13 Feb, 2023
Keyword research is a process of discovering and analyzing keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business, industry or niche, and are used by internet users to search for products, services, or information. It is an important aspect of search engine optimization (SEO) because it helps you to understand what your target audience is searching for, what terms and phrases they use, and what types of content they are looking for. The end goal is to optimize your website so that it ranks higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) when people search for keywords related to your business or industry. One of the most effective ways to do keyword research is to use keyword research tools. Some of the popular keyword research tools are Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs. Google Keyword Planner is a free tool offered by Google AdWords. It allows you to find keywords and phrases related to your business or industry and provides data on the average monthly search volume, competition, and estimated cost per click for each keyword. You can use this information to determine the keywords that are most relevant to your business and have the highest potential to drive traffic to your website. SEMrush is a paid tool that provides a comprehensive analysis of your website and its competition. It allows you to find keywords related to your business or industry, as well as monitor your website's ranking for these keywords, track your competitors' rankings, and analyze your website's backlink profile. Ahrefs is another paid tool that provides keyword research and analysis capabilities, as well as competitor analysis, backlink analysis, and website audit features. It allows you to find keywords and phrases related to your business or industry and provides data on the search volume, keyword difficulty, and number of clicks for each keyword. Once you have identified the keywords relevant to your business or industry, you can optimize your website for these keywords by including them in your content, meta tags, and header tags. In your content, you should use the keywords naturally and strategically. Don't stuff your content with keywords, as this can result in a penalty from search engines. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content that is relevant to your target audience and that uses the keywords in a natural and meaningful way. In your meta tags, you should include the keywords in the meta title and meta description tags. The meta title tag is the title of your page that appears in the search engine results, while the meta description tag is a brief summary of the content of your page. These tags should be unique, informative, and relevant to the content of your page, and should include the keywords you are optimizing for. In your header tags, you should use header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content and indicate the hierarchy of your content. Your primary keyword should be included in the H1 tag, while secondary keywords can be included in the H2 and H3 tags. In conclusion, keyword research is a critical aspect of SEO, and using keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs can help you to identify the keywords that are relevant to your business or industry and have the highest potential to drive traffic to your website. By including these keywords in your content, meta tags, and header tags, you can optimize your website for these keywords and improve your search engine rankings. Sources of information: https://ahrefs.com/keyword-research https://www.semrush.com/keyword-research/ https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/ You can create a spreadsheet to monitor your keywords by following these steps: Open a spreadsheet software, such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. Create a header row with the following columns: "Keyword", "Search Volume", "Current Rank", "Target Rank", "Competition", and "Actions". Fill in the "Keyword" column with the keywords you want to track. In the "Search Volume" column, enter the estimated monthly search volume for each keyword, which you can find using a keyword research tool such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs. In the "Current Rank" column, enter your website's current ranking for each keyword. You can use a rank tracking tool to monitor your rankings over time. In the "Target Rank" column, enter the target ranking you would like to achieve for each keyword. This can be based on the current ranking of your competitors or your own goals. In the "Competition" column, enter the level of competition for each keyword. This can be based on the number of competitors ranking for the keyword, their website's authority, and the quality of their content. In the "Actions" column, note down the actions you will take to improve your website's ranking for each keyword. For example, you can write down "create a blog post", "optimize meta tags", "build backlinks", etc. By regularly updating your spreadsheet with your current rankings, you can monitor your progress and adjust your strategies as needed to achieve your target rankings. Here's an example of what your spreadsheet could look like: