A Step-By-Step Guide to SEO Keyword Research for Business Owners

You've likely heard the phrase "Content is King" ad nauseam. But is content the only factor driving success in digital marketing? Not quite. It's the right type of content aimed at the right audience that works magic. In other words, it's about doing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) the right way, starting with the most fundamental aspect: SEO keyword research.

As a business owner or a small marketing team member, perhaps you wonder, "What's the big deal about this?" Isn't it just about stuffing your content with keywords, and voila, you rank higher? Well, this is a misconception, one that this article aims to rectify. We'll give you the fundamentals of SEO keyword research—explaining why it matters, how to do it, what tools to use, the necessary metrics to keep track of, and how to effectively write for the right keywords.

You'll walk away from this read with newfound knowledge and, perhaps, an abundance of high-ranking keywords for your business. 

Understanding the Importance of SEO Keyword Research

The idea is simple. By understanding and utilizing the words and phrases that are highly relevant to your product or service and aligning them with what prospective customers are searching for, you're essentially facilitating a meeting point. This results in increased visibility, more footfall on your website, and, ultimately, leads to conversions. This conceptually straightforward yet technologically advanced process is the vital role that SEO keyword research plays in digital marketing.

Let's explore this in some depth. Imagine you own a small coffee shop in Brooklyn, and you want more customers walking through the door. Well, if your dream customers are out there, searching for "best coffee shop in Brooklyn" or "cozy coffee shop near me," wouldn't you want to make sure those exact phrases are populating your website? This is essentially what keyword research aims to achieve. It's the process of discovering and using the words and phrases your audience uses when they're seeking the exact goods or services that you provide. By using these insights to craft your site’s content, you make it easier for search engines to match your site with these potential customers.

This way, SEO keyword research is about more than just achieving higher rankings and getting more clicks. It's about understanding your audience and what they are looking for. It's about creating content that answers their questions, solves their problems, and ultimately positions your business as the logical choice.

Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting SEO Keyword Research

1. Think like your customer

Like any marketing strategy, this requires a deep understanding of your audience, a keen eye on your competitors, and a sharp focus on your business goals. This means identifying the exact search terms or phrases they're likely to use when seeking your products or services. So, what are they typing into the search engine bar? Sit for a moment and put yourself into your customer's shoes. Alternatively, you can use online surveys or customer interviews to gather this valuable information. 

2. Use an SEO keyword research tool

Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMRush, or Ahrefs can be handy here. Why guess when you can have data-driven insights, right? These tools will provide you with not only an array of suitable keyword suggestions but also, crucially, insights into the competition and search volume. Highly competitive keywords may be hard to rank for, so you might want to seek those with high search volume and low competition. 

At this point, you may be wondering why these statistics matter. If you have piles of keywords, why should you worry about metrics? Well, it's because metrics provide you with a clearer understanding of what you're up against. They allow you to determine whether or not a keyword will genuinely benefit your website's SEO. For instance, keyword difficulty is an estimate of how challenging it will be for you to rank higher than current websites on the first page of search engine results.

Another important metric is volume. This reflects the average number of monthly searches for a keyword. It's crucial for keyword research as it helps you gauge potential traffic and competition.

Targeting keywords with the right balance of volume and difficulty leads to more relevant visitors and improves your overall SEO strategy.

3. Evaluate relevance and intent

Not every keyword related to your business will be relevant or bring in the right kind of traffic. You need to understand the user intent behind each keyword. Are users looking to purchase, seeking information, or making comparisons?

Simply put, search intent, or user intent, is the goal a user has in mind when typing a query into a search engine. Search intent includes 'informational' searches (where users seek answers or knowledge), 'navigational' searches (where users are looking for a specific website), 'transactional' searches (where users intend to make a purchase), and 'commercial' searches (where users are looking for a product but haven't decided where to buy it). Recognizing these different intent types can help you understand where your user is in their buying journey, and this understanding can be utilized to inform your overall SEO strategy. 

Keywords are invaluable in bringing the right kind of audience to your website. This is where a comprehensive SEO keyword research service can bring value to your business. They do the heavy lifting when it comes to understanding user intent and ensuring keyword relevance.  

4. Assess and adjust

SEO keyword research is not a one-off task. It's an ongoing process, as keywords can change over time based on trends and market changes. So, ensure you perform regular keyword audits, evaluate your performance, and adjust your strategy as necessary.

Securing the right SEO keyword research service for your business can make or break your online presence. But with the right approach and tools, the climb to the top of the search results is not as steep as it might first appear.

Fine-Tuning Your SEO: The Role of Long-Tail Keywords

Seems unusual, doesn't it? The notion of extending your focus beyond those few, high-competition keywords that seem so enticingly lucrative. Yet, in the grand scheme of SEO optimization, the immense value of long-tail keywords simply cannot be overlooked. But what exactly are these, and why are they so essential in the execution of a successful SEO strategy? 

Long-tail keywords are those search phrases that are highly specific and often longer than regular search phrases. They may not have high search volume, but they possess significant potential to drive highly-targeted traffic to your site. They are called 'long-tail' as they reside in the 'long-tail' section of the search demand graph, which represents less competitive—yet highly valuable—search terms. 

Here's an example to lay the idea out more clearly. A regular keyword might be something direct like 'SEO services', whereas a long-tail keyword might be more detailed, such as 'best SEO keyword research service for small businesses'. 

But, why venture into long-tail keyword research? Besides them being less competitive, long-tail keywords are typically easier to rank for, they can potentially boost conversion rates, and they provide valuable insights into the specifics of what your target audience is searching for.

Selecting engaging long-tail keywords is all about understanding your audience's intent and aligning your content with your customer’s needs. So, don't ignore them. Instead, make these specific, less competitive keywords a focal point of your keyword research strategy. 

Remember, the goal isn't simply about amassing site traffic. It's to attract the right kind of traffic—and long-tail keyword research can help you do exactly that. It’s time to peep into the long tail, and you may just find a treasure trove waiting for you. But how do you identify the right long-tail keywords? 

You can tap into the power of various SEO research tools to help you find the right long-tail keywords. Some worthy mentions include Google’s ‘Searches related to’ feature at the bottom of search results, SEMRush, Ahrefs, and the 'People also ask' box. Besides these, you can also check competitors' sites for any long-tail keywords they might be targeting and seek inspiration from the same. 

Conclusion

In the competitive and dynamic world of digital marketing, your choice of keywords can either make you soar or sink. Therefore, the importance of meticulous and strategic SEO keyword research cannot be overstated. Doing so will put you in a better position to meet your audience's needs and outshine your competition. 

We hope this guide gave you the confidence to do your own SEO keyword research. But should you need a helping hand, our expert SEO strategists would be delighted to assist. At Prodigy, we understand the nuances and complexities involved in SEO keyword research and offer a tailored SEO Keyword Research Service that will optimally position your brand online.

If this critical part of digital marketing becomes too daunting for you and your team, drop us a line.