Keyword research is the most important aspect of SEO – you might have heard this a hundred times if not a thousand.
But why does everyone stress this topic so much? Why is keyword research important for SEO and your overall digital marketing strategy?
If you are a newbie or have just started a new website, this is the first question you need to get an answer to.
Whether you are an individual blogger or a small business owner, it is obvious that you want Google to present your website to the users when they perform a search related to your business.
But until and unless your website pages are properly optimized for those specific search terms that are not gonna happen!
And that is when keyword research comes into the picture.
Before we discuss why is keyword research important for SEO, we need to first understand what is keyword research.
What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research or keyword analysis is the process of finding those search terms and phrases, for what you want your website to rank for.
Ideally, the process should start at the time of creating a new site.
But don’t worry, if you have not done that in the first place. You can always perform an SEO Audit and optimize your website for the right set of keywords.
When you build a new site for your business, you need to find out the set of search queries, people might be looking for if they want to buy your products or services.
If your website is optimized for some wrong keywords, the traffic you will get from those web pages is of no use.
As your webpage is ranked well in the SERP, they will surely come to your site.
But within seconds, they will bounce back too.
It is like giving an advertisement about sports equipment when you are actually selling chocolate cookies!
If they don’t find the information they are looking for, then it is obvious that they will click the back button to find the relevant information from other pages of that search engine result page.
And that will invite pogo-sticking.
Keyword research can prevent that, as you will find out only those search terms for which you can provide the right information on your site.
Now let’s check out why is keyword research important in 2022 and beyond.
Why is Keyword Research Important for SEO?
You might have seen that a major portion of your search traffic is coming from only a few of your blog posts. Did you ever think, why is it so?
Because those few blog posts have ranked high for some specific search terms. Now, this is beneficial, only if those search terms are related to your website.
If your site is ranked for some wrong search queries, then the traffic you will get from those pages is of no use.
They will immediately leave your website while increasing the bounce rate.
And you surely don’t want that.
So it is better that you know about those search terms and phrases, beforehand and optimizes your web pages around them.
It is as much necessary that you write supporting articles for the primary post and link back to that for improving the overall SEO.
This will also help you to develop your content strategy.
Main/ Short Keywords vs Long Tail Keywords
If you have a confectionery shop and making chocolate chip cookies is your specialty, then the term “chocolate chip cookies” is your main keyword.
It is more than awesome if you can rank for the short keyword term, as a huge number of people will search for that.
But it is easier said than done.
The competition is tremendously high, as you have to rank top among 2,94,00,000 other sites (that is the current search result for the keyword)!
Now, not everyone searches with only that term.
Best chocolate chip cookies in Manhattan – is the query from someone who is actually looking to buy the product.
People tend to search with specific long terms when they have already done some searches and have narrowed down their search. They are then at the end of their buying cycle.
Now if you have a business in the location or have a delivery option there, then it makes sense to optimize your blog post for the latter where you have to compete with 8,62,000, which is quite possible.
How to Do Keyword Research for SEO?
This post is for you to understand why is keyword research important so that you don’t neglect this crucial aspect of SEO.
There needs to be a dedicated post to answer how to do that effectively. However, I will give a brief about the same here.
So, now you know why is keyword research important for SEO. It is in fact the first thing to get started with your digital marketing strategy.
You cannot optimize your web pages until and unless you are aware of the specific search terms related to your business.
A particular web page can be optimized for a maximum of 2 keywords (primary and secondary).
The process of keyword research is a little lengthy. So in the beginning, you may find it boring and think that your intuition is enough to find the right set of keywords.
But, this is not the right way to get started with your digital strategy. You need to do the proper analysis to find the right set of keywords.
Best SEO Keyword Research Tools to Find Keywords
Now that you know why is keyword research important for SEO, you must learn how to do it efficiently. There are many free and paid keyword tools available online that can help you to perform the process.
Some of the most popular SEO keyword research tools that are currently available are:
1. Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner is a free keyword research tool from Google. It is still the best one for any newbie.
This takes some time to get conversant with the tool and you must develop the right intuition to narrow down the results.
2. SEMRush
This is one of the best tools to find competitors’ keywords.
You can just put the webpage of the best-performing sites in your blog niche and get the list of keywords that the site is ranking for, along with the approximate search for each keyword.
Try SEMRush to find your competitor’s keyword.
3. Ahrefs
Ahrefs Keyword Explorer is a great tool for exploring thousands of new keyword ideas. You can also discover semantic and long-tail keywords for your search query.
Research by Ahrefs shows that “40% of all searches are coming from billions of long-tail keywords.” So finding and utilizing them in your content can surely boost your traffic.
It also allows you to check the keyword difficulty level which gives an approximation of needed backlinks to rank for that keyword.
4. Rank Tracker
SEO Powersuite is the complete solution for all your SEO needs (read SEO Powersuite review). It comprises 4 powerful SEO tools.
The Rank Tracker of SEO Powersuite helps you to find the most profitable keywords relevant to your business.
Provide your seed keyword to create a project. It can fetch data from your Analytics account or provide a new set of potential keywords.
Check out the SEO Powersuite Summer sale to get this software 70% off.
5. Long Tail Pro
This is another great keyword tool that will help you to find out the right set of keywords.
You can read the detailed review on how Long Tail Pro can help you find high-potential keywords.
6. Google Search Console
You can check out the set of keywords, your website is currently ranking for.
This will help you to develop your content strategy to support those primary blog posts.
7. Google Auto Suggest
This is one of the best sources to find long-tail keywords for your primary keywords.
When you type your primary keyword and put space or any other letter, you will see some related suggestions. Those are the long-tail keywords for your search query.
Conclusion: Why Keyword Research is Important for SEO
I hope, by the time you have found the answer to why is keyword research important for SEO in 2022 and beyond.
It goes without saying that, keyword research is the basis of digital marketing.
Without analyzing and finding the right set of search queries you cannot excel in your business online.
What do you think about the keyword research importance? Do you always conduct keyword research at the beginning of digital marketing? Which keyword tool do you use on a regular basis?
I would love to know your experience with keyword research.
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