensive list of relevant keywords. Whether these keyword ideas are purely informational (more like blog posts) or have commercial intent (commercial/transactional content), your goal is to collect as many relevant keyword ideas as possible at this point of your keyword audit. Be sure to repeat this process for as many contestants as possible.
Identify the keywords on which your site is already positioned
You may be already missing some keywords that your site ranks for, Thanks to the relevance of search engines, site editors see their sites indexed and placed on specific queries without even targeting them.
Indeed, see this set of keywords as a solid base to achieve the best positions.
Two possibilities :
- The keywords are positioned in the best positions (top 3) and you must strengthen/secure this position by making small changes to the pages made visible on these requests.
- The keywords are between the 2nd and the 10th page and have no visibility. You must identify keywords that seem to correspond to your site and its content but need better quality to deserve the best positions.
Positioning shows that your site is deemed credible and relevant to make it available, which is a strong signal that Google gives you.
In addition, it will be easier to gain positions for an already positioned page in most cases than to start from scratch.
Thus, all the keywords already placed in the shorter term will be integrated into your list.
Simple access to Google Search Console lets you know the keywords on which your site is positioned: Performance > Search results > Queries.
Other tools like Optimize SEO, Insight Yoda, or semrush will do the job, Don’t worry if this search returns very few keywords or none, which is likely if you’ve created a brand-new website.
After all, if you’re reading this article, you’re probably looking for keywords.
Find the questions your target asks.
Using the questions your customers ask as long-tail phrases or keywords can help you create content that answers those questions.
It is an ideal way to position yourself, build relationships with your visitors, and guide them toward a purchase or a conversion.
You can start this process by listing the most common questions your client asks you regularly, This includes messages on social networks, forums, by telephone, or via your customer service, for example.
You can also use online tools to find questions your customers may have.
- Google Queries: Google search results direct you to common questions the search engine asks. Google autosuggestions will also be helpful: start writing the query and let the search engine suggest topics for you.
- Other Asked Questions: One of the critical features for identifying your keywords is Google’s “Other Asked Questions.” Also called People Also Ask, this insert appears in the results and presents additional questions to the initial search.
- Answer The Public: The Answer The Public tool is a powerful idea and question generator based on suggestions and query associations from several engines.
At this point, we should have a good number of keywords before exploiting the full potential of the best keyword research tools!
As your research progresses, you may find that some of these words, phrases, or questions are inappropriate for your business and your audience.
Add keywords for local SEO
Need more keywords on your list? You will take a little more… Yes, more keywords! But this time, local keywords, If your business is only online, you can skip this step.
If you are a company with a local anchorage (offices, stores, centers, agencies, etc.), you can use your catchment area or your geographical location to enrich your SEO strategy, mainly through local SEO.
Let’s take the example of the bike shop again, and we have already listed some examples of potentially valuable keywords.
We can now add geographical indicators such as the district, the city, or the department, depending on the relevance and the distance that customers are willing to travel.
By stopping at search volumes, neophytes very quickly dismiss local queries because they seem less popular than general terms.
However, they present much less competition than the others and real conversion potential, A local Montpellier shop positioned visibly to cyclists from Lille or Nantes will attract unnecessary visits.
Think about your area and what your customers will type into search engines when they want to find services near them.
Adding local keywords to your search allows you to implement local SEO actions.
Use keyword research tools.
But there are likely many keywords that your competitors still need to cover, that they need to be able to position their site, or simply that they do not offer the same offer as you.
Keyword research tools all work the same way. Enter a keyword to get complete information on this query and ideas for secondary or complementary keywords, thanks to an incredible database.
The Google Keyword Planner, or Keyword Planning Tool, is the most well-known and widely used keyword tool for this purpose.
Keyword research tools can generate keyword ideas that don’t necessarily contain your seed keyword. Let’s take the initial keyword “bike shop.”
The agencies suggest, for example, the following keywords: cycle shop, mountain bike shop, VTC shop, cycle shop, cycling shop, etc.
Depending on the keyword, the ideas will allow you to detect potential with different terminologies and, therefore, more potential customers.
