“Where is the best place to start when learning about SEO keyword research? Any good free resources online?”
I recently came across this question in a Slack channel, and I plan to answer it in today’s post by sharing three of the best keyword research resources for beginners.
But first, here’s a quick primer on keyword research for those of you who want a quick overview (if you don’t, simply scroll down to the end of this email for those resources).
What Is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is the process of finding those words, terms, or phrases people use in search engines. Your goal is to select relevant keywords you want to rank for and create content that’s optimized for those keywords so that you can drive traffic to your site.
Why Is Keyword Research Important?
Two of the most important reasons to do keyword research are that it helps you learn more about your audience and informs your content marketing strategy.
Learn more about your audience
Keyword research reveals what your target audience is searching for so that you can learn more about their problems, fears, and dreams.
I like how Brian Dean of Backlinko puts it: “Keyword research is market research for the 21st century.”
Inform your content strategy
The research reveals the types of keywords you should target and create content for. The sweet spot is finding those keywords that capture specific customer problems that your product can also solve.
In that way, you can write content that solves their problem while also positioning your business as the solution to drive a conversion.
For example, let’s say you run or work for a technology company that provides an all-in-one software platform to help service businesses organize their operations. Features your software offers may include the ability to quote and invoice clients, schedule employees, and even track time.
Let’s also say that you want to target a specific demographic: Landscaping businesses. So, you use Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or some other keyword tool to do your keyword research and discover the keyword “How to Quote Landscaping Jobs.”
This is an ideal keyword to target because you can write a blog post that solves their problem (shows them how to quote landscaping jobs), while also putting up your hand at the end of the post and saying, “O, by the way, if you need help quoting specific jobs and running your business then when not try out our software—it helps you do precisely that.”
3 of the Best Resources to Get Started with Keyword Research
With that short primer out the way, here are three of the best free online resources to help you get started with keyword research.
I’ve kept this list short because I know how easy it is to get overwhelmed when learning about a new topic.
How to Do Keyword Research for SEO: A Beginner’s Guide – HubSpot
Keyword Research: The Definitive Guide (2020) – Backlinko
Keyword Research: The Beginner’s Guide to SEO – Moz
Have any questions about keyword research? Please, feel free to hit reply.
P.S. Thanks must go to Andy Mcilwain for pointing me in the direction of some of these resources.
Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay