Selecting keywords for SEO involves more than just choosing words and phrases that appear both relevant and searched often. In reality, mastering the art of keyword selection is actually far more methodical and strategic than one might think. It’s also the foundation that can make or break your SEO strategies.

Choosing the best keywords involves a psychological grasp of user intentions and behaviors, along with knowing the dynamics of the search results and who you’re competing against. After all, you’re fighting the entire internet for one of only 10 (10!) coveted front-page spots on Google. And as more and more marketers see the value of organic traffic, outpacing the competition becomes increasingly difficult.

In turn, SEO success often hinges on the initial discovery stages of what keywords we choose and how they’re used to support our marketing efforts. When the post and pray method has failed you, it’s time to take a closer look at your keyword strategy before wasting any further resources on content creation. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to effectively research, select, and use keywords to help grow your business.

What is Keyword Research? (Do Keywords Still Matter for SEO?)

When people talk about using keywords for SEO, what they really mean is that they’re using certain words or phrases in the content of their webpages. These words and phrases help explain what your content is to search engines, thereby making it relevant and rankable for target keywords. When search users (or searchers) look up these words and phrases, your goal is to be appropriately positioned in the search results so that they’ll click on your content versus a competitor’s.

For example, your asp net hosting in Europe might use keywords such as “asp net hosting”, “asp net hosting Europe”, and “best asp net hosting in Europe” to help generate more traffic to its website. Not only do these keywords help describe what the business is, but they reflect the intention behind the users searching those keywords. They also specify that the creamery is a local business that serves people looking for Asp net hosting in Europe.

Although this example is simplified and straightforward, the process of “how to choose” keywords for your industry, brand, and marketing goals is oftentimes more methodical and strategic. That’s where keyword research comes in.

To properly conduct keyword research, you’ll need to identify words and phrases that align with a set strategy and take the big picture (user intent, current rankings, search landscape, competition, etc.) into account. Additionally, a winning SEO keyword strategy makes use of different types of keywords and semantics, so don’t get too rigid and hung up on one specific word or phrase

What are the different types of keywords?

Different types of relevant keywords help paint a full picture of what your website is all about. Even websites devoted to a single topic can use more than one type of keyword in their strategy to help contextualize where it fits in with other search results. Here are the 5 different types of keywords you should consider incorporating in your SEO strategy.

1. Primary/Target Keywords: the meat of your SEO keyword strategy, this word or phrase defines what your business offers (specific to the page the keyword corresponds to) and its current goals. Only in rare circumstances is there greater than 1 target keyword per page.
2. Supporting Keywords: the potatoes of your SEO keyword strategy, these keywords support and contextualize your primary keywords. For instance, an SEO consulting company may also want to be relevant as an SEO consulting firm or an SEO consulting agency. This also includes Denver SEO consulting vs SEO consulting Denver. These keywords should “mean” the same thing, while potentially using different words or different ordering of the same words.
3. Related Keywords: words and phrases that support the semantically meaning of your primary and supporting keywords. For instance, in the context of a blog article about Choosing Keywords, you’ll want to include such topics as (1) Keyword Research Tools, (a) Search/user intention, and (3) Audience targeting. Not including these keywords may mean your content is not a comprehensive or high-quality review of the broader subject matter.
4. Branded Keywords: your company’s name plus some common nicknames or typo variations. For example, Walmart can use both “Walmart” and “Wally world” (a common nickname used amongst shoppers) for their branded keywords. Also, seltzer brand LaCroix uses “la croy” as a branded keyword because they have many customers who do not know French and frequently misspell the brand’s name.
5. Non-Branded Keywords: any keyword that doesn’t refer to the brand but describes what the brand sells or offers. For example, Nintendo can use “Nintendo” as a branded keyword and “video game console” as a non-branded keyword. Outside of other primary and secondary keywords, non-branded keywords are often most useful in generating unique search traffic.
6. Seed Keywords: the keyword or words you use to kick off the research process; these keywords typically help you find other keywords that might be a better fit for your site/brand. For example, you might start with the keyword idea “SEO services” (the Seed keyword,) but eventually decide to target “SEO Consulting Services” instead.

Some marketing blogs claim there are as few as 3 or as many as 18 types of keywords. The ones we’ve just covered are the fundamental essentials for websites engaged in SEO. But if you have additional online properties (such as an app or Google paid ads) then look into adding a few other types to your strategy.

As you go about choosing which keywords that best fit under each type of keyword, you have to consider user intent.

How does user intent affect keyword research?

User intent (also known as “Search Intent”) is the primary objective or intended outcome a user wishes to achieve when submitting a query into a search engine. There are several types of user intent, which can be categorized into the following buckets:

• Informational
• Commercial
• Navigational
• Transactional

For instance, a user who searches “what is a gravel bike” is likely seeking information, whereas a user who searches “gravel bike for sale” is likely further down the sales funnel and in a more transactional state of mind.

User intent is the difference between what the user is searching for and what they actually want to find; satisfying user intent is the top priority of Google and other search engines.

For example, a search for the keyword phrase “what is muffin?” doesn’t just bring up a definition or content related to the meaning of muffin. Instead, Google’s complex ranking algorithm has determined that what people really want to see is content related to recipes, ingredients, nutritional facts, and maybe even the origin of muffin.

So even if you have the world’s best blog post for the definition of carrot cake ready to go, you may want to add depth to your post by including recipe ideas, key ingredients, and other supportive content of interest. For instance, a cursory glance at the search results will reveal People Also Ask (or “PAAs”) related to the query, like:

• What does muffin taste like?
• Why is it called muffin?
• Is muffin healthier than regular cake?
• Does muffin actually have banana?

In your blog post, you may want to incorporate some of these related questions along with thoughtful answers. Doing so will help ensure your content aligns with user intent, which proves to Google that you understand what this audience really wants, and thereby ranks your content accordingly.

The lesson here is there’s often a difference between what you think the user is looking for and what they’re actually looking for, reinforcing the importance of understanding users’ behaviors and intentions when creating your SEO roadmap. In essence, a quick Google search for your target keywords of interest is crucial for determining user intent, so don’t skip this step!

Why is SEO keyword research important? Is it still relevant?

In a timeless video with Rand Fishkin, former head of Moz, he defines the primary goal of keyword research as to “understand the search demand landscape so we can craft better SEO strategies.”

The supporting article of that video goes on to underscore that “keywords are important because they are the linchpin between what people are searching for and the content you are providing to fill that need.” In other words, find what people search for – specifically, your potential customers – and solve that need.

Rand and the Moz team strike a vital balance between the importance of keywords, user intent, and how these insights guide our SEO efforts. Without keyword research, your content lacks the aim and direction needed to realize its SEO potential and is otherwise rooted in assumptions based on what you think your target audience is looking for. Sure, we all formulate ideas based on the problems and needs of our target users. But researching and using keywords to help validate those ideas, you can add substantially more value to your content getting found.

Not only does keyword research help inspire and instruct content creation, but it increases the chances of getting more page views, acquiring new leads, and making all that time and money you spent creating website content worth it in the end. As long as people use the internet to look things up, keyword research will remain relevant.

How To Find Keywords for SEO

Before you get started mapping pages, posts, and assigning keywords to content, you have to come up with a plan. In terms of finding and using keyword data, your plan is your overarching SEO strategy and the keyword mapping exercise behind it, which defines which keywords you’re targeting for what pages (starting with a list of keywords), as well as your SEO goals for the website as a whole.

Kickstart your SEO strategy and your search to find the best keywords by answering these questions:

1. Who is your audience?
2. Which keywords are your competitors ranking for?
3. Which keywords are you currently ranking for?
4. What seasonal keywords can you target?
5. Where is your business located?
6. Are you a B2B or B2C business?
7. Do you target international markets?

You should have a lot of keyword ideas after answering those questions. However, not all keywords are created equally, so your strategy will adapt heavily based on your target audience, where you currently rank for certain keywords, and whether you operate internationally or not, which means you’ll have to narrow this big list down.

Find the Right Keywords with SEO Research Tools

While you can gain a lot of insight by simply searching Google, the process of finding the right keywords for SEO can be improved with the right tools. At a minimum, you need to have:

• a keyword planner (via Google Ads), to see keyword search volume, click estimates, competition levels (lower is better), and to view similar phrases;
• a keyword research and explorer, to help you find, identify, and organize keyword data in a way that can be translated into a set of strategic action items;
• a competitor keyword analyzer, to see which keywords they’re missing and capitalize on those or outrank them if they’re performing poorly;
• a trend search tool (Google Trends – free tool!), to help make sure your keywords are relevant to present-day searches since most other tools use historical data which may be a bit outdated;
• and a website or search analytics tool, to see which keywords you rank for now and measure your SEO results.