Also, whenever you discover an exciting keyword, try to use it as a new word –the starting point for new query ideas to target.
In addition to the Google Keyword Planner, there are many more advanced and in-depth keyword research tools to perform finer-grained keyword analysis.
At this point, you should have a vibrant keyword list that can run into hundreds of thousands of queries. Reassure yourself or calm your enthusiasm.
The objective is not to position yourself on all of these keywords, Only a tiny part of these keywords must integrate a reduced list that will incorporate very high potential keywords.
Running behind total traffic generated by keywords suitable for your business or exhausting yourself on overly competitive keywords will not help your conversions.
We’re going to look at what to do with all those keywords and how to narrow them down to get the keywords that will generate the best possible results for your SEO strategy.
Analyze all listed keywords
What are the criteria for analyzing a keyword?
Now that we have a long list of keywords, we need to know which ones are worth targeting. We need to consider several factors when deciding which keywords to keep and which to discard. The main factors for evaluating and choosing a keyword on Google are:
- Search Volume: if no one is searching for a keyword or phrase, optimizing it won’t do any good. Knowing a keyword’s search volume before integrating it into your target keywords is essential.
- This is often the starting point of any keyword analysis, and it’s a safe bet that keyword research will have you thinking about new queries at the expense of less popular keywords.
- Consider and combine query search volumes that are very close to each other.
- Relevance of keywords: The significance of a keyword to the subject of the page is one of the significant factors in the choice of your keywords.
- No matter the number of clicks and the volume of traffic obtained, if your conversion rate is terrible, it will not convert into business opportunities.
- Only qualified and targeted traffic can achieve your business goals, Do not think about the “sacrificed” volume but rather about the conversion opportunities offered! Make sure the keywords you’re trying to rank on a specific page match that page’s content.
- Conversion potential: Does the keyword have value? Will the traffic generate lead to the conversion you want on the page you have optimized?
- Traffic from long-tail keywords converts significantly faster than those from short-tail – more generalist – keywords.
- It would help to consider these things when deciding which pages to optimize for which keywords. The notion of research intent comes into play here.
- Keyword competition: Whatever the keywords used in your strategy, you will never be the only one to have checked it off your list.
- The competition exists, but is it stronger than you? Is it too strong to make this keyword accessible and relevant? Keyword analysis tools allow you to estimate the competition.
- However, a Google search is deserved to identify your direct competition. Specific SEO tools can automate this work.
Check search results
This next step is simple: enter the keywords in Google and study the results and the typology of the pages positioned.
We recommend that you use your browser’s private browsing so that your previous searches do not influence the results.
Let’s start with the keyword “chartered accountant in Marseille.” Right away, we can see that several ads on that search term take up much space at the top of the results.
These ads promote accounting firms, which is the case for most organic results.
We could have discovered articles on how to choose your chartered accountant, what path to becoming a chartered accountant, information on the chartered accountant market in Marseille…
On this commercial request, it will be essential to present the services of a chartered accountant with Services or Expertise pages.
Prioritize your keywords
Now that you have several viable keywords and understand the intent behind each search, it is time to prioritize them.
Select 10-30 priority keywords with a mix of different search intents and volumes, This figure will depend on the number of pages already positioned and your resources.
It is also worth deciding whether these keywords are short, medium, or long-term SEO goals.
Higher volume keywords are often longer-term keywords, while searches around trends can be short-term.
If you already have a website ranked and want to optimize existing pages for some of these keywords, include the URL in your keyword analysis.
If you still need a website, you can write down the type of pages you want to rank for each term, whether it’s the homepage, a product or service page, or a website—a blog post.
This list is dynamic and will evolve with your business and current trends. Review your keyword audit regularly to ensure you’re still targeting the best keywords for your business.
With time and practice, you’ll see what works for your business and doesn’t.
The Best Keyword Research and Analysis Tools
There’s no shortage of tools designed explicitly for keyword research, and they run the gamut from beginner to very advanced.
They also range from totally basic and useless to super valuable, The best keyword research tools simplify and streamline your workload when done right.
