Keyword research: How to make it work, even for beginners

How do I research the relevant keywords?

There are some very effective strategies for determining keywords, which I will show you below. I will guide you through the individual processes in crystal-clear step-by-step instructions - illustrated with numerous pictures - so that you can easily carry out the necessary processes yourself at the end of the article.

Before we get to the instructions, let's briefly discuss the terms.

What is the difference between analysis and research?

If you search for the two terms in Google, you get almost the same search results. For Google and the websites displayed, the two terms have the same meaning - in other words, they correspond to the same search intention.

In our work, however, we differentiate between these terms. Both are of great importance for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and SEA (Search Engine Advertising - Google Ads).

Keyword research

Keyword research involves searching for possible relevant keywords for which there is currently no ranking.

We research which keywords have the best potential for top rankings on Google and for maximising the number of website visitors. We pay attention to 6 criteria.

There are other criteria, but the 6 just mentioned are the most important and should not be omitted under any circumstances.

The keyword analysis

There are two types here.

• Analysing the existing keyword rankings of your own website
• Analysing the websites of your strongest competitors
  
  

The keyword analysis of your own website

This area includes analysing the existing keyword rankings of a website or online shop. The analysis provides information on which keywords already have a good ranking and for which we still need to work on the rankings.

In comparison with the keyword research, we also recognise which keywords do not yet have a ranking or for which there is no content yet.

The keyword analysis of competitors

In this investigation, we analyse the keywords of the top competitors. In other words, we look at which keywords the competition has optimised their websites or Google Ads campaigns for.

On the one hand, this gives us the opportunity to cover the same search terms (and with better content) and, on the other hand, we try to find the gaps - i.e. those keywords for which the competition has not yet optimised their website or ads or those that have not yet been covered on our customers' website.

But now to the step-by-step instructions.

Let's start with the keyword research:

Keyword research: step-by-step instructions - how to research relevant keywords that you don't yet rank for

This activity is used to find possible relevant keywords for which you are not currently ranking. We research which keywords have the best potential for top rankings and the highest possible number of website visitors.

We use KWFinder for this, a paid online tool that you can test for 10 days free of charge. After that, I'll show you another free tool.

In our example, let's assume that we are researching keywords for a webshop that sells Chihuahua accessories.

As an example, I'll use the generic keyword: chihuahua accessories

Keyword research with KWFinder step by step

1. Let's start by entering the generic keyword into the tool and clicking on "Find keywords".
   
   
2. After a few moments you will see the results.
   
   
3. As with the tools already presented, you can also export the results from KWFinder as a CSV file. To do this, select all entries and click on the "Export" button.
   
   
4. Open the exported CSV file in Excel as described above and sort it by search volume (descending).
   
   
5. Once you have sorted the keywords in this way, select the terms that are not of interest to you and can be deleted.
   
   
6. Delete all marked rows and you will receive a set of relevant search terms/keywords for which you can optimise your product pages, category pages and blog articles or for which you can create content and/or pages.
   
   

So much for the most important information about the KWFinder tool from Mangools. Now I'll show you a free and totally uncomplicated method for finding relevant keywords.

Keyword research with Keyword Surfer

Keyword Surfer is a browser extension. To use the tool, you first need to install the browser extension.

Enter the search term "keyword surfer" in Google and click on the first search result. You will then be taken to the installation page of the extension in the Chrome Web Store.

Once you have installed and activated the extension, you can see it in the browser bar.

By right-clicking on the icon, you can now specify when the SEO tool has access to the website.

The tool is now ready for use.

Enter your (generic) keyword in Google for which you are looking for keyword ideas and click on the Keyword Surfer icon if you have set it up this way. The search results page will then look like this:

To the right of the adverts and organic search results, you will see the results from Keyword Surfer. These include the keyword ideas and their search volume. You can set how many keywords you want to display per page (max. 20) and you can click through the results.

Another feature of the tool: Click into the search mask and the Google Suggests will be displayed along with the search volume.

The SEO tool has a few more features that you can take a look at. For our free keyword search, however, the features shown so far are sufficient.

By clicking on the "Clipboard" button and then on the 3 dots at the top right, you can export the keywords as a CSV file and process them in Excel, as with the other tools.

The Keyword Planner from Google

Source: Google

The Keyword Planner is a free keyword tool that Google makes available to all those who have a Google Ads account for keyword research. It helps you to research relevant keywords, keyword combinations, short tail and long tail keywords for your Google Ads campaign, but is not only useful for Google Ads, but also for creating a keyword list and defining a content or SEO strategy.

Google itselfs explains how to use the Keyword Planner and the advantages of the Keyword Planner >> here

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Keyword research with Morningscore

"Morningscore offers you the same main features as most big players at a fraction of the cost." This is what the provider says about its SEO tool, which integrates a rank tracker, an SEO reporting tool, a backlink checker and an SEO audit tool as well as a keyword research tool.

Our SEO expert Christian tried out the tool during the free 14-day trial period and gave it a thumbs up.

Now let's take a look at the keyword analysis.

Keyword analysis: Step-by-step guide(s) - How to analyse the keyword rankings of your own website

We use 2 professional SEO tools in the agency for this area: ahrefs and Xovi.

In our example, we use ahrefs and our own website.

Keyword analysis with ahrefs

1. Enter the URL of your domain in the form field.
   
   
2. Click on the search button
   
   
3. An overview page will be displayed. Here you can see, among other things, how many keywords your domain ranks for in Google's organic search results.
   
   
4. Click on organic keywords in the menu bar on the left. You will be shown a detailed list of all keywords with which you rank and the corresponding websites.
   
   
5. Above the keywords you can filter by country in which you rank, and you can also sort by volume (search volume), KD (Keyword Difficulty), CPC (Cost per Click), traffic or position.
   
   
6. Finally, you can export the results as a CSV file and open them in Excel. This makes your work much easier. To do this, click on "Export" in the top right-hand corner. A window will open in which you can select the export option.
   
   
7. You can find out how to convert a CSV file into Excel here.
8. After you have deleted the columns that you do not need, the list will look something like this.
   
   
   You can now continue working with this list.
9. Sort by search volume and delete all results that have less than 100, for example. However, this depends on the niche. In the high-price segment and for commercial keywords, 100 can already be a lucrative search volume.
   
   
10. Then sort out the keywords that have nothing or only a limited connection to your offer.
    
    
11. You will then have an adjusted list of keywords. Based on the search volume, keyword difficulty and other criteria, as described in the keyword research section above, you can now determine which pages or keywords you should optimise next in order to achieve a better ranking. In our example, this could be the page https://www.ithelps-digital.com/de/website-erstellen-lassen with the keywords "create website" and "create homepage". The page only ranks in positions 13 and 14, but should rank in the top 5, as these are commercial keywords with an interesting search volume that are already very deep in the sales funnel, close to the purchase decision.
    
    

So much for working with the paid professional tool ahrefs.

Now I'll show you how you can do the same with the free* tool Ubersuggest .

*Ubersuggest has been available for a fee for some time with a 7-day trial period, but can still be used free of charge to a limited extent (the scope of the free version is restricted).

Keyword analysis with Ubersuggest

The determination with this programme does not differ from that with our professional tool. Let's go through the steps again anyway.

You can find out how to register with Ubersuggest and everything about the features of Neil Patel's online tool in our detailed Ubersuggest article.

Once you have registered, you can get started.

1. Enter the URL of your domain in the form field.
   
   
2. Click on the search button
3. An overview page will be displayed. Here you can see, among other things, how many keywords your domain ranks for in Google's organic search results.
   
   
4. Click on Keywords in the menu bar on the left. You will see a list of all the keywords with which you rank as well as the search volume, the position, the estimated search queries per month and the keyword difficulty. In the free version, you will only see the results/data for 25 keywords online, but in the CSV file that you can export, there are 100, which is enough to analyse the interesting keywords with the best search volume.
   
   
5. Therefore, export the CSV file by clicking the "EXPORT CSV FILE" button and saving it to your hard drive.
   
   
6. You can find out how to convert a CSV file to Excel here.
7. Once you have opened the file in Excel, the list looks something like this. The keywords are already sorted by search volume.
   
   

You can now continue to work with this list as described above with ahrefs.

So much for the most important information about the paid tool ahrefs and the partially free tool Ubersuggest.

Conclusion

I have now provided you with crystal-clear, illustrated step-by-step instructions for keyword research and keyword analysis. With both paid professional tools and free alternatives.

• Keyword analysis step-by-step instructions - How to analyse the keyword rankings of your own website
• Keyword research - step-by-step instructions - how to research relevant keywords that you don't yet rank for

You should now be ready to get started with your own keyword research and analysis.

If you have any questions on the topic or need support with the implementation, give us a call on +43 1 353 2 353 or contact us at our email addressThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. use our contact form. We look forward to hearing from you.

Frequently asked questions about keyword research

What is keyword research or keyword analysis?

Keyword research and analysis are the processes in which you determine and define the keywords relevant to your website, blog or online shop. They are at the beginning of every SEO optimisation or ads campaign and form the basis for search engine-optimised content with the aim of increasing visibility in search results and the ads click-through rate.

Determining and testing relevant keywords is so important because it allows you to find out which search terms Google users are using to search for information. The search terms collected in this way for your subject areas are ultimately the keywords for which you optimise the content of your websites, as well as Google AdWords campaigns and AdWords ads.

The idea behind this is very simple. As I said, it's primarily about being one step ahead of your competitors in your subject areas - and appearing before them in Google SERPs. The further ahead you are, the more visitors you will attract. Sounds logical, doesn't it?

What are keywords?

In our article What are keywords we write the following:

Keywords are therefore essential for good SEO optimisation or Google Ads campaigns. Both SEO and SEA do not work without the right keywords.

In short, if you want to improve your search engine rankings or your Google Ads click-through rate, you need to know the relevant keywords of potential visitors to your website.

After all, you want to attract as many visitors as possible to your site and not lose them to your competitors.

And this is only possible if your rankings in the SERPs on Google and other search engines are better than those of your competitors.

What is search intent?

In search analytics, we differentiate between three types of search queries based on search intent:

1. Navigational
2. Informational
3. Transactional

Navigational

In a navigational query, the user has a very specific goal (search intention) in mind; they are looking specifically for pages or brands that they are already familiar with.

Informational

The search intention of the informational enquiry is to acquire knowledge or to answer a very specific question in a particular subject area.

Transactional

The transactional search query takes place immediately before an action. The user wants to buy something, register for a newsletter or download information. They are looking for a transaction.

In the article just mentioned, we go into more detail on the topics of keywords and search queries:

• The SEO Keywords Basics
• What are good keywords and how do I find the right keyword?
• Which keywords are searched for in search queries?
• What types of keywords are there?
• What are short-tail and long-tail keywords?
• Keyword classification according to search intent
• How many keywords should I use?
• What are LSI keywords?
• And much more

In this article, we look at keyword analysis and keyword research - as we do it in our SEO agency to optimise our clients' websites.

What needs to be done before keyword research or analysis?

Before you start the search analysis, you should consider the potential visitors by thinking about the exact target group. This will help you to familiarise yourself with the language - the wording - which will make the search for suitable keywords much easier.

It also helps you to understand the problems of your target group, recognise the stages of their customer journey and put yourself in their shoes when writing the texts.

How long does the keyword research process take?

The duration depends on whether you are researching for an entire website or just for individual pages or blog articles. The subject areas covered by your website are also relevant. The check can therefore take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours.