SEO Keyword Research 101

Keyword research is essential to any search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. It involves discovering and analyzing what your target audience searches for on Google, Bing, and other search engines when looking for products, services, and answers to their questions. Keywords are the building blocks of an effective SEO strategy, helping you optimize your website to rank higher in search results and attract targeted traffic for your business. 

If you put in the hard work to develop a website but neglect keyword research and publish pages with content no one is searching for, you’re unlikely to receive any traffic from search engines—no matter how good your content is or how much effort you put into it. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses struggle with this very issue. According to Ahrefs, 96.55% of pages get no organic traffic from Google. Part of the reason behind this is the lack of knowledge and implementation of keyword research in SEO strategies. 

Keyword research identifies what there’s demand for, helping businesses meet that demand in the content of their sites and structure their websites effectively to cater to both user search queries and search engines. Consequently, if your page ranks well in Google for the keyword(s) you’ve optimized it for, you’ll attract a steady stream of highly qualified visitors, increased engagement, and more sales. 
In this article, I’ll teach you how to do keyword research for a winning SEO strategy. For some, keyword research is a mystery, but there’s a clear process you can follow to identify the right keywords, analyze their relevance and potential, and optimize your content for better rankings. Here’s how to do it:

How to Do Keyword Research for SEO

Part 1: Finding keywords for your SEO strategy

Keyword research starts with knowing your target audience. What words or phrases would your ideal customer use to find the solution to their problem? You can be the answer—that is, if you know what keywords online users are using to find your business.

1. Brainstorm a list of relevant keywords related to your business

Start by putting yourself in your target audience’s shoes. Brainstorm a list of words or phrases you think they’d search when trying to find your business. These initial words will be your “seed keywords,” which you’ll use to plug into an SEO keyword research tool to generate an expanded list of search terms. 

Let’s say you own an outdoor company that specializes in selling hiking gear. Here’s what your seed keywords could look like:

• hiking boots
• backpacking gear
• camping equipment
• trekking gear
• sleeping bags
• hydration packs
• waterproof jackets

If your business operates in specific locations, incorporating local SEO best practices is crucial. Geo-specific keywords (e.g., “property management in Denver” or “Philadelphia bookstores”) help your business appear in local search results. This is especially useful for franchised or service-based companies operating in multiple cities.

On the other hand, if your business sells products or services nationwide, you’ll want to focus on broader, nationally-oriented keywords that aren’t tied to a specific location. These keywords (e.g., “best hiking gear” or “affordable CRM software”) target a wider audience and help improve visibility across search engines, regardless of geographic location. Depending on your business model, you may need a mix of local and national keywords to optimize your SEO strategy effectively.
Once you have an initial list of search terms, enter them into an SEO keyword research tool to expand your list.

2. Expand your search terms with the help of an SEO keyword research tool

There are countless keyword research tools, both paid and free, that you can use to expand your list of keywords. I like to start with Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, which is available for free with limited features. Some great alternatives are Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer or Moz’s Keyword Explorer (before you criticize SEOs for lack of creativity, continue reading).

To use Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, enter one of your seed keywords (and your domain, if you’d like more personalized AI-generated results), choose your target location, and hit “Search.” For this example, I’ll continue with the outdoor company specializing in hiking gear, starting with “hiking boots” and omitting the domain.

You’ll get a list of broad match, phrase match, exact match, or related keywords, as well as question-based search terms: 

• Broad match keywords contain any variation of your seed keyword or keyword phrase in any order
• Phrase match keywords contain your exact seed term with the words in any order
• Exact match keywords contain your exact seed term with the words in a specific order (e.g., hiking boots for women, women’s hiking boots, waterproof hiking boots, kids hiking boots)
• Related keywords are terms that generate similar search engine results to your seed keyword
• Question-based keywords contain your seed term in the form of a question

I generally stay with broad match search terms, but the other options can be helpful, especially further along in the process. To stay organized and keep track of the expanding list of keywords during your research, use Semrush’s Keyword Strategy Builder. In the Keyword Magic Tool, hover over the “+” next to a keyword, then click the hamburger button (icon with three stacked lines) to create a new keyword list for your business.

Once you’ve named your list, any keyword you add using the “+” symbol will automatically be added to it. Add all relevant keywords for your business. You’ll also see insightful keyword metrics in each of Semrush’s keyword research tools, including search intent, search volume, and keyword difficulty, which I’ll explain later.

Additional SEO Keyword Research Tools to Expand Your List

There’s more than Semrush to expand your keyword list. Ahrefs’ Free Keyword Generator Tool provides 20 related search terms and 20 related questions for each seed term and even offers basic SEO keyword metrics.

An AI tool like ChatGPT can also help you generate more ideas, but won’t show essential SEO metrics like keyword difficulty or search volume. It’s best to pair your favorite AI tool with an SEO tool like the ones I’ve mentioned. Paste your list of seed terms with a prompt like Give me 15 keyword ideas for each of the following topics:

Numerous other keyword research tools can be helpful:

• Google Trends is an excellent tool for identifying search trends over time, allowing you to see whether interest in a keyword is increasing or declining. It also lets you compare multiple keywords, view regional search interests, and discover related trending topics. However, it lacks exact search volume and competition data, making it less useful for in-depth keyword research, especially for niche topics with low search volume.
• Moz Keyword Explorer helps you assess keyword difficulty, estimate search volume, and find related keyword opportunities based on user intent. It also provides search engine results page (SERP) analysis to show what types of pages are ranking for a keyword. While it’s valuable for SEO strategy, the free version limits the number of monthly searches you can submit and its search volume estimates may not always be as precise as tools like Semrush.
• Answer the Public is ideal for generating keyword ideas based on real user questions, making it a powerful tool for content ideation and long-tail keyword research (more on “long-tail” keywords later). It visually organizes search queries into categories like “why,” “how,” and “best,” which helps understand search intent. However, it doesn’t offer search volume or competition data and the free version limits the number of daily searches.

For local keywords, use a tool like Toptal’s Merge Words to generate multiple variations of search terms, which will help you expand your research. Enter the city, state, or county you serve along with your services, and Toptal’s tool will generate a list of varied search terms by combining them.

For example, if you own a plumbing company in Austin, Texas, you could enter “Austin,” “Texas,” and surrounding regions with service terms like “pipe repair,” “water heater installation,” and “emergency plumbing.” You can also include state abbreviations (e.g., “TX”) since many online searchers use them when looking for businesses in specific locations. Toptal’s tool will then generate a list of combined phrases for you. To adjust the order, enter the service terms in the first box and the location in the second.

Once you’ve generated a list of keyword variations, you can plug them into an SEO keyword research tool like Moz Keyword Explorer or Google Trends to assess search volume and competition levels.

If I’m not trying to find related terms and just want data on the specific keywords I’ve generated with merge words (or even ChatGPT or another tool), I oftentimes just paste my list of terms into Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool. Note that this tool limits you to 100 keywords at a time. Another tool that works well for this is Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer, which allows you to analyze thousands of terms at once. The downside is that you can’t send those keywords directly to Semrush’s Keyword Strategy Builder if you want to work within the Semrush ecosystem.

Sometimes I’ll put a big batch of keywords into Keywords Explorer to weed out terms that don’t have search volume, then only paste the queries that DO have search volume into Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool. That process can save a lot of time but requires a paid account with each platform.

While free versions of these tools can be great, if you’re serious about your company’s search engine performance, you should consider investing in a good keyword research tool. This tool will also double as a performance monitoring tool (more on that later). Think of it as an investment, which is exactly what it is if you learn how to use it properly.

3. Find keywords your site is already ranking for

If you have a live website, you can find and double down on keywords you’re already ranking for. This can help you brainstorm more related keywords you may not have considered previously or improve existing pages to take advantage of low-hanging fruit keywords.

There are two tools I like to use to find existing keywords a site is ranking for:

1. Google Search Console can show some search terms your website currently ranks for and receives impressions and clicks from. For pages that aren’t receiving very many—or any—clicks, analyze whether they’re worth optimizing for better search results. The only downside to Search Console is that it doesn’t show SEO metrics like search volume or search intent, so it may be more challenging to know if it’s worth trying to improve a page’s ranking. Even though Search Console has limited keyword value data, the data it does show is extremely trustworthy since it’s coming straight from Google. Tools like Ahrefs’ Webmaster Tools (AWT) and Semrush’s Keyword Overview can help you find detailed SEO metrics. Consider optimizing pages that are ranking for keywords in the bottom of the first page or on the second page but have a favorable click-through-rate (CTR). If a page has good CTR’s, improving your ranking will almost always lead to improved traffic flow.
2. Semrush’s Domain Overview/Organic Research Tool provides a comprehensive snapshot of your website’s SEO performance, including organic search traffic, keyword rankings, and backlink data. It allows you to see which keywords your site ranks for, along with their search volume and competition level. This helps you identify high-potential pages that could be optimized for better rankings. Unlike Google Search Console, which lacks detailed SEO metrics, Semrush gives you deeper insights into your website’s authority and competitors.

4. Check out what search terms your competitors are ranking for

After you find out what keywords your website ranks for, why not discover which terms your competitors rank for? Semrush’s Keyword Gap tool helps you identify keywords your competitors are ranking for that you aren’t—allowing you to uncover missed opportunities and gain a competitive edge. 

Enter your domain and up to four of your competitors’ domains. If you don’t know who you’re competing against, do a quick Google search or let Semrush suggest competitors (found in the Organic Research tool). Then, choose your location and click “Compare.”

You can select “Missing” keywords to see all the search terms your competitor ranks for, but you don’t. “Untapped” keywords highlight terms that at least one of your competitors ranks for but you haven’t targeted yet. While some untapped keywords may be less relevant, it’s still worth reviewing them to uncover hidden opportunities that could strengthen your SEO strategy.

As you go, add new, relevant keywords to your list in Semrush’s Keyword Strategy Builder.

Part 2: Analyzing keywords for your SEO strategy

You could be left with hundreds of ideas after you’ve gathered search terms during the keyword research process. How do you decide which keywords are relevant to your business and worth targeting on your website? 

To identify the most valuable search terms for your online presence, you’ll need to analyze SEO keyword research metrics and learn how to prioritize keywords based on their potential impact.

3 SEO Metrics You Need to Know For Keyword Research & How to Use Them When Choosing Keywords

1. Search Intent

Search intent is the reason behind an online user’s search term. Understanding the intent behind a keyword search helps you determine how to target and effectively rank for keywords. Depending on your business goals, it can also help prioritize which search terms you’d like to target first. 

There are 4 basic search intent categories:

• Navigational: The user is searching for a specific webpage, usually by using the brand name or a well-known identifier associated with the site (e.g., “Paypal login,” “Twitter,” “Nike”)
• Informational: The user is looking for general information on a topic they’re curious about (e.g., “is there a difference between hiking shoes and hiking boots,” “is craniosacral therapy the same as Reiki,” or, “where can you raft in Utah”)
• Commercial: The user is actively researching or considering buying a product or service, often on the cusp of making a purchase, and is looking for reviews, comparisons, or deals (e.g., “best natural cleaning products,” “property manager near me,” “affordable yoga classes New York City”)
• Transactional: The user is searching for a specific brand or product with a firm intention to make a purchase (e.g., “Hoka running shoes,” “Apple MacBook pro,” “buy Samsung Galaxy”). This searcher is likely to have their credit card on their desk, waiting for the right product to purchase.

For location-based services and products, geo-specific keywords (e.g., “plumber in Dallas” or “coffee shop in Mobile, Alabama”) typically indicate commercial or transactional intent, as users searching with these terms are often ready to contact a business or make a purchase.

SEO keyword research tools, such as Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool or Ahref’s Keyword Explorer, often show the intent behind search terms.

You can also gain insights into keyword intent by looking at the top results on the SERP. For example, Google understands “pest control Houston” as a commercial keyword; all the results for this query direct the searcher to pest control companies in the Houston area that the user can investigate and choose to solicit services from.

Keyword Intent Considerations

• Match search intent with your content type. One of the main goals of SEO keyword research is to create content that aligns with what users are actively searching for. Understanding search intent helps you structure your website around relevant keywords, ultimately driving more traffic and engagement. For example, creating a location page targeting “estate planning Tupelo MS” helps attract users who are explicitly looking for estate planning services in that city. Since this search term carries a commercial intent, your location page should provide clear information about your services, client testimonials, and a strong call to action (e.g., “Schedule a Consultation”). In short, answer the questions searchers are asking, and do it more thoroughly and directly than your competitors do!
• Don’t focus on only commercial or transactional keywords. While these keywords (e.g., “buy running shoes online” or “best HVAC repair near me”) attract users ready to take action, a well-rounded SEO strategy should include a mix of different intent keywords to build brand trust and attract potential customers earlier in their journey. For example, a blog post targeting “how to choose the right running shoes” can engage users researching their options, increasing the chances of turning to your brand when they’re ready to buy. By diversifying your keyword strategy, you capture a wider audience and guide potential customers toward conversion over time.

