How to do keyword research for free: The Ultimate Guide

Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing the keywords that your target audience uses in search engines to find products, services, or information. It is an essential part of SEO (search engine optimization) and can help you understand the terms your potential customers use when searching for your business online. In this guide, we will look at how to do keyword research for free.

Ideally, you want to target keywords that have a high search volume and a low competition score. This means that many people are looking for the keyword, but few websites are targeting it. This gives your website a better chance of ranking on the first page of Google for that keyword.

Steps to get started

There are a few things to consider when starting your keyword research. Here are three steps to help you get started:

1. Define Your Business Objectives

Before you start searching for keywords, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your business objectives. For example, if you want to increase your e-commerce store’s sales, you will need to research different keywords than if you were trying to build brand awareness.

Tip: Think about your business plan and goals and identify your primary objective before you start your keyword research. This will help you focus on the keywords that will be most valuable for your business.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Next, think about your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your website or products? What kinds of terms would they use to search for your business online?

You can use tools like Google Ads’ Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find relevant keywords that people search for related to your business.

For example, if you sell sustainable cleaning products, you may want to target keywords like “natural cleaning products” or “eco-friendly cleaning products.”

3. Research Your Competitors’ Keywords

Looking at what your competitors are targeting is a great way to generate ideas for your own keyword research.

You can use a tool like SEMrush to check which keywords your competitors are ranking for. You can also search for your products or services in Google and see which websites come up. These are your online competitors.

Once you have completed these three steps, you can start searching for specific keywords that you want to target. There are several methods you can use to find keywords, and it is a good idea to use a combination of these methods to get the most comprehensive list possible.

Effective Keyword Research Methods

1. Put Yourself in the Shoes of Your Target Audience

Think about what your potential customers might search for if they were looking for your business online.

For example, if you are a personal injury lawyer based in San Francisco, someone might search for "San Francisco personal injury lawyer."

You can start targeting these keywords and see what kind of search results appear. If you want to go a step further, you can search for these terms in Google and look at the related search terms that appear at the bottom of the page. This can give you more ideas for keywords to target.

Use Keyword Research Tools

There are many different tools that you can use to research keywords more effectively and quickly. Here are some of the most popular options:

a. Google Ads Keyword Planner

Google Ads Keyword Planner is a free tool that allows you to research keywords and compare search volumes and trends over time. It also provides you with suggested bids for each keyword, which can give you an idea of how competitive it is.

b. SEMrush

Semrush is a paid platform that offers a suite of SEO tools, including a keyword research tool. It allows you to see search volume, keyword difficulty, and related keywords. It also shows you the domains that are ranking for the keyword, which can be useful for competitive analysis.

c. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is another paid platform that offers a range of SEO tools, including a powerful keyword research tool. It provides estimates of search volume, keyword difficulty, click-through rates, and more. It also has a tool that allows you to see who is linking to the websites that rank for a particular keyword, which can be useful for link-building strategies.

d. Moz Keyword Explorer

Moz Keyword Explorer is a subscription-based keyword research tool that provides detailed metrics for keywords, including difficulty scores, monthly search volume, and click-through rates. It also shows you the top-ranking pages for each keyword, which can help you analyze the competition and make informed decisions about which keywords to target.

Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific keyword phrases that tend to have less search volume than more common and broad keywords. However, they are often less competitive and can be a great way to start ranking on search engines like Google.

For example, if you sell yoga mats, you may find it difficult to rank for the keyword "yoga mats." However, you may have more success ranking for long-tail keywords like "thick yoga mats for beginners."

Long-tail keywords are often more specific and have a higher purchase intent than more common keywords. Someone searching for “buy samsung galaxy watch 4 stainless steel” is likely ready to purchase this specific product. Creating content for these long-tail keywords will help you reach customers at the end of the sales funnel and increase your chances of converting them.

Local Keyword Research

It is important to conduct local keyword research if you have a physical store or provide a service in a particular location. These are the keywords that people search for with a specific geographical location, like “restaurants near me” or “plumbers in Chicago.”

Ensure you include relevant local keywords in your website’s content, meta titles, and meta descriptions. This will help your business appear higher in search results for these geographical keywords, giving you an edge over competitors who aren’t optimizing for local search.

Regularly Update and Refresh Your Keywords

Keyword research is not a one-time thing. To keep your website optimized, you should regularly update and refresh your keywords, especially if the market or your business changes.

You should also be aware of any shifts in search volume and trends over time, especially if you work in an industry that is impacted by seasonal trends.

For example, a business selling swimwear is likely to have a peak in search volume during the summer months.

Analyzing and Choosing Keywords

Now that you have a list of keywords, it’s time to analyze them and choose which ones to target. Here are some factors to consider when choosing your keywords:

1. Search Volume

Search volume refers to the average number of times people search for a particular keyword per month. While this is not the only factor that matters, it’s important to look for keywords with search volume relative to their competition.

You want to target keywords with a high search volume because this means that many people are searching for those terms. However, it would help if you also considered the competition. It won’t help your website to rank for a keyword that nobody searches for or one where the competition is so high that you have little chance of ranking.

2. Competition

Competition in keyword research refers to how difficult it will be for your website to rank well for a particular keyword. You will want to look at the authority of the websites ranking on the first page of Google for that term and analyze whether it is realistic for you to compete with them.

