Keyword research \u2014 when executed the right way \u2014 is a multi-step process that requires time, research, and a strategy behind it. But the ROI<\/a> you\u2019ll earn from doing it is well worth it.<\/p>\n In the sections that follow, I\u2019ll walk you through the proven keyword research process we use at Marketing Insider Group, including tips and templates you can use to get started.<\/p>\n Quick Takeaways:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Good keyword research is always rooted in buyer intent<\/a>.<\/p>\n What does that mean? In short, your keywords need to center around what your potential customers search for when they need your solution \u2014 not what you assume is most important as a business owner or marketer.<\/p>\n It also needs to align with the specific stage they\u2019re at on the buyer journey. For example: are they ready to buy right now or are they performing their first exploratory search? The keywords and content you target to these two buyer groups should differ.<\/p>\n With that in mind, here\u2019s how I define keyword research:<\/p>\n Keyword research is the process of identifying the words and phrases your target customers search for at each stage of the buyer journey as they seek solutions to their problems.<\/p>\n Key phrase there: solutions to their problems. Buyers are generally looking to solve problems \u2014 and they aren\u2019t attached to a single solution for getting it done. Instead, they look for the brand that can best address their pain points and needs.<\/p>\n People most commonly read blogs to learn something new, be entertained or read about the latest news in their industry. To put it simply, people only care about reading something that applies to them<\/a>.<\/p>\n Image Source: HubSpot<\/em><\/p>\n When you perform accurate, thorough keyword research to serve as the foundation for great content, you can show customers that you understand them and demonstrate why they should choose your brand over your competitors.<\/p>\n At Marketing Insider Group, we follow a proven 5-step process for keyword research. It starts with documenting important information about your brand\u2019s content goals and it continues well after you start publishing by tracking monthly progress.<\/p>\n Every MIG client fills out a client brief (see part of it pictured below) that gives us a clear idea of their preferred writing style, brand voice and tone, content goals, and more. We think it\u2019s so important that we even completed a client brief for ourselves. We update it frequently to reflect new goals and keep it fresh.<\/p>\n The first step of your keyword research process \u2014 whether you\u2019re working with an agency or doing it yourself \u2014 should be to create your brand\u2019s brief. Believe me, this is a helpful exercise no matter how well you already know your own brand.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to cover in your brief:<\/p>\n Once you have your brief completed, take time to reflect on it and consider how it can inform not only your keyword research but your entire content strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our crucial purpose is to disassemble the competitors\u2019 strategy and find what we\u2019ve missed. In our case, we are talking about the keywords which lead a customer to our project.<\/span><\/p>\n So, the actual plan: <\/span><\/p>\n I recommend repeating all these steps at least once a month. It\u2019ll help to notice the changes, filter, improve and adapt them to your project in time. Let me walk you through this process using Serpstat<\/em>. You can just easily use another tool such as Semrush<\/em> or Ahrefs<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n To find your direct competitors you can use SEO tool with \u201ccompetitor analysis\u201d feature like <\/span>Serpstat<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Pass to the \u201cSEO Research\u201d section and choose the tool “Competitors.” Then sort the results in descending order by common keywords. The indicator in the column of “common keywords” should be as close as possible to “all keywords” indicator. These domains are our direct competitors.<\/span><\/p>\n So, we chose three stores: https:\/\/www.bpillow.com\/ https:\/\/www.mypillow.com\/ https:\/\/www.downandfeathercompany.com\/ <\/span><\/p>\n Now we\u2019ll type these domains into Serpstat, use the “Top Pages” tool, sort it in descending order by the potential traffic and select the first 10 perspective pages.<\/span><\/p>\n Analyzing these three sites, we can find coincidences in users\u2019 choice. For example, despite the fact that all these sites are commercial, the most popular pages are informative (\u201chow to choose pillow\u201d, \u201cthings side slippers need to know\u201d etc.). So, if we\u2019re going to launch such store, we shouldn\u2019t miss this way of customer engagement. <\/span><\/p>\n Or if we see that one of these sites offers \u201cpillows for the neck pain\u201d and it\u2019s quite popular there, we should think about adding this product too. <\/span><\/p>\n Now we can find out which keywords lead to these pages by clicking on the number in the “organic keywords” column. Thus we can pick a lot of keywords for the bulk in case if we\u2019re launching the same product. <\/span><\/p>\n Also, we can compare our site with competitors\u2019 ones by the same product and see which keywords we\u2019ve missed.<\/span><\/p>\n We need to find out what keywords bring traffic to competitors but not to us, and then check if we use these phrases. <\/span><\/p>\n Serpstat offers two features for this purpose: <\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s try both of them using our example with pillows. Go to Missing Keywords first.<\/span><\/p>\n Enter the URL of any category of your store into Serpstat search line. We\u2019ll check \u201cpillows for neck pain\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n Here we have a large number of keywords which use our competitors, but which are not present in our URL. Remember that this tool shows missed phrases only for SERP top-10. <\/span><\/p>\n Also, you probably don\u2019t need all these phrases. Export them to Exel for the detailed analysis, think and filter all useless ones. For example, if you have the commercial project without the blog, remove all \u201chow to\u201d phrases and queries with the wrong geolocation. <\/span><\/p>\n There’s also the option of URL vs URL<\/em>, where you can choose the certain category and compare it by keywords. In the diagram, we see how different it is for the same category of products on different sites.<\/span><\/p>\n Below the diagram, there is a list of keywords. Thus we can pick up competitors\u2019 keywords and use them in our project. <\/span><\/p>\n After that, you can also take a look at the Keyword Difficulty feature at Serpstat. This parameter shows how difficult it is to rank high for the desired keyword. It based on backlink analysis, the presence of domains and URLs with your keyword in title, main pages in the SERP. <\/span><\/p>\n Thus, you can filter collected keywords: if KD is high, trying to get into the top using them won\u2019t be worth the effort. <\/span><\/p>\n Always think critically when digging into your competitors’ results — even industry leaders go down the wrong path frequently.\u00a0Don’t be scared of your competitors; you’re the one who’s evaluating them!<\/span><\/p>\n The next step in your keyword research process is to actually find your focus keywords. I always recommend starting this step with research on your existing keyword rankings and those of your competitors.<\/p>\n If you aren\u2019t already using Google Search Console<\/a>, this is a good reason to start. It\u2019s a free service that gives you tons of insight on keyword analytics. For this step, go to Google Search Console > Search Traffic > Search Analytics to see which keywords are already earning some results for your site and establish a good starting point for keyword research.<\/p>\n Next, you want to find out what your competitors rank for. Even more specifically, you want to know what they rank for that you don\u2019t. One of your content goals should be to fill that gap.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to note here that your direct competitors may not be the same as your search competitors. You can conduct a Google \u201crelated search\u201d to be sure your competitor list is exhaustive. It\u2019s simple: just search for related:yourwebsite.com.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got your complete competitor list, use a content gap or competitor analysis tool to enter their domain and find their ranking keywords. There are lots of tools you can use to do this. I like SEMRush\u2019s Traffic Analytics<\/a> tool. It requires a paid subscription but you can try it for free.<\/p>\n\n
Understand Your Primary Buyer Intent<\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/The-Buyer-Journey-10.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"reasons](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Why-do-people-read-blog-posts_.webp\")
<\/p>\nCreate a Brief<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Briefing-Doc-Screenshot-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
Perform Competitive Analysis<\/h2>\n
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Find your direct competitors<\/h3>\n
![\"3tjnuyn](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/3tjnuyn-1024x436.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFind their top-performing pages<\/h3>\n
![\"Nklulw4](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/nklulw4-1024x475.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFind the gaps in visibility<\/h3>\n
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![\"Ybc4nbq](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/ybc4nbq-1024x414.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"86ulfbi](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/86ulfbi-1024x431.jpg\")
<\/span><\/p>\nDevelop Focus Keywords<\/h2>\n
Find your existing keyword rankings<\/h4>\n
Conduct a competitive keyword gap analysis<\/h4>\n
Round out your list with a keyword generator tool<\/h4>\n