2. Keyword Difficulty

Keyword difficulty (KD) is an SEO metric that measures how challenging it is to rank in Google’s top 10 organic results for a given search term. Several factors influence how difficult or easy it is to rank for a keyword, including:

• SERP features (e.g., featured snippets, local packs, knowledge panels)
• Domain authority compared to competing sites
• Search intent and how well your content aligns with it
• Backlink profile (number and quality of backlinks pointing to your site)
• Content quality (authority, relevance, uniqueness, and depth)
• Other algorithmic factors that search engines consider, some of which are unconfirmed and closely guarded by Google.

There’s much debate on what is and isn’t important regarding keyword difficulty. One expert may emphasize domain authority, while many would argue that content quality is the key ranking factor. However, one widely recognized truth remains: quality backlinks play a significant role in your ability to rank for a keyword.

Tools like Ahref’s Keyword Explorer base their KD score on the number of unique websites linking to the top 10 ranking pages for a search term. For example, to rank in the top search results for “cold plunge tub,” you’ll need about 23 referring domains. 

Semrush considers several factors (as mentioned above) to determine a keyword difficulty percentage (KD%). The higher the score out of 100, the harder it will be to earn a high ranking—and, consequently, earn organic traffic. The search term “St Louis car accident lawyer” has a KD% of 42%, which means you’ll need well-structured content and a decent number of referring domains to rank for the phrase.

Keyword Difficulty Considerations

• Don’t shy away from high-KD keywords. Many businesses make the mistake of avoiding them completely, assuming they have no chance of ranking. But what if you saw high-KD keywords as an opportunity to build authority and gradually secure a spot in the top 10 search results? Ranking for competitive keywords requires a strong backlink profile, so the sooner you start, the better. Targeting high-KD keywords now can help you build referring domains and increase your chances of reaching Google’s front page over time. Most often, the greater the challenge, the greater the reward.
• Analyze a keyword’s difficulty, but don’t let it be the only factor in your decision. KD isn’t meant to discourage you from targeting specific search terms; it helps you understand what it takes to rank—and whether your content is link-worthy. Treat KD as one of many factors in your keyword strategy, as Google’s complex ranking algorithm can’t be reduced to a single metric.

3. Search Volume

Search volume is an SEO metric used in keyword research that tells you the average number of times online users enter a particular term into Google on a monthly basis. For instance, “australian shepherd” has a monthly search volume of 450K in the United States.

There are a few things to know about the search volume metric: 

1. It’s an annual average: If there are 120K searches for a term in January and none for the rest of the year, its reported monthly volume will be 10K (120K/12 months). 
2. It’s the number of searches, not the number of people who searched: In many cases, one person will search for a keyword multiple times a month (“weather in Kirkland”). All of these searches contribute to the volume of a term, even if it’s the same person making those searches. 
3. It doesn’t equate to how many site visits you’ll receive if you rank for it: If you’re lucky and you rank in the top spot, your traffic from one keyword likely won’t exceed 30–40% of its search volume. 

Search Volume Considerations

• Target keywords with decent search volume, low competition, or low-hanging fruit search terms. These terms are easier to rank than broad terms (e.g., “sunglasses”) and often provide fast results. Low-hanging fruit keywords are generally precise, long-tail keywords from users looking for a service, product, or solution (e.g., “black aviator sunglasses womens”). Targeting these keywords leads to boosted online engagement and high payoff potential. Read our article to learn how to find and target low-hanging fruit keywords. 
• Don’t overlook low-volume, low-competition keywords. A common mistake is ignoring search terms with minimal search volume, assuming they’re not worth targeting. However, long-tail keywords—often with fewer than 100 searches per month—can still drive valuable, highly targeted traffic to your site. Low-volume keywords add up. If you publish 100 articles targeting these terms, you could attract a few thousand highly targeted visitors annually—many of whom have strong commercial intent. Additionally, long-tail keywords are often easier to rank for, and as you build up rankings for them, your site’s authority will increase in the eyes of Google—thus leading to your eligibility to rank for more competitive high-volume keywords. 
• Assess keyword opportunities by calculating a search volume-to-difficulty ratio. Simply divide keywords’ search volume by their difficulty scores to compare terms and prioritize those with the best balance of demand and ranking feasibility. A high “keyword value” ratio indicates substantial opportunity—an easier-to-rank keyword with solid search demand. A low ratio suggests a more competitive keyword requiring additional resources and consistent effort, such as acquiring backlinks and high-authority content on a monthly basis for an extended length of time, to rank effectively.

Part 3: Targeting keywords for your SEO strategy

After keyword research and analysis, it’s time to target the search terms you’ve chosen for your business’s site. 

