Keyword research is a fundamental part of any digital marketing strategy. Comprehensive keyword research helps you build effective strategies to improve your content to rank higher for a wide range of terms, ultimately driving more relevant organic traffic to your website. Semrush offers you several ways to gather the best keywords.
During this, we will show you how to do basic keyword research so you can challenge your website for the words and phrases that will bring traffic to your site.
To make it easier to find the best keywords for your brand, we conducted a study in March 2022 that showed that Semrush’s search volume was the most accurate among recognized competitors in the industry.
1. Identify your strongest search competitors
If you already know who your main competitors are in the field, you can compare their keyword profiles and get ideas for new keywords to rank for in organic search. We recommend choosing a competing domain with more organic traffic, authority score, and a higher number of keywords so you have more data to work with.
The best way to compare speed is to use the Compare Domains report in the Domain Overview tool. This report can give us a look at where we stand among other competitor domains.
In our example, we’ll take nytimes.com – it has more organic traffic, more keywords, and a better authority score.
Tip: If you’re not sure who your competitors are, check the Organic Research competitors tab .
2. Analyze your competitors’ keyword profile
Once you’ve got your main competitors, go to the Organic Research Positions report to look for keywords you want to compete for in organic search.
You can sort the keyword list by volume (to see the high-volume keywords first) and use filters to remove all branded keywords and keywords that are too difficult to compete with (based on our KD metric).
Check out the Organic Research Guide for more information about the Locations report.
Additionally, you can switch to the Keyword Gap tool. With this tool, you can compare your keyword profile with your competitors’ keyword profile and see different positions for common keywords. Use Weak to find keywords where you have a ranking, but it is lower than your competitors’ or Untapped for keywords where you have no ranking.
Learn more about the Keyword Gap feature in this guide.
We recommend focusing on 5-10 keywords at first. It’s difficult to optimize your website well for thousands of keywords at the same time.
Add the keywords you are going to work on to the Keyword Strategy Builder list. You can do this in both the organic research tool and the Keyword Gap tool with the Add to keyword list button.
3. Analyze your keyword profile
Another great place to find keyword optimization ideas is your keyword profile.
Enter your site into organic research and use the position filter to see the keywords your domain ranks in second place (from 11th to 20th). The second page is the most interesting, as it has keywords your domain ranks quite well for, and getting into the top 10 with these keywords can be a quick win.
Sort and filter the list, and select another 5-10 keywords to send to the Keyword Strategy Builder. These can be the second set of keywords you optimize your pages for.
We recommend analyzing the words your web page previously ranked for but no longer does or keywords where your rankings have recently dropped.
To find these keywords, go to the Position Changes tab of the organic search. Filter the list to see only the keywords that have dropped or lost rank. Sort the table to see the keywords that have driven the most traffic to your pages. Choose 5-10 keywords here and submit them to the Keyword Strategy Builder.
4. Match keywords with relevant pages on your site
Now, you have three sets of keywords that you can work with in the Keyword Strategy Builder list.
In Building Keyword Strategy, you can go through your keyword list, update metrics, and add tags (e.g., competitor keywords, top 20, lost/declined) so you know what kind of work and optimization you need for each group.
Check out the guide to building a word strategy.
Once you’re happy with your list, it’s time to add these keywords to your location tracking campaign.
Position Tracking allows you to monitor your ranking in search results for your targeted keywords. The tool will show you which pages are already ranking for the keywords from your list.
The Location Tracking Pages report gives you the full list of URLs on a domain that tracks at least one keyword in your campaign.
By opening the “Word Count” drop-down menu, you can identify the keywords that associate with each landing page.
Using ascending/descending sorting in the pages table can identify your weakest pages that need improvement. Sort the list to select the pages with the lowest estimated traffic and average position. Prioritize pages with high total volume but low average position.
The filters above the table allow you to narrow the list to group pages by tags, search intent, volume, keyword, and CPC. The New tab shows your pages that have started ranking for the keywords in your campaign. The Lost tab makes it easy to track pages that have dropped from Google search.
Next, you need to have keyword and page pairs. You can export the pairs in the pages report as a .csv file and then upload them to On Page SEO Checker in the next step.
If a keyword doesn’t have a ranking page in your location tracking, decide which page on your site could be a relevant match for the term or create new content to target the keywords you don’t have rankings for.
Check out this guide to learn more about setting up location tracking and reports.
5. Reviewing optimization ideas
Now that you have pairs of pages and keywords, what can you do to optimize these pages and increase your traffic?
Add your list of keywords and URLs to the On Page SEO Checker to get a complete, structured list of things you can do to improve the ranking of your website pages.
Use the File tab to upload the .csv list you entered in the previous step. To learn more about selecting keywords and pages in On Page SEO Checker, check out this setup guide.
The On Page SEO Checker recommendations are based on domains that are already ranking in the top ten for keywords in your campaign.
Click the Ideas button under the Optimization Ideas tab to review all optimization suggestions. You’ll get different ideas based on content, SERP features, backlinks, and more.
Repeat this analysis for each pair of keywords and pages, focusing on the 10-20 most important keywords you selected earlier.
Check out the On Page SEO Checker guide.
6. Track your changes
As you run your campaign, you can use placement tracking to see how your efforts translate into changes in rankings. You can mark any improvements you implement as part of your SEO strategy by adding notes to your tracking campaign. Create a note each time you change, optimize, or implement something new on your page.
Take the time to choose keywords, optimize your pages, track changes, and create your own success story!
In this walkthrough, we’ve only seen a small portion of the keyword research and optimization features available in Semrush. Explore our other flows to find everything you need for your digital marketing work.
Understanding the importance of keyword research
Keyword research is not just a technical step in the SEO process, but it is essential for understanding your audience. When you conduct keyword research, you are not only looking for popular terms, but you are also learning about user intent. What are they searching for? What are their problems? What solutions can you offer?
Preparing quality content
Once you’ve identified your important keywords, the next step is to create quality content around them. Quality content is content that provides real value to your readers. This can be articles, guides, videos, or any other type of content. It’s important that the words and phrases you use are natural and flow, and don’t seem like “keywords” that were forced into your content.
Using keywords wisely
When writing content, it’s important to use keywords wisely. This means incorporating keywords into titles, descriptions, and the content itself, but not overloading the content. Google prioritizes quality content that provides value, rather than content that is stuffed with keywords.
Landing page optimization
Optimizing your landing pages is critical. Make sure every page on your site is focused on one or two keywords, and has quality content that clearly explains the topic. Use subheadings, images, and video to enhance the user experience.
Continuous monitoring and improvement
Once you’ve published your content, don’t forget to track its performance. Use tools like Google Analytics to see which pages are driving the most traffic and which keywords are driving the best results. This will allow you to make continuous improvements.
Using advanced tools
There are many tools that can help you with keyword research and tracking your performance. Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and Semrush offer in-depth insights into keywords, competition, and organic traffic.
summary
Keyword research is an ongoing process that requires attention and investment. You must be prepared to keep up with changes in the market and the needs of your audience. By doing the right keyword research, you can improve the visibility of your website and bring in more relevant traffic.
In conclusion, keyword research is not just a step in the SEO process, but is the foundation of any digital marketing strategy. Investing in keyword research will pay off in the long run.