4 Clever Keyword Research Tips for SEO

Search engine optimization is pretty much still in the scene, still an important aspect of online marketing. All the companies you can see in search results employ a form of SEO, an intricate process to make your website rank high on SERPs. Part of this intricate process is keyword research. Just how do you go about it?

1. Examine the search results beforehand

We think most people don’t do this crucial step, which actually helps them determine what websites are performing well for certain keywords. The keywords you want to rank your website for are already “owned” by certain companies. Anything you can think of is most likely used by your competitors who are already in the business much longer than you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t go see the search results and find out what the high ranking sites are doing. In some way, SEO today is like elbowing your way through a thick crowd while carrying your brand’s banner.

See if you can add anything to what’s already there

When you look at the search results, survey the high ranking pages. Look at the information they contain. See if you can add new information. If you can, then consider using the same keyword or key phrase. But if you cannot add anything new that has value, if you think the pages there already has the information people can look for, then use other keywords. Putting similar content out there with identical titles will only make your page blend into what’s already existing. That’s not good from a user’s perspective.

Be smart with keyword tools

There are many keyword tools you can use for free. Google AdWords has a keyword planner, and on this tool you can check keywords in your niche and see monthly search volumes and amount of competition. These pieces of information do not give you the whole picture. If you want to look at the broader landscape, you have to spend days looking at charts and tables to see which phrases actually have bigger search volumes. But you shouldn’t only look at what many people are searching. You should also look at the amount of competition for these keywords.

Look beyond traffic

When hunting for the ideal keywords, look past traffic, because that doesn’t tell you everything. Look for other success determinants, like social media engagement. People spend more time on social media than anywhere else on the web. Don’t just rely on what you see on the first page of SERPs. Look at the headlines of articles that are widely shared around on social media. Notice certain words. Notice the word patterns. Some of the hottest headlines usually start with a number that’s followed by an adjective and then a noun, all of which precede the key phrase. Look at the title of this post as an example.