Prioritize search terms with existing rankings.

If you already have a website, optimizing existing content before creating pages from scratch can be most efficient and very effective. 

Here’s why prioritizing keywords with existing rankings is essential:

• Faster results: It’s often easier and quicker to climb the rankings for keywords you’re already ranking for rather than starting from scratch.
• Stronger SEO foundation: Building upon existing rankings allows you to leverage your current authority and improve visibility.
• Increased traffic potential: Enhancing pages that already perform well can drive more organic traffic with less effort than ranking new content.
• Better ROI: Optimizing existing pages is often more cost-effective than creating entirely new ones.

Focusing on these keywords can refine your content, improve your rankings, and attract more qualified visitors.

Map out your keywords and organize a content calendar.

Keyword mapping is the process of assigning keywords to relevant pages that will satisfy search intent. This mapping allows you to plan the structure of your site and content (e.g., blogs) ahead of time, ensuring they’re optimized for both search engines and users.

As you keyword map, you can create a content calendar that organizes your content alongside associated keywords, helping you maintain consistency and track your SEO efforts over time. At Rock Salt Marketing, we use Google Sheets to build our content calendars, but yours doesn’t have to be structured the same way—choose a system that works best for your workflow and team.

Notice that I’ve labeled the primary and secondary keywords on the content calendar with matching pages:

• At Rock Salt, we consider a primary keyword to be the main focus search term for which a page is optimized to rank for in search results. Typically (but not always), a primary keyword has a high search volume, search intent that complements business goals, and can generate favorable organic search traffic.
• Secondary keywords or phrases support your content and add context, depth, and value. They often have overlapping search intent with the primary keyword, complementing each other and helping to improve SEO results.

Create high-quality, unique content that satisfies searcher intent.

High-quality, helpful content is a leading factor in search engine rankings. To craft content that satisfies search engines and users alike, you generally need to: 

• Match search intent
• Present content effectively (easily digestible)
• Produce original content with a different perspective than what’s already online
• Provide up-to-date, accurate information
• Create original media (optional, but can be helpful)
• Share helpful examples
• Deliver a seamless user experience

For example, Tubzz, a Utah-based cold plunge and sauna dealer, satisfies search intent by sharing information about their products and what makes them unique and by answering common questions about cold plunges.

In their blogs, Tubzz targets informational-intent keywords and provides valuable tips. They structure their content in an easily digestible format using bullet points, subheadings, and other formatting techniques.

Target keywords strategically throughout your content

Including keywords on your page can help it rank higher on the search results page, but there’s a right and wrong way to do it. 

Here’s how to effectively target keywords on a page without doing more harm than good to your rankings:

• Include keywords naturally throughout your content, avoiding keyword stuffing. 
• Target your primary keyword in the page’s:
  • URL slug: The unique part of the page address
  • Title tag: The page title that appears in search results
  • Meta description: The page summary that appears in search results
  • H1 tag: The on-page title, which should outline what the page is about, similar to the title tag
  • Body content, especially the first paragraph
  • Anchor texts of internal links and backlinks pointing to the page: Search engines use the text used for links (anchor text) to comprehend what linked pages are about. Keyword-rich anchor text can help Google understand how to rank pages for differing keywords. 
• Use your secondary keywords within the body content and relevant subheading tags

If you consistently produce high-quality content relevant to users’ searches, your site will start climbing the ranks on Google.

Hire the SEO Keyword Research Experts at Rock Salt Marketing

Keyword research isn’t just challenging—it’s also extremely time-consuming. As a business owner, you’re already juggling multiple tasks. Why not offload this tedious process to our experts at Rock Salt Marketing?

Rock Salt’s Utah SEO team conducts in-depth keyword research while taking into account your business goals, target audience, and key SEO metrics. We identify high-potential search terms that drive traffic, increase engagement, and increase business. Beyond research, we deliver optimized, high-quality content to satisfy search intent and position your business at the top of search results. Our link-building efforts strategically incorporate keywords into anchor text, strengthening your website’s internal linking structure and boosting its credibility in search engines. By earning high-quality backlinks from authoritative sources, we enhance your site’s authority, helping your site rank higher and attract even more organic traffic. If you want to reap the benefits of keyword research but don’t have the time or expertise to do it yourself, let Rock Salt’s team do the heavy lifting. Contact our Salt Lake City SEO professionals today to develop a data-driven strategy that boosts your rankings, increases traffic, and grows your business.