What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is a fundamental component of digital marketing, essential for creating a successful go-to-market (GTM) strategy that aligns with your target audience’s needs and interests. It involves identifying and analyzing the terms and phrases people use when searching for information online - an essential process for search engine optimization (SEO). By understanding the keywords that resonate most with your audience, you can refine your website content, improve your search engine rankings, and attract more relevant traffic.
Follow the eight steps below to achieve keyword enlightenment:
1. Pick your seeds
Start by immersing yourself in the mindset of your target audience. Jot down ‘seed words’ that you think potential customers might use to find your products or services. Seed words should be concise, typically one or two words, and directly related to your business’s offerings. These are also known as primary keywords or root keywords.
2. Consider which type of keywords to focus on
So you now have your list of seed words, the next step is to build it out, by leveraging advanced keyword research tools, but first let’s consider the different categories of keywords, and which type would make sense to focus on for a successful long-term SEO strategy.
Short-tail keywords
Also known as head terms, they are typically generic search terms that contain 1-3 words and cover broad topics. They have high search volumes, and are often more competitive to rank for. The seed word list you have already compiled would fall into the short-tail keywords category.
Medium-tail keywords
Are typically 3-4 words in length and are more specific than short-tail keywords while still covering broader topics. This specificity helps reduce competition compared to short-tail keywords, making them easier to rank for, while still attracting a decent volume of search traffic.
Long-tail keywords
Are specific phrases that often have less competition, and can attract more targeted traffic. These keywords may have lower search volumes but are more likely to drive relevant traffic, as they cater to users with specific needs or queries. They are generally easier to rank, and offer better conversion rates compared to short-tail keywords. They can vary in length, but typically could be 4-6 words long and can be broken down into supporting or topical long-tail keywords.
Supporting long-tail keywords are longer variations of your seed words (primary keywords). They are closely related and often serve to enhance or support the main keyword in a piece of content. Supporting long-tail keywords often align with similar search intent as the primary keyword, meaning they do not usually require separate content.
Topical long-tail keywords are very specific and not closely related to primary keywords. They represent unique topics that may not be covered by a primary keyword. These keywords often merit stand-alone content because they target a distinct search intent that is not adequately addressed by content focused on a primary keyword. This means creating separate pages or articles specifically for these keywords.
Local Keywords
Local keywords are designed to attract users searching for products or services within a specific geographic area. These keywords are crucial for businesses that are looking to serve local geographic areas. They often include the name of a city, neighborhood, or region and yield results for searches like ‘Law firms in Vancouver BC’. With the rise of mobile search, ‘near me’ searches are becoming more prominent, with users seeking immediate results based on their current location. Firms that use local keywords as part of their SEO strategy will drive traffic with local search intent. An optimized Google Business Profile will also help in this effort of targeting the local market.
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) Keywords
LSI keywords are terms and phrases that are semantically related to a main keyword. They help search engines understand the context and content of a webpage more effectively. LSI keywords are not synonyms but are contextually related to the main topic. For example, for the keyword ‘CRM,’ LSI keywords might include ‘sales insights’, ‘marketing automation’, ‘lead management’ or ‘client data’. Using LSI keywords can enrich content, making it more comprehensive and relevant to user queries. By incorporating LSI keywords, you can enhance your content's relevance and potentially improve search engine rankings. LSI keywords allow for natural language use, reducing the need to repeat the primary keyword excessively, reducing likelihood of Keyword Stuffing, which I explored in the seven deadly sins of SEO.
Zero-volume keywords
Zero-volume keywords are search terms that currently have little to no search volume. However, they may become more popular over time due to emerging trends, new products, or changing consumer interests. These keywords often relate to niche areas or new trends that haven't yet gained widespread attention. They typically come in the form of long-tail keywords, are very specific and have minimal competition. Targeting zero-volume keywords can position your content to capture traffic as the topic gains popularity, giving you a first-mover advantage. By strategically using these types of keywords, businesses can enhance their future visibility, reach the right audience, and pioneer changing search trends.
Each type of keyword serves a specific purpose and can target different stages of the user's search intent. Incorporate a mix of these keyword types to create a well-rounded on-site SEO strategy. Focusing on medium/long-tail keywords initially will help increase traffic as there is often less competition, allowing for easier ranking opportunities. As your site gains authority, you can gradually incorporate more competitive short-tail keywords. Remember, the key is to balance between broader terms for visibility and more specific phrases for conversion, while always prioritizing relevance and quality content for your audience.
3. Expand your keyword list using advanced tools
The most famous tools are SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz’s Keyword Explorer. These tools along with GSC (Google Search Console) and Google Analytics provide deeper insights into keyword performance, competition, and trends, which will help you pick the most optimal options that support your digital marketing strategy. Perhaps the most compressive tool we use is Keywords everywhere. It pulls data straight from Google Keyword Planner and is a great asset for viewing expansive amounts of key SEO data. It’s also used by leading marketers at organizations including Uber, Netflix, Nike, Samsung, BBC & Forbes.
4. Explore related search terms
After utilizing the SEO tools, follow the steps below for additional ideas on related search terms:
Leverage Google's ‘People also search for’ Search for your target keyword in Google and scroll to the bottom of the results page. Look for the bolded phrases under "People also search for" to discover related search terms.
Utilize Google Keyword Planner's ‘Discover new keywords’ In Google Keyword Planner, click on "Discover new keywords" and enter your seed keywords to generate additional related terms.
3. AnswerThePublic Visit AnswerThePublic and input your seed keywords. Select your preferred search medium (Google, Bing, YouTube, TikTok, or Amazon) to generate a visual chart of related search phrases, providing insights into user queries surrounding your topic.

