Five Steps to Conducting Keyword Research Like an Expert

conducting keyword research woman on computer

Research can be an overwhelming word, but with tips and tricks from the professionals that do it every day, you can be successful in all your keyword research. Let’s start with understanding the importance of conducting keyword research. In order to appear at the top of internet searches, you have to input keywords into the titles of articles, videos, and website descriptions. 

1. Pre-Research Brainstorming

Develop a list of questions to get your research moving. Think about what type of audience your post is aiming to attract, and what types of add-ons they are looking for during their search. Will they stop at your article, or will they search for more? It’s important to do a deep dive into what your audience is looking for before you get into more research on keywords. Without having a solid grasp of your audience, your keywords may miss the mark completely. 

2. List of related topics and keywords

You’ll want to come up with a list of possible keywords through related topics. For example, if your post is related to baseball, you’ll have related topics of batting averages and defensive strategies among a slew of others. These related topics can help you narrow down what you need to input for your specific post’s title or description. This list should be pretty long, about 30-50 words to help truly find what you’re looking for within your post. 

If it’s a baseball post, you’ll add anything that could do with baseball. Think hats, jerseys, gloves, cups, alcohol, peanuts, ballpark food, cleats, pinstripes, MLB, college, and the list goes on. You get the idea of how this can work and how quickly that list can grow with relevant topics. 

3. Audience Mindset

You won’t be the one searching for your article, so you will need to put yourself in the shoes of someone who will. Your audience will use their interests to find your article, so you have to understand them fully. Who is your public and who is your target demographic. Are you catering to first-time moms, soccer moms, or maybe even single dads? Whatever the case may be, make sure you’re able to see and search for your article from their point of view. This will help you develop a more concise list of keywords for your trials and testing. 

4. Keyword Trial

Use the list that you’ve been coming up with to conduct a small experiment on what words will be the most helpful in terms of optimization. Input the words into a search engine to decide what words will move forward into making a smaller list of keywords until you’ve narrowed down that list of 30 to a list of 10. Use a spreadsheet to help you out. You will be able to research which words have created the highest amount of traffic versus those that did not produce. 

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5. Create a Keyword Hub

Use the research you’ve completed to set yourself up for future success within your site. Do this by putting together your highly trafficked keywords based on the topic. You’ll be able to pull from these hubs to create content in the near future knowing that the keywords will be successful. Take the hub as the biggest focus and assign spokes to have related keywords that you are now positive will be successful. 

Conclusion

At the end of the day, if you want to be successful, you must conduct SEO research including keyword research. Not every keyword will be successful. So, take the time to find those surefire words that will drive traffic to your site and that will blow them away with accuracy. Your audience will thank you, and your company will thank you. Keyword research surely is not something you’ll be skipping out on again once you see the benefits. 

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Picture of Adeline Howell

Adeline Howell

Adeline is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she majored in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and Journalism. Currently living in Charlotte, she enjoys reading, volleyball, and strolling through her favorite farmers markets with her Goldendoodle Theo.

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