Keyword Research: what is it and how to do it

If you want to take your company’s content strategy to the next level, it’s important to take on SEO practices to climb the search engine rankings. Your brand will achieve greater visibility and increase the chances of reaching and engaging your target audience. A key step in this process is working in keyword research, which helps you find the keywords that will position your business on the website.

Do you want to learn how to conduct a keyword research? Find out with us Redegal what you need to know about it and to apply it to your company in order to improve its results. We invite you to continue reading. 

What is Keyword Research? 

A keyword research can answer the question of which keywords to choose for your company’s SEO strategy. It is a research process focused on the keywords that your potential customers use in search engines to find what they are looking for.

The goal is to produce content aligned with users’ search intent and to present it in a way that matches their expectations. Using these keywords will help users find your website more easily, which, in turn, will increase traffic and improve conversions.

Some points to consider when doing this keyword search are: 

• Relevant words that are directly or indirectly related to your business.
• Ensure that the level of competition for those keywords is appropriate for the relevance and size of your website. This will enable you to compete in areas where you have a chance to rank among the top positions in search engines.
• Look that the keywords have a search volume that is relevant to your strategy. This number indicates user interest in the topic and the potential traffic volume they can generate, as well as helping you identify the most common ways people search for the same thing.

Why do you need to do a keyword research in your company? 

In the digital age, where there is a constant flow of information and over 40,000 searches are recorded per second (InternetLiveStats), SEO and keywords can help your company stand out. A keyword optimization strategy can translate into: 

• Increase organic traffic to your business website 
• Potential for conversions and sales 
• Increase in lead generation 
• Relying less on paid advertising

How to classify the keywords of Keyword Research? 

Finding keywords is an important step, but categorizing them is crucial when implementing them into your SEO strategy. In Redegal, we show you a possible classification with two basic categories: user intent and search volume.

Keywords based on user search intent 

• Informational keywords refer to users who are interested in a topic and seek information about it. For example: how to create an ecommerce site?
• Transactional. The user makes the search with a clear intention such as buying or making a reservation. For example: hiring SEO services. 
• Navigational. These are those in which you search a web or page in particular. Example: if you search for Redegal directly in the search engine.
• Commercial investigation keywords are used to gather information for decision-making. For example: best 4 tools to create an ecommerce site.

Keywords according to volume and search specification 

• Shot tail o head. Are usually one or two very generic words, resulting in high search volume and intense competition. For example, searching for just the term ecommerce.
• Middle tail. These searches are more specific and involve a higher level of segmentation, with a medium search volume. An example could be cosmetics ecommerce.
• Long tail. These are long-tail keywords, meaning they involve searching for a very specific concept, typically consisting of more than four words. They usually have lower competition due to lower search volume and more diversified search intent. For example: steps to create a vegan cosmetics ecommerce.

4 steps to do Keyword Research in your company

1. Analyze keywords 

To start creating this list of keywords you have to be clear about what your business offers, what are the goals set and who you want to impact with your communication strategy. 

From there, consider how other people might search for your company to identify possible search intentions. We recommend noting down keywords from the most generic to the more specific. Here are some suggestions to get started:

• Use a single search intent per page to avoid competition between pages and prevent keyword cannibalization.
• Volume of keywords. See if your keywords accumulate a significant volume of searches, because then it will help you get more traffic with less content and effort. 
• Take care of the content. Try to take care of the quality of the texts you will create from this research, which include the main keyword of the page and some secondary accompanied by content that is helpful for users. 
• Think about the user. While search engines are responsible for ranking your company, remember that it’s people who are doing the searching.

2. Classify the keywords

Keywords that align with search intent and your company’s activities should be classified according to the parameters explained earlier in this post. From there, you can combine short-tail keywords with long-tail keywords to create a more precise description of your brand, products, and services.

You can also make a comparison with the keywords of competing companies. This will help you work and incorporate words that you know work to help you improve your search engine rankings. 

3. Choice and use of keywords

It’s time to choose the keywords that your company will focus on and start implementing them. It’s not enough to simply appear; it’s important that they are well-placed: in the title, subtitle  and both the first and last paragraphs. Try to incorporate them naturally and avoid overstuffing.

Another important place to incorporate keywords are metadata: title and meta description, alternative texts of images that appear when they cannot be loaded in the browser (always respecting the main purpose of the same is to transmit the same information as shown in the image). 

Finally, review the calendar and note significant dates for your business (such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Black Friday, etc.). Include specific keywords for these particular campaigns to ensure they achieve good organic results when the time comes.

4. Optimize keywords 

With the list of keywords you’ve created, it’s time to monitor them. One platform that can help with this is Google Search Console, as it provides data on the searches that caused your company’s website to appear in search results (SERPs). 

Tools that can help you in Keyword Research 

We don’t want to end this post without listing some tools that can make your keyword research task easier. So, if you want it is time to take note. 

1. Google Ads

Google’s Keyword Planner provides approximate search data for free, including the average monthly search volume and competition for terms in paid areas. It also offers historical monthly data for the past few years.

2. Google Trends 

With Google Trends, you can discover current trends and find new keywords to help your business continue growing in search engines. Additionally, by identifying relevant topics, you can engage in the conversation and demonstrate to the public that your company is active and present.

3. Ubersuggest 

In Ubersuggest, you can also find both short-tail and long-tail keywords for your business. Additionally, it allows you to analyze the keyword strategies of other sites and identify the pages that perform best among competitors. It’s especially useful for discovering new ideas.

5. Search on Google 

In this case, simply go to Google’s search bar and type in a keyword to see the most frequent searches related to it appear below. This is a straightforward way to identify popular keywords and current trends. 

In Redegal we help you with keyword research and everything related to the SEO strategy of your company from the sea sector. We have a team of professionals specialized in this. Shall we talk?