How to Find Keywords

To craft engaging content that addresses the interests of your niche audience, it's essential to understand their search preferences and requirements.

My initial advice for keyword research: Familiarise yourself with your niche!

Delving into keyword research enables you to gain insight into the subtopics and prevalent themes within your niche.

Within this section, I will explore the various tools and platforms available for discovering keywords, including:

Google Keyword Planner | Keyword tools | Google Suggestions | AnswerThePublic | YouTube | Google Search Console | Reddit | Forums | Amazon

Consider you manage a blog centered around hiking. It's evident that keywords like "hiking" or "hiking trails" are top contenders for ranking. However, these keywords, often referred to as fat head keywords, inherently face intense competition.

Yet, delving deeper into the niche unveils alternative keywords, such as:

• "GPS watch with heart rate monitor”
• "best android app for geocaching”
• "how long does it take to walk the Appalachian trail”
• "how many calories does hiking burn”

These keywords provide a more nuanced understanding of your audience's interests within the hiking niche.

These are what we refer to as long-tail keywords. A typical long-tail keyword:

• Contains 3 or more words
• Exhibits lower search volume, yet generally lower competition
• Is more specific, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates

As depicted in the image, visitors arriving via long-tail keywords can constitute a substantial portion of your overall organic traffic.

The internet serves as a platform for providing information, addressing inquiries, and resolving issues.

Therefore, your content strategy should focus on addressing all possible queries within your niche. Long-tail keywords serve as a valuable tool for discovering these inquiries.

Let’s take a look at a few places that can help you find keywords people use naturally when discussing the related topics.

Google Keyword Planner

For a considerable period, Google Keyword Planner served as a primary free keyword tool for numerous individuals.

However, as keyword research evolved into a more intricate process, many SEO professionals have opted for more sophisticated tools.

To utilize this tool, you'll need to create a Google Ads account, which can be done swiftly if you already have a Google account.

Once registered, navigate to Tools and select Keyword Planner.

Select Discover new keywords and enter the seed keyword(s) to get the suggestions.

After that, you’ll see a list of keywords sorted by the relevance to the seed keyword.

Google Keyword Planner is an excellent resource for PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns, offering valuable data.

While it provides many keyword ideas for SEO, it doesn't fully replace a dedicated keyword tool.

However, it can still be helpful if you keep these points in mind:

• Search Volumes Grouping: The search volumes are often grouped based on similar keywords.
• Volume Ranges: You'll only see search volume ranges (e.g., 1K – 10K) unless you invest a significant amount in Google Ads.

Google Keyword Planner is part of Google Ads. Its competition column reflects PPC competition, not organic search difficulty.

Keyword Research Tools

A great way to discover numerous keyword opportunities is by using a keyword research tool. Many options are available, such as KWFinder, KeywordTool, and Long Tail Pro.

You might wonder whether it's worth paying for a keyword research tool. The answer depends on various factors, but here's my recommendation:

Benefits of using a professional keyword research tool include:

• Time-Saving: Quickly generate hundreds of keyword ideas with a single click.
• Exclusive Data: Access unique information like keyword difficulty, search volume, and SERP data.
• Competitive Edge: Gain an advantage over competitors who don't use keyword tools.

Keyword research typically involves three main steps: FINDING, ANALYZING, and USING keywords. A keyword research tool helps you efficiently complete the first two steps.

There are two primary methods to conduct research with a keyword tool:

• Seed Keyword Search
• Competitor-Based Research

Seed Keyword Search

As the name suggests, this method begins with a seed keyword, a phrase that describes your topic.

For example, if you're creating content about coffee machines, simply enter "coffee machines" into the tool.

Suggestions are generated based on topical relevance and the autocomplete feature, providing keywords that include the seed keyword plus additional words.

In addition to keyword suggestions, a quality tool provides SEO metrics to help you analyze and choose the best keywords.

You can easily check the exact search volume, keyword difficulty, and search results page (SERP).

We’ll talk about the meaning of these metrics and the ways to analyze the keyword in the next lesson.

Competitor-based keyword research

Competitor keyword research is one of the most valuable features of keyword tools.

Why?

