Keywords Research helps to identify words / phrases to optimize web content to improve rank on the search engines, and drive traffic to the website. Keyword research tools provide data that help in the selection of the most appropriate keywords for content optimization.
Table of Contents
Keywords Analysis and Selection
Step 1: Prepare seed keywords list
The seed keywords are the main keywords that represent the core idea or the theme of the content or web page for which keywords strategy is being prepared. You need to identify a seed keyword based on the subject of the content or article or webpage.
Example: Our services webpage describes our content and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) services for B2B businesses. Accordingly, we have selected two seed keywords; content writing and content marketing. The keyword research methodology described will be using only ‘content writing’ as a seed keyword, even as the method can be replicated for other seed keywords.
Step 2: Keywords search volume and difficulty evaluation
A keyword research tool is used to find the data on search volume and search difficulty for the seed keyword. The keywords with high volume need not necessarily mean target keywords and they have to be assessed for specificity, and user intent.
As the objective of our services webpage is to provide information on content services offering, so we decided to use ‘content writing’ as the seed keyword. We used ‘content writing’ as a seed word on the SEMRush keyword research tool, we got a list of more than 100 words that included ‘content writing’, with an average monthly volume ranging from 10 to 5,400. We collated data on the relevant keywords in an excel and some of the keywords are represented in a tabular format.
| Phrase | Average Volume | Search Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| content writing | 5,400 | 36 |
| content writing services | 1,300 | 29 |
| content writing for website | 1,000 | 25 |
| content writing companies | 260 | 27 |
| content writing for blogs | 210 | 21 |
Step 3: Identify focus keyword
We selected content writing services as our focus keyword or primary keyword since it matches our services page intent of providing information on content services. We collected information on search volume, search difficulty, paid difficulty, and cost per click for our targeted geography of the United States, United Kingdom, and India, which looks good.
| Metrics | United Staes | United Kingdom | India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Volume | 1,300 | 320 | 1,900 |
| Search difficulty | 29 | 23 | 23 |
| Paid difficulty | 50 | 32 | 32 |
| Cost per click (CPC) | $15.40 | $12.64 | Rs 67.97 |
Google Search Engine Auto Suggestions
The top five auto-suggestions from the Google search engine for the focus keyword were also identified to help us select the most appropriate keyword.
- content writing services pricing
- content writing services India
- content writing services reviews
- content writing services uk
- content writing services in usa
People Also Ask
The top search questions from People also ask section in search engine result page were also identified.
- What are content writing services?
- What does a content writer do?
- What do you need to be a content writer?
- How much does a content writer make?
We have also included the keywords in question format from the list that we created in the preliminary analysis stage. Additionally, there is also an option to check for questions on the Q&A forum Quora.
| Phrase | Average Volume | Search Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| how to content writing for website | 170 | 16 |
| what is content writing job | 20 | 9 |
Keyword trends
As keyword search volumes are averages over a period of time it is a good practice to check search trends from Google Trends to see if there is seasonality in keywords. It also helps in a comparative evaluation of two or more keywords. In the graph above we have checked the trend of the keywords, content writing services, and content marketing services.
The graph indicates there is no seasonality other than what is seen around February and March 2020 which is due to Covid-19 related business disruption. Also, the term content marketing service has a high preference compared to content writing services but it is one of the factors that will be used in the next step of evaluation.
Step 4: Keywords evaluation
We have got multiple variations for our focus keyword of content writing services for optimizing the web page.
- The keywords list derived from the method of auto-suggestions does not provide any specific insights, however, indicates interest in services pricing and geographical presence among the users. Hence, the content within the page needs to incorporate these topics.
- Similarly, the keyword list derived from the people also asks section do not offer specific insights and are mostly inquisitive queries about the basics of content writing.
- Among the keywords in question format, one of the phrases is about content writing for the website. The web page should accordingly cover the topic and use the question as a secondary keyword.
If you would like to assess more seed keywords then you can follow step 1 to 4 for those seed keywords. You can then make a final selection of keyword(s) for optimization in the next step 5.
If you would be interested to make a more informed decision on the final keyword(s) and also content suggestions then a detailed organic search competitor assessment will be useful.
Step 5: Keywords selection
Based on keyword analysis we have finally selected content writing services as a focus keyword for the services webpage. Though there are no secondary keywords, the analysis suggests the need to include descriptive information on content writing for the website. The keywords analysis also suggests that information on pricing and geographical coverage should be incorporated in the webpage.
It is good practice to create a keyword map to maintain records of focus keywords for different pages of the website so that no two pages are competing to rank for the same keyword.
The method is not definitive and conclusive because content optimization is an ongoing process in which you have to keep on improvising to meet the information needs of your target audience. We believe the method outlined here is a good approach for creating the core keyword(s) for the intended webpage. You can create a shell of new keywords around this core as you discover new trends that offer new optimization potential.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a keyword map?
A keyword map is basically a document which outlines which keywords belong to which pages of the site.
- First, it allows us to make sure we are creating focused pages around a particular keyword or group of keywords. It ensures that we are not inadvertently cannibalizing our own efforts by using duplicated keywords or keywords that are too similar on more than one page. This will cause those pages to compete with one another for the same search query.
- Second, it provides us with a document to reference, as we are making recommendations and changes to the site. This will help guide our efforts throughout the optimization process.
- Third, this allows us to more easily gain insight into how our pages are performing for their keyword focus and topic. Using Google Analytics, we can get an idea of how well these keywords are actually sending in traffic by looking at organic landing pages and comparing those pages to our keyword map. One can then look at things like engagement level metrics and bounce rates to determine how well that page may be meeting the needs of the visitors.
Keywords map also helps to plan out website architecture by seeing how different pages are related to one another.