Whether you are a construction business looking for the right clients or a makeup brand trying to expand its reach, every business needs to start engaging in keyword research. Keyword research is necessary to be sure that what you’re writing about will get traffic from Google. By grasping what people are searching for, you can adapt your business’s content strategy to rank highly on search engine results pages (SERPs) and draw consistent traffic.

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is extremely powerful, and the last thing you want to do is overlook something that can make or break your search engine rankings. A basic description of keyword research is that it is an SEO practice that specialists apply to their search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. They do this to uncover and dive into tangible search words that ultimately serve as the basis for your website’s content.

That being said, the benefits of doing keyword exploration go beyond SEO. Making this activity a consistent component of your digital marketing strategy helps you better understand the people and lives who make up your business’s target audience.

If you were a makeup brand trying to expand your reach, keyword research would inform you of the types of searches people make, the products estimated to trend in upcoming months, and the competitive advantage or disadvantage a specific keyword may have.

Types of Keywords

In our last blog post covering SEO best practices, I introduced four kinds of user intent. These search types include keywords, which are essential for SEO. So, when creating your list, keep those in mind as well as the following:

• Seed: Initial keyword idea.
  Example: Makeup.
• Long-tail keywords: Search queries that get fewer searches per month. Center your content around newsworthy long-tail keywords for less competition.
  Example: Highlighter application techniques. (“Highlighter” being the short tail).
• Low-competition keywords: Keywords typically easier to rank for.
  Example: “Cruelty free, light-reflecting foundation.”
• Primary: The main page topic; the single keyword for which to optimize a page.
  Example: “Makeup for beginners” for a page on the topic.
• Secondary: Any keyword closely related to the primary keyword that you’re targeting.
  Example: “Foundation application” for a page on makeup for beginners.

For an expanded list of keyword types, visit Ahrefs blog on 8 Most Important Types of Keywords

Start Your List

Making a list of “seed words” is your first step. Exercise your creative muscle by coming up with as many seed keywords as possible, and avoid making any judgments here, as you’ll be more likely to come up with a more extensive list of keyword phrases and words to work with later on in the process.

When reflecting on the phrasing your ideal client uses to type something into Google and other search engines, ask yourself questions like the following:

• “What type of queries do clients ask?”
• “How do shoppers talk about their pain points?”
• “What were customers searching for when they encountered your business?”
• “Which of your products and services yield the most revenue?”

This initial step of requires you to put on your business owner hat and put yourself in the shoes of your target client. If you can do that, you’ll be at an advantage.

Keyword Research Tools

Other than brainstorming, here are a couple of free keyword research tools to help expand your list:

1. Keyword Generator
   This free SEO tool allows you to select the search engine from which a list of keyword ideas is generated and includes local and global monthly search volumes to help you pick keywords that best suit your business goals.
2. ChatGPT: This chatbot from OpenAI is an excellent tool for creating your list of initial keywords. Use it to get inspired! Ask the chatbot for a list of related terms, and it will provide many options.
3. Google Keyword Planner 
   Although Google Keyword Planner is a tool mostly tailored for Google advertisements, you can also use this site to find keywords for SEO. It is beneficial for discovering keywords that are related to your initial keyword but do not contain your seed word.
4. Google Trends 
   Google Trends visualizes the relative popularity of a keyword over some time. This is valuable for uncovering trending keywords.

Brainstorming, Keyword Generator, Chat GPT, Google Keyword Planner, and Google Trends should have you well on your way to establishing a workable list of keywords to center your content around for several months.

As you align your content with your chosen keywords, remember to coordinate it with user intent and create engaging title tags and meta descriptions.

Happy Keyword Researching!

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