Because manually finding your competitors' keywords is extremely tedious. You would need to go page by page, guessing which keywords they target.

However, with a proper tool, it's just a matter of a few clicks.

There are two basic methods to do this:

• Check Your Competitor’s Domain for New Topic Ideas: By analyzing the keywords your competitor ranks for, you can discover new topic ideas to cover on your website.

For example, by entering the domain of a popular coffee blog like homegrounds.co, the tool can show you hundreds of keywords the site ranks for.

It's that simple.

• Check Specific URL for Keyword Ideas on a Specific Topic: This method is useful if you already have a topic in mind.

For instance, if you want to write an article about "pour over coffee" for your blog, enter the keyword into Google to see who ranks for it. If it's not you, it's your competitor.

Once you've identified a competitor, enter the URL of their article into the tool. You will then see other keywords the article ranks for, all of which are closely related to your main topic.

In the screenshot, you'll notice that an article about "pour over coffee" ranks for related terms like:

• "pour over coffee temperature”
• "pour over filter”
• "pour over coffee instructions”
• "what is pour over"

These are all keywords you can incorporate into your own content.

Exciting, isn't it?

Google suggestions

Google provides numerous keyword suggestions directly in the search results to assist users in finding the most relevant information.

Now, let's explore three features you can utilize to discover new keyword ideas:

Autocomplete

You might have observed that Google suggests related search queries directly in the search bar. Since these suggestions stem from real searches by users, they can serve as valuable inspiration for compelling keywords.

Begin by entering your seed keyword into Google search and appending letters or numbers to observe the suggested queries.

We can experiment with different combinations:

• Email marketing a, b, c…
• Email marketing ab, ac, ad…
• Email marketing 0, 1, 2…
• Best email marketing...

People also ask

Another feature available in Google search results is the "people also ask" snippet. It typically appears for question queries and recommends other related questions.

These can serve as an inspiration for long-tail question-type keywords.

Searches related to…

This feature resembles autocomplete, but the suggestions appear at the bottom of the search results page.

AnswerThePublic

A simpler method to obtain autocomplete suggestions is by automating the process. AnswerThePublic is one such tool that provides this service for free. Simply input your seed keyword, and it will generate autocomplete suggestions from Google and Bing for each letter of the alphabet.

My favourite feature is generating keyword suggestions based on:

• Question words (when, how, where, what, can, will…)
• Prepositions (for, without, to, with,…)
• Comparison words (like, versus, and, or,…)

YouTube suggestions

YouTube ranks as the second largest search engine globally.

While keyword research for this platform has its unique aspects, it can also benefit Google keyword research.

Popular topics on YouTube often correspond to high search volumes on Google.

Let’s take an example.

When searching "water filter" on YouTube, a relevant keyword idea in one of the video titles is "diy water filter.”

A brief examination of the search volume confirms that the phrase is also highly popular in Google search.

Another approach is to utilize the YouTube Autocomplete feature. When users search for videos on YouTube, they often use queries that are more "practical" in nature.

Comparing the autocomplete suggestions between Google and YouTube reveals their differences

There are some useful tools such as YouTube Keyword Tool that scrapes the autocomplete results automatically.

Google Search Console

To uncover highly relevant keywords, it's beneficial to examine your current rankings in Google Search Console.

If your article already ranks for certain keywords, there's a good chance you'll discover other long-tail phrases it also ranks for.

Here are two methods to identify keywords with promising potential:

1. Review keywords with high impressions but low click-through rates.

Keywords with significant impressions but minimal clicks suggest untapped traffic potential, potentially indicating that your content isn't ranking high enough or may have experienced a temporary ranking but no longer maintains it.

Navigate to your Search Console and select Search results in the performance section.

From there: You can view all the keywords you rank for with the domain by default under the Queries setting.

Alternatively, you can select a specific URL under Pages, then return to Queries to see the keywords you rank for with that particular URL.

Next, arrange the results by the number of impressions. Identify keywords that seem relevant to your content but have a low click-through rate.

Evaluate these keywords to determine if they merit further attention, considering factors such as search volume and difficulty, as discussed in the upcoming third lesson.

If they show potential, consider enhancing the article's optimization for these keywords.

