Primary keywords
These are the most important keywords to the client, they are general the most competitive and high search volume keywords. The search intent should be on point and they should bring in highly qualified visitors that will convert very well. We shouldn’t target any keywords that are too general, it again must be highly qualified for the client.
To research the primary keywords we should use the tools: Google keyword planner and AHREFS. We should also ask the client directly and additionally we should do a Google search for these keywords and look at the top ranking websites to see what their competitors are targeting. Also look at what Google is showing in their results for e.g. the “People also ask”, and “People also search for” sections within the Google SERPs.
Keyword Research Process
- Seed keywords from client and current website
- Review current website content
- Gather primary keywords
- Google Keyword Planner
- Ahrefs
- Google Search Console
- Research competitors, use Ahrefs Site Explorer to gather more info (see clients onboarding doc for competitors)
- Use seed keywords in Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, go to Search Suggestions, and then use keyword to get a more focused list, the include/exclude can be helpful here (e.g. if it’s artifical grass client, filter to keywords that only have artificial or synthetic included.
- Get search volume numbers from AHREFS for comparison
- Save as a Google Sheet in Technical Data
Other options
- Check AHREFS Content Gap tool
Secondary keywords
These keywords are more long tail, less competitive keywords that generally won’t have a high search volume. However they are still very valuable as they should convert very well due to the very specific nature of long tail keywords.
Geo targets
Primary targeted areas that this client wants to target.
Reference Material
- https://ahrefs.com/blog/keyword-research/ – very good read.