You can use tools like Moz Open Site Explorer or SEMrush to analyze the authority of the website’s ranking for a particular keyword. These tools will give you a score for each website and a list of the domains linking to them. This allows you to see how difficult it would be for your website to compete.

3. Relevance

It’s important to choose keywords relevant to your business and your target audience. While it may be tempting to go after keywords with high search volumes and low competition, if they are not relevant to your business, they will not help you reach your target audience.

You want to choose keywords that your target audience is searching for that are closely related to your products or services. This will help you bring qualified traffic to your website that is more likely to convert.

4. User Intent

It’s important to consider why people are searching for a particular keyword and what kind of intent they have when searching. This will influence what kind of content you create to target that keyword.

There are three types of user intent that you should know about:

1. Navigational: The user wants to go to a specific website or find information about a particular business, product, or service. For example, “log into Facebook.”

2. Informational: The user wants to find out more information about a particular topic, idea, product, or service. For example, “how to start a business.”

3. Commercial Investigation: The user is looking for a specific product or service and is considering buying it in the near future. For example, “best hiking boots under $100.”

4. Transactional: The user is looking to buy a specific product or service and is ready to make a purchase soon. For example, “Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 44mm Stainless Steel.”

5. Keyword Difficulty

Keyword difficulty refers to how hard it will be for your website to rank on the first page of Google for a particular keyword. It takes into account the competition and how difficult it would be to outrank the current rankings.

You can use various SEO tools such as SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to analyze the keyword difficulty of your desired keywords. These tools will give you a score or metric that tries to estimate how difficult it will be. Usually, these tools will also provide a list of the domains linking to the current top-ranking pages, so you can try to identify how many links you will need to acquire to compete.

6. CTR (Click-Through Rate)

CTR or click-through rate is a metric that measures the percentage of people who see your website in the search results and then click on it. Even if you rank well for a keyword, people may not necessarily click on your listing in the search results. You can optimize your listing with a compelling title and meta description to improve your CTR.

7. Cost Per Click (CPC)

Cost per click (CPC) is the average amount you will pay for each click on your paid search advertising for that keyword (if you are using Google Ads, for example). While the CPC is influenced by many factors, it is generally a good idea to look at this metric, as it gives you an idea of how valuable a keyword is to advertisers.

If a keyword has a high CPC, it means that advertisers are willing to pay more for each click because the keyword has a higher commercial intent or is more likely to lead to a sale. This is a good keyword to target if you want to focus on keyword ads.

8. Priority Scores and Keyword Difficulty Scores

Many keyword research tools will give you a priority score or keyword difficulty score (on a scale of 0-100 or 1-100) to help you determine how difficult it is to rank for a particular keyword. These scores are not perfect, but they can be helpful as part of a broader strategy.

9. Search Volume Trends

Another important factor to consider is whether the search volume for a keyword is increasing, decreasing, or stable over time. While you may find a keyword with high search volume at the moment, this trend may change, and the volume may decrease over time.

Google Trends is a free tool that allows you to see at a glance how search volumes have changed over time, and it even provides you with projections for the future. This can be useful for identifying seasonal trends and planning your content accordingly.

10. User Satisfaction

Another factor to consider, especially if you are targeting competitive keywords, is user satisfaction with the current top-ranking results. Are users happy with the content that is currently ranking, or are they frustrated with the lack of information or relevance?

You can also use tools like SEMrush to see the average amount of time users spend on the site and the bounce rate, which can give you an idea of how satisfied users are with the content.

Now that you have analyzed your keywords and chosen the ones you want to target, it’s time to group them into lists and create content around them. I like to create lists of keywords based on themes related to my business.

For example, if you are a kitchen appliance brand, you may have one list of keywords related to “blenders,” another list related to “food processors,” and another list related to “juicers.” Once you have created these lists, you can start creating content based on these themes.

Implementing Your Keyword Strategy

1. Create Content Based on Keyword Themes

Use the lists of keywords that you created to develop content topics. You may find it helpful to prioritize the keywords you want to target based on competition and search volume.

For example, if you are a lifestyle blogger, you may want to focus on long-tail, informational keywords before going after more competitive, high-volume keywords. You may also find it helpful to target keywords at the top or middle of the sales funnel, as these users may not be ready to make a purchase just yet.

2. Track Your Rankings for Each Keyword

Once you have created content targeting specific keywords, you should track how your website ranks for each keyword. You can use an SEO tool like SEMrush to check your ranking on a weekly or monthly basis.

This will allow you to see how effective your content is at improving your search rankings for specific keywords. If you discover that your website is not performing well for specific keywords, you may need to update or improve your content to make it more relevant or search engine-friendly.

3. Regularly Update Your Keyword Lists

Keyword research is not a one-time thing. As mentioned earlier, you should regularly update and refresh your keyword lists to reflect any changes in your business, the market, or search trends.

SEO is a long-term game, and the keywords you target today may not be the same ones you target a few months or years from now. Regularly conducting keyword research can help you stay on top of any changes in user behavior or search trends and keep your website optimized for success.

Conclusion

Conducting comprehensive keyword research is essential for any SEO strategy. It helps you understand what your target audience is searching for and how you can create content that answers their questions and solves their problems.

It is important to remember that keyword research is not a one-size-fits-all process. What works for one website may not work for another, so it is important to experiment and find what works best for your business.

With the right approach and tools, you can effectively conduct keyword research and build a successful SEO strategy around it.

Understanding the process and taking the time to do it right will help you build a solid foundation for your website and improve your chances of ranking well in search results.