5. Analyze Search Intent
Next, divide your list of keywords into the four categories of search intent: Informational, Navigational, Commercial or Transactional. By grouping them in this fashion it will help you tailor your content to better meet user needs, and drive the right sort of traffic to your site.
Termsniper is a great tool to help you understand the search intent associated with different phrases and pick supplementary wording if desired. Termsniper gives insight into the search intent behind the phrase as demonstrated below:

Termsniper then suggests ‘powerful intent words’ surrounding your chosen search term that you can utilize in your meta title, H1 heading and page copy. It ranks these intent words from 100 to 1, with 100 being the most influential.
‘AI’, ‘Streamline’ and ‘Process’ are some examples recommended by Termsniper when searching the keyword ‘CRM’. These intent words are good examples of LSI keywords which were explored earlier in this blog.
As demonstrated in the image from answerthepublic.com, we can see that by searching ‘CRM tools’, there are lots of related queries in the informational stage. Below are four examples of these queries and blogs written by leading CRM companies to drive buyers with ‘informational’ intent to their sites.
'What CRM tools are there' Microsoft Dynamics 365 - CRM Tools
'How to use CRM tools' HubSpot - How to Use a CRM: The Ultimate Guide
'Examples of CRM tools' HubSpot - CRM Examples
'How do CRM tools work' Salesforce - CRM Systems
By using these tools and better understanding search intent, you can optimize your website copy, to cater for buyers in various stages of their purchasing journey.
6. Evaluate keyword difficulty
Now you have a built-out list of keywords and have categorized them by search intent, open up SEMrush, Ahrefs or Moz’s Keyword Explorer to assess the difficulty and competition for each one, to begin refining your list.
Using SEMrush's Keyword Magic tool, we can see the search volume per month and the keyword difficulty score allocated. SEMrush displays the keyword difficulty score as a %, with following guidelines:

Keyword difficulty examples from SEMrush: Filtered on search phrases in the United States:
Keyword | Search Volume | Keyword Difficulty | Search Intent |
---|---|---|---|
CRM | 135,000 | 100 | Informational / Navigational |
CRM software | 40,500 | 91 | Commercial |
Best CRM tools for small business | 4,400 | 64 | Commercial |
Best CRM for engineering firms | 40 | 2 | Commercial |
Best CRM for direct sales | 30 | 0 | Commercial |
Aim for a balance between search volume and competition. Keywords with high search volume but low competition are ideal, as they increase your chances of ranking well on search engines, however these can be hard to find in competitive industries.
7. Explore how you rank in your industry, refine & finalize your list accordingly
Visit the search engines and type in your keywords you have identified. If well established brands dominate the first page of Google for your target keywords, try focusing more on long-tail keyword variations you have come up with and refine them as appropriate. You can also use many of the tools mentioned in this blog to do competitor keyword analysis. This can help with additional ideas, but also with differentiating in your approach to reach the same target market. If your site is already established and you’d like to compare the keywords you are currently ranking for against your closest competitors use SEMrush’s keyword gap tool which highlights gaps and overlaps.
8. Implement your Keyword Research
With your final list of keywords, focus on optimizing your on-page SEO by incorporating them into page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and content. Regularly review and update your keyword list based on performance metrics and changing search trends, adjusting your content marketing strategy accordingly.

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