How to Find Keywords for SEO

An important key to putting together an effective onsite SEO strategy is keyword research. Keyword research involves finding and analyzing the terms that people enter into search engines and then using that information for SEO purposes. 

Brand marketers will often use keyword research to determine which queries to target as they put together their local search strategies. Keyword research can offer insights into what topics people are interested in and the volume of searches those topics are receiving each month. Marketers can research keywords for popularity, search volume, and general intent.

While the need to do keyword research has stayed the same for many years, the way marketers do it has recently changed a great deal.

The Latest Keyword Research Strategies

Keyword research today usually begins by finding “seed” keywords. These are typically the products or services that a business wants to promote. If you’re having a hard time thinking of seed keywords, start by looking at the Search Results report in Google Search Console or Ahrefs’ Site Explorer. Here, you’ll find up to 1,000 keywords that you already rank for. With those keywords in hand, you can get started using some of the most popular keyword research tools.

Marketers have dozens of tools to choose from when they set out to conduct keyword research. Keyword research tools can be a valuable source of inspiration if you need ideas for which keywords to target.

A few of the most popular tools for finding keywords for SEO are:

1. SemRush
2. Google Analytics
3. Google Search Console
4. Google Trends
5. Answer the Public
6. Also Asked

With hundreds or thousands of new keyword ideas in hand, you can use SEO metrics to narrow down your list. You’ll want to analyze keywords by search volume, trends, clicks, traffic potential, and keyword difficulty.

After running this analysis, you should have an idea of which keywords have the most potential for your brand. Brand marketers working on local SEO should focus on keywords that have the most estimated traffic potential and the least competition. 

Brands with multiple locations or business websites should work with a company like SOCi for help finding keywords for local SEO. To learn more about what this process entails, contact SOCi.