Keywords play a crucial role in both SEO and content marketing. They help you tailor your content to what people are looking for online. Content that contains relevant keywords is more likely to rank high on Google and resonate with people having a specific problem or buyer intent.
In this post, I want to show you my 4-step process allowing you to conduct quick and effective keyword research. Let's jump right in!
Keyword research: Short vs. long-tail keywords
Put short, you need a combination of both. Short-tail keywords allow you to "catch" top-of-the-funnel traffic and reach people looking for general information. "Content marketing" is a good example of a short-tail keyword.
However, long-tail keywords is where you can get ahead and put your content in front of people specifically interested in your services. True, those keywords get less clicks, but they are usually high-quality clicks from people looking for a specific product or service.
A good example of a long-tail keyword is "Content marketing services for SaaS". Such a keyword (or, actually, a keyphrase) will be less popular on Google, but if you're looking for such clients, this long-tail keyword is extremely important to your business. Long-tail keywords are usually BOFU keywords, making it easier for you to reach potential clients.
Keyword research step 1: Use Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner is a free tool provided by Google as a part of their Google Ads ecosystem. It's our primary tool when doing keyword research, primarily because it gives you additional ideas based on your input and your website.
Here's a sneak peek of how this tool works:
First, you get the keywords you provided. Google will tell you the estimated traffic (e.g., 100-1k searches per month), the competition for a given keyword, monthly/yearly changes, and PPC rates.
Next, Google will provide some additional keyword ideas you may want to incorporate in your texts and on your website. This way, your content can rank for more keywords on Google, thus increasing your visibility.
In order to get to Keyword Planner, you need to create a free Google Ads account first. Just skip the creation of a new ad campaign and go straight to the Google Ads dashboard. Then, you will find it in Tools & Settings under the Planning headline:
Keyword research step 2: Use AlsoAsked and AnswerThePublic
These are two very useful tools, especially when you're working on SEO posts. AlsoAsked.com will take your keyword query to create a ready-made mind map with keywords and questions you should answer in your piece, just like in the example below:
AnswerThePublic works very similarly, but AlsoAsked has one big advantage - it allows you to conduct three free queries per day, while ATP gives you only one free query per day. Profit! :)
Keyword research step 3: Use Google autosuggest
Another good idea to to use Google autosuggest to see what people are looking for related to your query. Those suggestions will not always be 100% relevant, but it's always a good idea to run a quick check.
The first result is almost always your result (If you were looking for something similar in the past) but other suggestions come from other users. Include these things in your text and you will make it more search-friendly.
Sometimes, you will also see related questions people are asking. Simply use them to create a FAQ section for your article.
Keyword research step 4: Use a SEO content editor
If you want to be 100% certain your text is fully SEO-optimized and contains all the important keywords and keyphrases, you'll need a SEO content editor. The good news is that there are a few of them:
Surfer SEO
Contadu
Frase
Clearscope
The bad news is that they are all paid. That's why I encourage you to go with Frase. It's by far the cheapest one, and you get one free keyword analysis per month. Better than nothing, right?
The way those tools work is they analyze top results for a given keyword and provide you with suggestions on what should be included in your piece. Very helpful!
PS. If you want a simplified version of such an SEO content editor, you can use RankMath. It's a free SEO plugin for WordPress websites. Simply add the main keyword you want for a given post, and RankMath will help you make it more SEO-friendly!
Wrapping up
In 2024, you shouldn't write for SEO. You should write for your users and clients. But it doesn't mean that you should discard keywords and SEO altogether. Keep clients and providing value to them your primary focus and then garnish it with relevant keywords. That's the best recipe for success.
Follow this simple (I hope so!) 4-step process, and you will make your texts more SEO-friendly and optimized for Google!
And if you want to tweak your company's content, I'm happy to help. I invite you to schedule a free consultation with me!