They make it easy to find the right keywords to target and give you the data you need to analyze, rank, and prioritize them in your strategy.
To help you, we have implemented our experience with the various keyword research and analysis tools in order to select the best free or paid ones.
Keyword Planner, Google’s keyword planning tool
The Keyword Planner Tool is designed to help marketers discover important keywords and find data for specific keywords.
Google Keyword Planner , It should be added that this tool provides essential information on keywords, which is particularly useful when establishing SEO strategies.
The most crucial information that can be checked with the Keyword Planner includes the following:
- Monthly searches
- Seasonality
- Competitiveness
- Estimated CPC cost
If you’ve just started your SEO strategy or it’s been around for years, Keyword Planner is still a great free keyword research tool.
If you already use Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords) or are considering starting to incorporate search ads into your marketing strategy, Google’s Keyword Planner is a great tool to get you started.
- Google Ads Keyword Planner is used to:
- Discover new search keywords.
- See average monthly search counts for keywords.
- Helps determine acquisition costs.
- Creation of new advertising campaigns on the Search Network.
Yoda Insight, the largest SEO database.
Since 2014, the Yoda Insight tool has supported companies, agencies, and freelance SEO consultants in keyword research and discovery.
SEO professionals can tap into these handy resources thanks to an incredible database in French (but not only).
This tool is viral due to its very affordable prices, even for freelancers and companies who will benefit from easy-to-use features.
The clear and intuitive presentation of information ensures that novices and specialists get all key data, The tool is divided into three functionalities: Site Performance, Market Explorer, and Leaders.
Yoda Insight allows you to evaluate your site’s performance and that of competitors or even find the best keywords to target on Google.
This covers all the features necessary for a complete analysis of keywords. Valuable information is provided by the tool, such as the search volume, the level of competition, the number of results on Google, and the estimated CPC (cost per click).
This overview video shows how easy and fast it is to get an extensive list of relevant keywords from a suggested keyword.
Added to this is the ability to spy on competitors or, instead, the SEO performance of your competitors.
Yoda Insight provides a comprehensive dashboard to track and monitor your site and that of your competitors on targeted keywords and adopt the right improvements.
Optimize SEO, the more brilliant SEO tool
You are one click away from successful SEO, The promise of the Optimz SEO tool is beautiful, and the Optimize. My webmarketing tools editor presents three valuable tools in your search for better positioning:
- Optimize Content: SEO writing tool (optimizing tags, semantic enrichment, choice of topics, readability score, etc.).
- Optimize SEO: SEO campaign management software.
- Optimize Data: Google positioning tracking software (backlinks, keywords, etc.).
To do an effective keyword search, it is towards Optimiz SEO that you have to turn.
Indeed, the tool makes it possible to unearth thousands of keywords thanks to its artificial intelligence quickly.
Optimize SEO is straightforward to use with simple but effective dashboards.
Keyword variations also allow you to refine the positioning of your site and simplify SEO campaigns… like the tag system.
Sistrix, the toolbox to optimize your SEO
The Sistrix Keyword Discovery allows you to find thousands of new keyword ideas and analyze their search volume and competition intensity.
The keyword research tool is part of a complete ecosystem of tools and features to manage your SEO strategy and actions.
With a few suggested keywords, it will be possible to obtain a list of thousands of keywords, group them and sort them to form an actionable list with incredible speed.
Then, you can get a visibility index on the chosen keywords and evaluate your SEO performance. The visibility index is one of the keys to the success of this tool.
Here are the benefits of Sistrix in keyword research and analysis:
- More Than Just Keywords – Search Volume, Cost Per Click & Competition.
- Automatic keyword grouping.
- Managing constantly updated keywords.
- Competitor Tracking.
However, this tool remains relatively expensive to be able to have access to all the features available.
No matter the size of your business, SEO performance, or ambitions, your keyword analysis will always be a roadmap to which you relate. It is still necessary that this reference document be well done…
With the help of an SEO agency or an SEO expert, you benefit from cutting-edge tools, experience, and professional techniques to do the right things.