Do note that a solid SEO keyword tool will hit many of the above requirements; for example, both Ahrefs and Semrush can act as a keyword planner, SEO optimizer, and competitive keyword tool. They can also handle rank tracking and reporting for you. With these tools, you should be able to develop a list of prospective keyword ideas to choose from, distill, and utilize.

Keyword Selection: How to Choose Keywords for SEO

Now you have some solid ideas about how to find keywords for SEO amidst the bigger picture of user intent and keyword types, it’s time to strategically choose keywords that best fit your SEO objectives. Here are a few tips and processes to keep in mind for keyword selection.

Search on Google

Start typing your initial keyword ideas into the homepage of Google. Look for relevant terms that Google tries to auto-fill and add them to your list. Then, get a better understanding of user intent by skimming first-page result titles for repeating themes or words.

Next, see if Google has included any special category cards such as local business listings, image spotlights, shopping ads, or any niche-specific call-outs (a search for “bone broth” brings up a Flavor card).

Finally, make note of the “Searches related to” section at the very bottom. Add these new keyword ideas to your master keyword list or aim to include them as secondary keywords for content related to the term you searched.

Check out People Also Ask (PAA) questions

This section is also included in the Google search results, but it’s so important that it deserves its own step. People Also Ask questions are the clearest view into search intent the engine has to offer. Aim to answer all relevant questions as part of your strategy so that Google sees your website as an authority on the subject.

Only use “good” keywords

In a perfect world, the best keywords have high search volume, low competition, and high conversion rates. But since we don’t live in a perfect world and almost all keywords with high search volume are fiercely competitive, we’ll just have to settle for good keywords that come as close to that as possible.

Bad keywords, on the other hand, are words and phrases that are too generic, already dominated by the competition (e.g. high keyword difficulty, or “KD” in Ahrefs), and/or just aren’t being searched for. Bad keywords might also appear relevant to your SEO strategy, but when you search Google and examine the results, you find the user intent is entirely different than what you had expected.

Also, remember that long-tail keywords add up; low search volume (or clicks) keywords can be incredibly valuable in aggregate. Long-tails can help round out your secondary keyword target, as well as instruct ongoing content strategies, like blogging, video topic creation, and other more granular queries that you find meaning addressing.

Understand Informational vs. Transactional Search Intent, and meet that need

Maybe a user is looking for informational content and you show them a product to purchase. Or perhaps they are seeking to purchase and you deliver informative content instead. Either way, you aren’t meeting those expectations appropriately. Moral of the story: Don’t forget to research and understand the user’s Informational vs. Transactional intention, then use this insight to give them what they want.

This doesn’t mean you can’t offer products as solutions to informational queries. But it does mean that you better meet that informational need first and foremost. You should also clearly outline exactly how the product is a good and appropriate solution for the query. Think these through and you’ll have yourself some good (maybe even great) keywords!

Review “No Click” and “Low Click” searches

Even though good keywords have high search volume, they could be considered “bad” if they don’t get any clicks (read more below for exceptions to this rule.) After all, the point of SEO is to rank highly on page one to the point of generating organic search traffic, and eventually, leads and sales.  

Metrics that define “No Click” searches include Clicks and Return Rate (which Ahrefs can measure), and Organic CTR (which Moz can measure). Eliminate any keywords from your master list that are proven to not convert traffic based on these results, no matter how well they rank.

Don’t Discount Low-to-No Volume Keywords

It can be easy to dismiss and overlook keywords that have little to no reported search volume. But in areas of niche subject matter – especially where a brand or professional running the brand has substantial expertise – these low-to-no volume keywords shouldn’t go overlooked.

In many cases of using keyword research tools, you’ll come across interesting and relevant search terms that have either “0” or “0-10” searches per month. While it can be tempting to brush these keywords aside, in some cases these terms can add value to your SEO strategies. Sure, these keywords may not have significant search volume, but in some cases, research tools just haven’t acquired enough data yet. And for B2B, these might just be highly specific lead generation goldmines.

Leverage Paid Search insights.

Work with your paid search (PPC advertising) team to better understand the following, and inform your SEO keyword targeting decisions:

• Which keywords/search queries convert best, so we can make sure to focus on those
• Which keywords perform well, but may not be in your budget at this time
• Any keywords that just don’t convert as well as expected and should be ignored
• Any data about eLTV (estimated lifetime value of a customer) by keyword, so we can focus on finding the highest value customers
• What are the best performing headlines/selling points/offers (by best Click-Through-Rate/CTR), so we can use that to inform SEO metadata

Accuracy above all else.

If your chosen keyword doesn’t accurately align with what you are offering, don’t bother. All the search volume and traffic in the world won’t matter if you don’t meet the user’s needs (and for goodness sake, don’t mislead them!)

For instance, it may be tempting to optimize for alternative keywords that don’t entirely fit but have significant search volume. In most cases, these keywords will prove to be an uphill battle

Implementation – How to Use Keywords for SEO

Once you have found and organized your keywords, the next step is to figure out the correct way to implement them. The steps on how to use keywords for SEO will vary depending on the stage your website is in (e.g. pre-launch, redesign, SEO overhaul, ongoing content strategy, etc.) but in many cases, the following concepts can be universal best practices worth adopting.

Leverage keywords that already drive traffic to your site.

While it might sound counterintuitive to use keywords that are already working for your site’s SEO, this proven technique is worthwhile to help maximize momentum and harvest low-hanging fruit. To effectively leverage keywords that already drive organic search traffic to your site, use the following steps.

• Review Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools) to find which keywords are working for you.
• Create landmark content around these keywords to maintain your domain authority over the subject area.
• Build out additional content with secondary keywords that further support them.
• Target “Page 2 Performers”, e.g. those keywords that you are already close to performing well for… and just a little extra work could help you get over the finish line.

Identify new potential targets, as needed.

First, take a good hard look at the keywords you already rank on the first page for. Then, begin to add interesting target keywords (that you don’t yet rank for) onto both pre-existing pages, and perhaps more appropriately, new pages.

Adding new target keywords to the mix will help you create new rankable content, produce traffic from new audiences, and cover content gaps in the keywords you already rank for. They’ll also paint a clearer picture of what your website is all about.

In most cases of growing SEO performance, utilizing new keywords is the primary area of focus. If you don’t identify new potential targets, you’ll likely miss out on big opportunities to grow your search visibility and keep your site up-to-date with relevant content. Sure, your current rankings may be good, but what if additional keywords of interest will move the needle even further? You never know until you try!

Organize & visualize your keyword strategy in a keyword matrix.

Create a keyword matrix to organize and visualize what keywords you are going after – plus where they’ll appear on your website. For a simplified process, try using our SEO Keyword Mapping template (simply make a copy of this template to utilize it; please don’t request access.) This preformatted spreadsheet will help organize your sitemap and which keywords are assigned to what pages.

To make one, you’ll list the following information in a spreadsheet:

• URL
• Your target keyword or words for that URL
• Supporting keywords for that URL
• Including average monthly search volume (or average monthly search clicks) within the target & supporting keyword fields can be helpful as well

For an even more comprehensive look at your site, you can also choose to include:

• The page title
• The number of characters in the page title
• A description of what the page is about
• The number of characters in the description
• The page type (such as homepage, blog, or eCommerce page)
• What funnel stage is being targeted
• Which target audience or personal this page is geared towards
• Your primary CTA
• A page grade as given by an SEO tool

Know where on the page to use keywords.

For every URL, make sure that your chosen keywords appear naturally in the heading tag (the visible title or Header 1 on the page), any sub-headings, and within the content (e.g. page copy) of each page. If you include media assets (like images, videos, etc.) you’ll also want to add keywords there that describe those assets (e.g. image name and alt text.)

Avoid keyword stuffing.

Wondering how many keywords are good for SEO? Well, in today’s evolved SEO world, less is more. In fact, you only need to feature your main keyword a few times in a piece of content. And in many cases, it’s more about where (e.g. Title, Headings, Metadata, etc.) than how much and how often.

If your target keyword is very general, like “carrot cake,” then you can certainly use it more times throughout each webpage where it’s natural. But just keep in mind that Google can penalize your website and drop your ranking if it detects that you’re using nonsensical keyword inclusions to cheat the system.

Optimize your Metadata.

In addition to using keywords in the pages’ content, you’ll also need to ensure they’re mentioned in your metadata. Website metadata refers to the meta description and title used on each page. Although these elements are invisible and behind-the-scenes to users on your page, they represent the main headline link users will see in search engine results pages (SERPS).  

Make sure you include your primary keyword or key phrases in the title tag – ideally towards the front of the tag – and in the meta description as well (if possible). Do note that keyword relevance of the meta description is not a ranking factor, however, it can appear in the search results and shape how users view and engage with your content.)