Essential Steps for Keyword Research to Boost Your SEO

Essential Steps for Keyword Research to Boost Your SEO

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Transcript

Keyword research is how we find out what keywords people are typing into Google.We can literally research the words that people are already using in searches, how many times, and track if those searches have grown or shrunk recently.These are powerful insights that will help you choose the perfect keywords and phrases to use on your website.There’s many tools that you can use to do keyword research. Some are paid and some, you know, they’re premium and some are free and we’re going to mention a few in a bit.

So step one of keyword research.What we like to do at Toto is to start simple. Open up your web browser and head over to Google, and type in some search terms that you think your customers will use or have used to find your website. When you see the SERP, remember the search engine result page, um, look closely at the websites that Google returns for your search.Ask yourself, does this list look like a list that I would like to appear in?

Step 2. Next, take that list of phrases and let’s put them into a tool of our choice to get some real data. Let’s go over some of the tools you can use. There’s a ton, we’ll mention just a few here in this lesson, but feel free to explore other tools.

Let’s go over this a little more in detail

If you want your business to be easily discoverable online and gain qualified website visitors, you need a solid search engine optimization (SEO) strategy rooted in thorough keyword research. By taking the time to research and analyze the actual keyword phrases potential customers are searching for, you can ensure your website content directly answers their questions and speaks their language.

If your team doesn’t have the means to lead your strategy in-house, partnering with an SEO can help tremendously. Whether it’s because your company doesn’t have the time, resources, or background, your SEO agency can provide what you need to succeed.
Take Toto SEO for example, we take a methodical, classic, proven approach to Search Engine Optimization, SEO for Small Business Owners.

Interested in SEO Services for Your Business? Book an Intro Call with Toto SEO!

Audit Your Own Assumptions with Exploratory Google Searches

Before jumping into keyword research tools, start by putting yourself in your potential customers’ shoes. What words and phrases would you expect them to be typing into Google to find your products, services or helpful information?
Keyword research tools can provide hard data, but beginning your research with some guesses and assumptions can point you toward the right ballpark.
For example, if you own a landscaping company focused on eco-friendly yard care, some keywords you may guess customers search could include:
– Sustainable landscaping
– Organic lawn service
– Eco-friendly landscape design

Test out these guesses by typing them directly into Google to review the top ranking results. Do the websites Google serves up seem relevant to your business? Is your own site ranking somewhere on the first page?

If not, take hints from the types of sites that do appear to refine your keywords further. For instance, adding geographic modifiers like your city name could help target local searchers more precisely.

 

Use Both Free and Paid Tools to Uncover Keyword Data

While quick Google searches can provide a useful starting point, you’ll want to utilize official keyword research tools to really dig into the data. Both free and paid tools exist to suit different budgets and needs:

Free Options:

– Moz Keyword Explorer – The Keyword Explorer tool enables you to enter any keyword and view key metrics like monthly searches, difficulty level, and organic click-through rate. Further down the results, you’ll find an analysis of the top-ranking pages for that keyword along with ideas for related keyword variations to target as well. This information empowers you to make informed decisions about which terms offer the best SEO potential.

– Google Keyword Planner –Google Keyword Planner stands as a top-notch free option for researching PPC keywords, accessible with or without a Google Ads account. The tool packs two key functionalities into one platform:

  1. Broad keyword exploration to spark new targeting ideas
  2. Robust data on current and projected monthly searches to gauge volume potential

Unlike some paid tools, Google Keyword Planner places no limits on the insights available. You can dig deeply into the keyword research process without worrying about expensive upgrades or walled-off premium features. The combination of an intuitive interface plus comprehensive PPC data makes this an essential destination for informing paid search campaigns.

Paid Options:

– Ahrefs – With its robust toolkit that spans keyword research, competitor tracking, backlink analysis and technical audits, Ahrefs has decisively emerged as an industry-leading SEO software platform.
– SEMrush – Semrush offers the right balance of power and ease-of-use for companies focused beyond search engine optimization into broader growth initiatives.
The tools reveal the average monthly searches for each keyword, helping you pinpoint terms that balance relevant search volume and specificity to your business.

