How to do keyword research for SEO

The core of keyword research is to find words that users are searching and can rank. First, understand the user's search intention, which is divided into four categories: information type, navigation type, transaction type and business survey type; secondly, use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Baidu Index, etc. to explore keyword opportunities, and pay attention to long-tail words with moderate search volume and low competition. Then analyze competitors' keyword strategies, find optimized keywords and adjust them in combination with their own content style; at the same time, pay attention to the value of long-tail keywords, and expand by combining common problems, product functions and usage scenarios, and search engine-related recommendations.

Keyword research is the cornerstone of SEO. Without a reasonable keyword layout, no matter how good the content is, no one may see it. Many people think that choosing a few popular words and piled them in the article is done. In fact, there are many more effective keyword research. The core is to find words that users are searching for and you can rank them.

Understand the search intentions of users

The first step in keyword research is not to look at the search volume, but to understand "what the user wants to look for." There may be completely different intentions hidden behind the same keyword, such as "apple" may be a fruit or a mobile phone brand.

• Information type : Users want to learn or understand something, such as "how to learn SEO"
• Navigation type : Users want to find a specific website, such as "WeChat Official Website"
• Transaction type : Users have a tendency to buy, such as "what headphones are more cost-effective"
• Business survey type : users are comparing products, such as "Which is better, iPhone or Samsung?"

If your content does not match the user's search intentions, it is difficult to convert even if it ranks high.

Use tools to explore keyword opportunities

It is easy to get by just choosing words intuitively, and using tools can help you discover potential opportunities more systematically. Commonly used tools are:

• Google Keyword Planner : Basic but free, suitable for preliminary filtering
• Ahrefs / SEMrush / Ubersuggest : Paid tool, able to check competition, related words, long-tail words, etc.
• Baidu Index/5118/Aizhan.com : A more suitable data source in the Chinese environment

Operation suggestions:

• Enter a main keyword to see what related words are recommended by the tool
• Pay attention to "long-tail words" with moderate search volume and low competition
• Compare data on different platforms and cross-verify whether the trends are consistent

For example: The word "fitness" is too broad, with high search volume but fierce competition. If it is changed to "Girls' Abs Practice at Home", although the search volume is smaller, the target population is clear and easier to optimize.

Analyze competitors’ keyword strategies

The content that others have already ranked high means that they have used the right keywords. You can reversely find out which words are worth following by analyzing their pages.

Operation steps:

• Find out the top 10 web pages under a keyword
• Use tools such as Ahrefs Site Explorer to view their target keywords
• Compare your own website and find out the words you can cover but haven't done yet

Note: Do not copy it directly, and adjust it in combination with your own content style and user needs. For example, they are writing tutorials, and you can start from the question and answer form to provide different value.

Don't ignore the value of long-tail keywords

Many people only focus on popular words, but in fact, long-tail words are the source of traffic for most websites. The characteristics of long-tail words are:

• Search volume is not high but accurate
• Small competition, easy to rank
• User intentions are clear and conversion rates are higher

For example, "WordPress website building tutorial" is a common word, and "How to build a foreign trade website with WordPress" is a typical long-tail word. It is more specific and easier to attract people who really need it.

suggestion:

• Transform FAQs into keywords
• Combined with product functions and usage scenarios
• Observe the search engine's "relevant searches" and "search suggestions"

Basically that's it. Keyword research is not complicated, but details are easily overlooked. As long as you figure out what the user is searching for, whether there is a chance, and how to match, you are already on the right path.

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