9 Incredible Benefits of Keyword Research
Ah keyword research. If you’ve been blogging for a while now, you’ve probably come across this term a time or two. You may have even done some research on it, but ultimately brushed it off as something that’s not really all that important.
Well, I’m here to tell you that keyword research is actually a pretty big deal… especially if you’re trying to optimise your blog for SEO (search engine optimization).
There’s no doubt that keyword research is an important part of any effective SEO strategy. But did you know that there are actually a number of incredible benefits to performing keyword research?
From improving your website’s traffic to helping you create better content, keyword research can help you achieve success online.
In this post, we’ll explore nine of the biggest benefits of conducting keyword research.
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- What is keyword research
- The benefits of doing keyword research
- 1. It helps you find your audience
- 2. It boosts your search engine rankings
- 3. It helps you create better content
- 4. It allows you to track your progress
- 5. It helps you find new content ideas
- 6. It helps you organise your time
- 7. It increases your organic traffic
- 8. It helps you improve your old content
- 9. It makes you aware of new trends
What is keyword research
Before we dive into the benefits, it’s important to understand exactly what keyword research is.
Keyword research is the process of finding words and phrases that people are searching for online. Once you have a keywords list, you can then optimise your website for those keywords in order to improve your ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
There are a number of different methods that you can use to find relevant keywords, but the most common is by using keyword research tools like Keysearch or Frase.
We’ll talk a little more about how to do Keysearch further on, but for now here are the benefits of keyword research.
The benefits of doing keyword research
1. It helps you find your audience
Likely the best reason to carry out keyword research is to reach your target audience.
When you write articles, you obviously want people to read them. But in order for people to find them, you need to be writing about topics that they are interested in and searching for online.
If you’re not using keyword research to figure out what people want to read about, then you’re likely just shooting in the dark and hoping that someone will come across your article.
By finding the right keywords, you can make sure that your content is being seen by the people who are most likely to be interested in what you have to say.
2. It boosts your search engine rankings
If you’re looking to improve your website’s ranking in SERPs, then keyword research is a must.
When you target the right keywords, you can help your website rank higher for those keywords in SERPs. And of course, the higher your website ranks, the more traffic you’re likely to get.
It’s important to note that you shouldn’t just be targeting any old keyword. You want to make sure that you’re targeting keywords that are relevant to your website and that you have a chance of ranking for. Google wants to know that you’re an expert in your field, so don’t try to target keywords that are too broad or competitive.
Otherwise, you could end up spending a lot of time and effort optimising for a keyword that you’ll never rank for
3. It helps you create better content
If you’re not using keyword research, then there’s a good chance that your content may be missing the mark.
By understanding what people are searching for online, you can create content that actually meets their needs and answers their questions. Google loves it when you answer frequently asked questions!
If you’re just writing whatever you think people want to read, then you may be creating content that no one is actually interested in. But if you use keyword research to figure out what people are searching for, then you can create content that’s much more likely to resonate with your audience.
Also, without keyword research, this content may not have any structure or focus. Including a focus keyword in your title and throughout your content helps to keep you focused on writing about that particular topic.
4. It allows you to track your progress
Another great benefit of keyword research is that it allows you to track your progress over time.
Keeping track of the keywords that you’re targeting let’s you see how your ranking for those keywords changes over time. This is a useful way to measure the success of your SEO efforts and see if you’re on the right track.
Without tracking your progress, then it’s difficult to know whether or not your SEO strategy is working. But by tracking your rankings for target keywords, you can get a good idea of how well your SEO is performing and understand what changes you need to make going forward.
Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your keywords and traffic progress.
5. It helps you find new content ideas
If you’re struggling to come up with new ideas for your blog or website, keyword research can help. This is probably one of my favourite things about doing keyword research. I never come out with just one keyword to write about – instead I end up with a long list of keywords!
When you use keyword tools, you can see what people are searching for in your field. This can give you some fantastic potential keywords for new content that you may not have thought of before.
With all these new keyword ideas, you’ll be able to create a content strategy that your audience will love.
You can also use keyword research to come up with ideas for new products or services to offer on your website. Knowing what people are searching for gives you a better idea of what they need and want, which can be very helpful when you’re trying to come up with new products or services for your business.
6. It helps you organise your time
Anything that helps me organise my time more efficiently is a huge benefit in my eyes.
Keyword research can help you use your time more effectively by allowing you to focus on the tasks that are most likely to give you the best results.
For example, if you’re trying to rank for a highly competitive keyword, then it’s going to take a lot more time and effort than if you’re trying to rank for a less competitive keyword.
It also helps you to create an efficient content schedule by giving you a list of content ideas to write about. This can help you to batch your writing and be more productive with your time.
7. It increases your organic traffic
One of the ultimate goals of keyword research is to increase your organic traffic.
So when you target the right keywords and optimise your website for those keywords, it makes sense that your organic traffic will increase as a result.
And when your organic traffic increases, so does your potential to make money from your website! More traffic means more potential customers or clients, which is obviously a good thing for any business.
8. It helps you improve your old content
There are always going to be new blog posts which might overtake your spot on the first page of Google, so you’re always going to need to go back and improve old content. This is where keyword research comes in again.
Doing keyword research on your old articles helps you to find new keywords to target that will hopefully subsequently lead to improvements in your ranking in search engine results pages.
You can also use this opportunity to update your old content and make it more relevant for your audience – whether it’s to update it to make it more current, or to add more depth and detail.
9. It makes you aware of new trends
Last, but not least, keyword research helps you to stay on top of new trends. And we all know it’s a hard task to stay on top of the latest trends, especially in SEO!
By keeping an eye on what people are searching for, you can quickly adapt your content to match the latest trends. This ensures that your content is always relevant and up-to-date, which is something that search engines really like to see.
Keyword research tools
There are a few different ways to go about keyword research, and which method you use will depend on your needs, goals and preferences (and of course budget).
My three favourite tools for keyword research (and which have helped be rank for numerous articles on the first page of Google) are:
- Keysearch: This is probably the most affordable keyword research tool for the amount of features you get. It’s a simple tool to use and they even offer a one month free trial to get you started.
- Frase: Crawling up the ranks as one of my new favourites is Frase. If you’re serious about keyword research, then this is the tool for you.
- Surfer SEO: Another one for those who are serious about SEO, but a bit on the pricy side so it’s not for everyone.
Of course, there are plenty of other keyword tools out there, but these are my go to for carrying out keyword research. For a free tool, Google Keyword Planner is a good option. You won’t find as many features as you will in the above options, but it’s still an effective keyword tool to get you started.
Tips for doing keyword research
Now that you know all about the benefits of keyword research and some of the best tools to use, it’s time to give you some tips on how to actually do keyword research. Here are a few of my top tips:
1. Always start with your audience in mind: It’s important to always keep your audience in mind when doing keyword research. After all, they’re the ones you’re trying to attract to your website!
2. Don’t worry too much about search volume. It’s not always accurate and even if a keyword has a low search volume, it may be easy to rank for and could help you gain credibility in your field.
3. User intent is key: When people are searching for something online, they have a specific intent. It’s important to try and understand what that intent is and then match your content to it.
4. Don’t forget about long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords may not have the highest search volume, but they can be easier to rank for and can be very effective in driving targeted traffic to your website.
5. Use a mix of different keyword research tools: No one tool is going to give you all the information you need, so it’s important to use a mix of different tools to get the most accurate results.
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So there you have it! Everything you need to know about keyword research and how it can benefit your SEO efforts. By following the tips in this article, you’ll be well on your way to improving your ranking in search engine results pages.
Do you have any other tips for doing keyword research? Share them in the comments below!