Record Keyword Variations in an Organized List

As you gather keywords from the research tools, be sure to document them in an organized way for future content planning. Sort them from highest to lowest search volume, but also keep track of other helpful categories:
– Keywords already ranking on page 1 for your site
– Geotargeted keywords including your location
– Longer, more specific long-tail versions of keywords
– Trending upward in recent popularity
Maintaining this structured keyword list will allow you to strategically sprinkle the best terms throughout your website over time. You’ll also refer back to these keywords when writing page titles, meta descriptions, headers, image alt text, URL slugs and blog content.

Analyze Keyword Competition Levels

In addition to search volume, most keyword research tools report a competition metric to indicate how challenging it may be to rank for a given term.

Keywords show “high competition” when many other domains are already ranking well and bidding actively for the keyword via paid search ads. “Low competition” keywords have fewer established sites targeting the term.

As a newer website or blog, low and medium competition keywords will provide more accessible targets for early content efforts. Once you build domain authority and trust signals, you can pursue selective high-competition terms.

Our landscaping example likely has better luck ranking newer pages for:
“native plant landscaping materials” (low competition)
Rather than jumping to highly saturated phrases like:
“landscaping company” (high competition)

Study Trends to Detect Rising Keywords

It is wise to examine keyword performance over recent time periods like the past year. Growing search volume indicates rising user interest, providing an SEO opportunity to publish content while a topic remains hot.
For example, Google Trends could show increasing appetite for information about:
“drought resistant backyard”
“fire resistant landscaping”
Keyword tracking gives you an always-pulse on shifts in customer search behavior so you can adapt website content accordingly.

Repurpose Keyword Phrases into Blog Post Titles

An advanced SEO tactic involves repurposing your best-performing keyword phrases into blog post title ideas themselves. This immediately sets the content up to rank for those solid keywords.
For example, turning the keyword “native plant landscaping materials” into the blog headline:

“10 Native Plants to Use for Sustainable Landscaping Materials”

Not only does this provide readers with practical advice, but it also bakes the primary keyword phrase right into the title itself.
You can mine all variations from your keyword list to create blog content centered around ranking for those terms. Plus, working them into headings and opening sentences strengthens optimization further.

My expert point of view on Ongoing Keyword Tracking

Want to Start Boosting Your Website’s SEO?

Keyword research is only step one. To maximize your organic reach over time, you need to continually track keyword performance month-over-month and refresh your targeting.

Set reminders to revisit your core keyword list each quarter to spot:
– New keyword opportunities gaining searches
– Established keywords decreasing in volume
– Terms you’ve already ranked for (to produce more content around)

Consistently improving your keyword research and targeting ensures your content stays aligned with your audience’s evolving interests.

Thorough keyword research provides the fuel for sustainable search engine optimization. Following the steps in this guide will help you extract the best keywords to drive qualified traffic to your site long-term. Interested in a complete website overhaul or refresh? Our team of marketing experts offers SEO site audits and custom content roadmaps to set your brand up for online success.

This is the Toto way.

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About the Author

Jennifer DeRosa

Are you looking to build your own website but don't know where to start? Meet Jennifer DeRosa, the author of "Building DIY Website for Dummies" and the founder of Toto Coaching. With over two decades of experience in website design and development, Jennifer has helped countless businesses establish their online presence using platforms like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, and Shopify. In her book, Jennifer shares her expertise on how to build a website from scratch, guiding you through the process. But that's not all – Jennifer also offers companion courses at Toto Coaching, where you can learn how to optimize your website for search engines (SEO), build a WordPress website, and develop strategies to convert leads and presell services. As the owner of Toto SEO, Jennifer also helps small businesses improve their online presence and SEO. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry, having owned a web development agency for over 23 years, spoken at numerous events, attended WordCamps and WooCamps across the country, and even ran local WordPress Meetups. She is a frequent speaker for WordPress Meetups, SCORE, and others. Jennifer's thirst for knowledge recently led her to complete a course on No Code Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the prestigious MIT University. Her career also includes consulting roles with industry giants such as Mercedes Benz Credit Corporation, US Surgical, GTE, GE Capital, Unilever, and Calvin Klein.

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