Perhaps you’ve heard about keyword and maybe you’ve done a bit of Keyword research yourself.
As you continue to conduct your study, you will realize that almost all sites will speak of the same thing.
However, it doesn’t mean there is no correct meaning of what keyword research is.
What is a Keyword?
As the name suggests, a keyword is the main word or the main subject that is being discussed/targeted.
For instance, this post will speak about what a keyword is and all practices that surround the keyword research.
You use keyword when you are looking for something online. Let’s say you are looking for information on SEO.
You are most likely going to type the words, “best SEO practices” “SEO” or such like.
Those words are keywords.
Once you type them on the search engine, chances are you will see many sites pop up.
The sites that pop up are those that have used different variations of the word SEO on their posts.
And that is how you get information.
Keywords dictate how your site appears in search engines. In other words, if your posts or website for that matter do not have the right keywords (searchable), the post or the website will not show up when people are looking for something on the internet.
That, of course, is if your post or website has content but does not have the ideal keywords that are searchable.
In fact, keyword research is one of the three most important things that matter a lot when it comes to SEO.
The other two are content marketing and link building. When the three are done properly, chances are your post or site will rank high in the search engines.
In simple terms, If a website receives tons of visitors from organic searches and another one gets none, yet both have content, the problem with the latter is keyword research or the keywords used.
Therefore, if you want your site to rank for certain topics, pages, or posts, the antidote is to do proper keyword research.
Types Of Keywords
There are two main types of keywords, namely Short-Tail and Long-Tail. Most people who want to find something on the internet use Short-Tail keywords or phrases.
In fact, only a few thousands of people type long word phrases when they are searching for something online.
Nonetheless, using Long-Tail keywords and keyword phrases as the site own helps in quick ranking.
Nevertheless, there is more. You need to understand how each type of keyword(s) works.
Head Terms
Head term keywords are usually one-word keyword. These terms are super broad. Yes, you can never depend on them to rank.
In fact, it is like telling your friend that you live in the U.S and expect him or her to find you. IMPOSSIBLE!
Some head terms people search for are ‘gambling’, ‘vacuum’, ‘investment’, or ‘insurance’. As you can see, these are broad.
Yes, they are very broad terms. You cannot expect to find the exact information you are looking for if you just type such a word on your search engine.
Although all websites use head terms, they don’t depend to rank using head terms or Broad Keywords. Web owners must incorporate head terms with other various keyword for them to rank.
One thing you need to know about head terms is that they have huge searches. Besides, they are nearly impossible to rank.
Unlike head terms, main keywords make your work easier.
Main Keywords
These are what many people focus on. Main keywords or body keywords are usually 2 or 3 words that many people type on Google when they are searching for something.
Take, for example, the head term ‘vacuum’ we mentioned in the above section.
A client may be looking for a vacuum to help him/her remove bedbugs from the house.
If that the case, the person is likely to type ‘bedbug vacuum cleaner’, ‘area rug vacuum’ or ‘wooden floor vacuum.’
As you can see, that tends to narrow down to what the client needs thus the search becomes easier and faster.
In terms of competition, head terms are extremely competitive than body or main keywords. There is more, though.
Long Tail Keywords
If you thought that typing ‘bedbug vacuum cleaner’ or ‘life insurance policy’ is specific, you are wrong.
Long-tail keywords are more specific, more precise than main/body or head terms.
Long-Tail keywords usually contain four or more words. They can comprise up to 8 words that read well and make sense.
Examples of long-tail keywords that are more specific are:
- Cheap fire insurance policy for families.
- Best area rug vacuum cleaners.
- Inexpensive shoes for kids with plantar fasciitis.
- Wooden floor vacuum cleaners under $500.
As you can see, the above examples are very specific. The customer is not just looking for a shoe for plantar fasciitis, but a shoe for a kid.
The other user is not just looking for a vacuum cleaner for a wooden floor, but it has to be under $500 and so on.
Although the search volume for Long-Tail keywords is far much lesser compared to head terms and that of body keywords, they are the best in helping your site pop up on Google’s top page.
Keyword Research: A Complete Guide To Finding The Right Keywords That Rank Share on X
Is Keyword Research Important For SEO?
While some critics hold that keyword research is no longer important, the simple and honest answer is, ‘YES!’ Keyword research is of utmost importance for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Keyword research is very important that all mega sites you know of (except for a few authority sites, thanks to domain age and back links) depend on it for ranking.
Otherwise, were it not for the best keyword research practice, you won’t know such sites existed.
Now that you know what a keyword is, it is time we delved into things that are more serious.
The Basis of Keyword Research
Before you start to carry on a basic keyword research, you need to find tools. These tools will help you find the right keywords (a word or phrases of words that people search online).
Different keyword research tools require different approaches and give different results.
You need to know which keyword research tool will give you the best keywords, thus best results when it comes to the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
Keyword Research Tools
Some people ask if they can find keywords without the help of keyword research tools. Well, you can.
However, as it were, you can climb a 30-storey building manually, but a lift makes your climbing not only easier but also effective, thus the only viable means to get to the highest point.
In the same view, using keyword research tools is the best and simplest way to find high-ranking keywords.
As mentioned, different keyword research tools give different results. Depending on the keyword research tool you’ll prefer to use, you need to understand how each of them works.
You must understand the techniques and the subtle tricks to find the right keywords.
In this article, we’ll discuss five main keyword research tools, namely kWFinder, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, SEMrush, and Google Keyword Planner.
Let’s start with …
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is perhaps one of the premium keyword research tools used by serious online webpreneurs. The tool gives you keyword ideas using Google search suggestions.
That is not all. The tool goes ahead to provide you with useful data on every keyword. Such crucial data include keyword difficulty, search volume, CPC, and more.
Google Keyword Planner
When I speak to experienced web owners, they tell me that Google Keyword Planner (GKP) is, perhaps, the most reliable keyword tool you can use.
Compared to other keyword research tools, data collected using GKP comes directly from Google, the world’s biggest search engine.
That, of course, gives you some hope that whatever the keyword research tool suggests is accurate.
However, it is not before long that you’ll realize a major downside with this keyword research tool.
The tool works best for website owners with Google ads. Therefore, this tool may not be the best for those whose main interest is on SEO.
Nonetheless, this keyword research tool can help you find tons of keyword and search queries that, which definitely find substantive searches.
Ahrefs
If you ask around, Ahrefs is known not necessarily for keyword research but for finding information for link building.