2. Assess your rankings on the second or third Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

By examining the average position for queries, you may discover that you rank on the second or third SERP for keywords that weren't the primary focus of your article but still generate impressions and clicks.

To do this, navigate to the Performance section and select Average position (which may not be displayed by default). Then, sort the queries by this metric.

While not the most precise method for tracking rankings, this approach can help identify easily attainable opportunities among the keywords where you already have some ranking presence.

Imagine you've written a piece on various types of coffee machines.

In Search Console, you discover the keyword "4 cup coffee maker" with an average position around the second or third SERP.

Given the keyword's relevance and substantial search volume, it presents a promising opportunity to drive traffic to your blog.

You have two options:

1. Enhance the existing article to give more prominence to the keyword. (However, delving into such a specific subtopic might not align with the broader scope of the article.)
2. Create a new post centered on "best 4 cup coffee makers" and link it from the main article.

By crafting a high-quality article dedicated to this topic, you increase your likelihood of ranking higher for the keyword compared to the general post.

Reddit

Reddit stands out as one of the largest online communities, encompassing virtually every imaginable topic. Consequently, it serves as an excellent resource for connecting with individuals interested in your niche and exploring the topics they engage with.

For instance, let's consider the niche of aquascaping (which I stumbled upon while composing this guide and believe I've found my retirement hobby).

Begin by searching for subreddits relevant to your niche. Even within a specific niche like aquascaping, you'll find numerous followers across various subreddits.

You can choose a particular subreddit and explore its most popular posts. Alternatively, search for posts that pose questions within the subreddit.

Here are some search terms you can use:

• “question”
• "how can I”
• "how do you”
• “suggestions”
• "tips"

These searches will yield a variety of questions related to the niche. They can serve as inspiration for your next piece of content, based on ongoing discussions within the online community.

In the screenshot above, you can see possible topic ideas for the aquascaping niche.

Simple and effective, isn't it?

Niche forums

While forums may not enjoy the same level of popularity as in the past, there are still niche-specific forums thriving.

To discover forums related to your topic, try these search queries:

• "keyword forum”
• "keyword" + “forum"
• "keyword" + “forums"

Here’s an example of an active forum in the board games niche:

By delving into a particular category, you can uncover numerous threads and potential keyword ideas derived from the topics actively discussed by people.

If you come across a niche forum that appears as if it's from the 90s, yet boasts thousands of threads and features recent posts, you've struck gold.

Amazon

Were you aware that Amazon operates its own search engine known as A9?

Just like Google and YouTube, it gathers data on popular search queries and provides automatic suggestions.

You can either search for these suggestions manually or utilize one of the many free tools available that automate this process.

The relevance of the suggestions relies on the product conversion rate and buying behaviour.

Making these keywords particularly valuable for content geared towards transactions.

Are you involved in affiliate marketing or own an e-commerce store?

Keep Amazon in mind.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia serves as an excellent keyword resource due to its hierarchical structure. You can navigate from broader topics to more specific subtopics by exploring tables of contents and sub-chapters.

For instance, consider this example:

• Exercise (main topic)
• Fitness (subtopic)
• Physical fitness (article)
• Aerobic exercise (article)
• Types of aerobic exercise (chapter)
• Indoor rower (article)
• Indoor rowing techniques (chapter)

Within minutes, I transitioned from the broad topic of exercise to the specific sub-topic/keyword of indoor rowing techniques.

For certain major topics, you may discover a detailed table of related subtopics located at the bottom of their Wikipedia page. This can provide valuable insight into the breadth and depth of the subject matter.

Finally, you can utilize a no-cost tool, such as the one provided by Karooya, to automatically extract topic ideas and keywords from Wikipedia for you.

Indeed, a vast wellspring of keyword inspiration, isn't it?

Certainly, numerous other platforms can serve as sources of keyword inspiration. Simply seek out places where individuals within your niche congregate online, such as:

• Twitter threads
• Quora questions
• Facebook groups
• Content curation platforms
• And more

Keyword ideas abound across various platforms. However, not all keywords are created equal.

How do you analyze them to identify the ones worth targeting?

Wait for the third lesson to find out.

Lesson 1 - Keyword Research Basics

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