Wondering how to choose keywords for better and higher SEO ranking?
Well, choosing the right keywords and search terms can make or break your website’s visibility in search engine rankings.
So, if you’re wondering how to choose keywords to attract the right search traffic, you’re on the right page.
In this article, I’ll discuss optimizing your keyword research process to improve your overall SEO strategy.
Consider this article your complete guide to keyword research in 2024. We’ll cover everything you need to know about effectively searching for, choosing, and using keywords.
Let’s start!
What is Keyword Research?
Let’s first understand what keyword research is all about. Keyword research is the process of finding the words and phrases that your ideal searchers are searching for and optimizing your content for it.
For example, you must have searched “keyword research strategy” or “how to choose keywords” on Google to find this article. Those are the keywords we used in this article to optimize the content.
Targeting specific SEO keywords like this in your website’s content increases the likelihood of appearing in relevant search results.
Proper keyword research involves examining metrics like monthly search volume, difficulty, and backlink opportunities.
In the next section, I will discuss how to choose keywords to solidify your Search Engine Optimization strategy.
8 Ways on How to Choose Keywords for SEO That Rank
With so many tools popping up when you search keyword research, it must seem easy. But there’s more to finding and selecting the right keywords!
Here are 8 efficient ways you can make your keyword research strategy work:
1. Create a Content Strategy for Keywords
An effective keyword strategy starts with understanding your target audience and their search intent.
What are they looking for? What problems are they trying to solve?
Answering these questions can help you create a content strategy that aligns with the keywords your audience is searching for. This involves conducting thorough research and brainstorming relevant topics that resonate with your target audience.
It also involves using frameworks like Tofu-Mofu-Bofu to identify what stage of the customer journey your content targets at a given time.
So, if you’re running a marketing agency targeting small businesses looking to improve their social media presence, you’ll know that many small business owners are searching for “social media marketing tips for beginners.”
You create a content strategy centered around such keywords, developing blog posts, videos, and infographics. At the top of the funnel, your strategy offers valuable insights and practical tips for new social media marketers.
2. Analyze the SERPs
The search engine results pages (SERPs) provide valuable insights into the competitiveness of keywords. Take the time to analyze the top-ranking pages for your chosen keywords.
You can also use Google Analytics or Google Trends to identify the top-ranking keywords in your own content and the SERPs.
Understanding the SERPs will give you a better idea of the level of competition you’ll face and help you choose keywords with a higher chance of ranking.
Continuing with the example above, you can see that Google search results for the keyword “social media marketing tips for beginners.” The top-ranking page includes a featured snippet that outlines all tips.
You can also look at the People Also Ask section to understand what type of content people are searching for.
After you’ve analyzed the SERPs, feed both the low-competition and the highly-competitive keywords into SEOBoost to generate a Topic Report for them.
Doing so will generate a complete keyword map that you can use to create better ranking and optimized content.
3. Use Keyword Research Tools like SEOBoost
Keyword research tools essentially help you choose new keywords and evaluate their potential to rank on the first page. However, given the many available tools, choosing the right tool can also be difficult.
You should focus on using advanced tools like SEOBoost that provide data on search volume, competition, and related keywords. It helps you identify long-tail keywords and relevant keyword phrases to use as a starting point for optimizing the content.
In 2024, simply having a tool churn out a list of keywords and their metrics will slow down your team and content campaign. SEOBoost’s topic reports can help you conduct keyword and competitor research on a certain topic in seconds.
You can later use these keyword ideas to edit your content within the tool to get suggestions on where to add keywords, an optimization score, and keyword density metrics to ensure you’re using them correctly.
Check out our list of the best keyword research tools.
4. Find the Keywords Your Competitors are Ranking for
Following the last example, analyzing your competitors’ keywords can give you a competitive edge.
You can gain insights into their SEO strategy and choose keyword opportunities by identifying the keywords they are ranking for.
SEOBoost allows you to see how other top results on SERPs are ranking, what keywords they’re using, and their overall optimization scores so you can outshine them.
The keyword suggestions and ideation can help refine your keyword strategy and target keywords your competitors may have overlooked.
5. Assess the Keyword Search Volume and Difficulty
When choosing a seed keyword, it’s important to consider search volume and difficulty.
Search volume refers to the number of times a keyword is searched for in a given timeframe, usually a month. Look for keywords with a decent search volume to ensure enough demand for your content.
On the other hand, keyword difficulty measures how hard it is to rank for a particular keyword. Strike a balance between search volume and difficulty, aiming for keywords with decent demand but not overly competitive.
You can evaluate the search volume for specific keywords using free tools like WordStream.
More advanced tools like SEOBoost show these metrics as part of your topic report and within the content editor so you can make adjustments and check your content score.
6. Analyze the Traffic Potential
While search volume is important, it’s equally crucial to assess the traffic potential of your chosen keywords. Traffic potential refers to the quality and relevance of the traffic you can expect to receive when ranking for a particular keyword.
Look for keywords that align with your target audience’s needs and preferences. Choosing keywords with high traffic potential increases the chances of attracting qualified leads to your website.
7. Identify the Search Intent for the Keyword
Understanding the search intent behind a keyword is vital for selecting the right keywords since Google values this factor more than anything regarding organic rankings.
Search intent refers to the reason behind a user’s search query.
Are they looking for information, a specific product, or a solution to a problem?
By aligning your content with the search intent, you can ensure that your website appears in front of users actively seeking what you offer. There are 4 types of search intent:
- Informational
- Navigational
- Transactional
- Commercial
Understanding that users searching for “social media marketing tips for beginners” seek informational and educational content to help them navigate the complexities of social media marketing, you tailor your content to provide practical guidance, strategies, tips, and step-by-step tutorials to match the intent.
8. Create Topic Report Using SEOBoost
Once you’ve selected your keywords, it’s time to create a Topic Report using SEOBoost.
This report will serve as a blueprint for creating content that effectively targets your chosen keywords. SEOBoost provides detailed insights into keyword usage, content structure, and optimization recommendations.
You can start by creating a campaign, and within that campaign, you can have infinite topic reports that will be targeted toward a specific audience in your funnel.
With your focus keywords, the platform will also guide you to optimize your content for on-page SEO by adding keywords to headings, meta descriptions, and titles, as well as LSI keywords that bring in traffic and help Google index your website and establish its intent.
Use those keywords to create an optimization report. Following the recommendations in the content optimization section, you can create content that ranks well and resonates with your target audience.
How to Use the Keywords You’ve Selected?
Choosing keywords is the first step; effectively using them in your content is equally crucial in your on-page SEO checklist.
Here are some tips on how to use the keywords you’ve selected:
1. Strategic Placement
Incorporate your keywords naturally throughout your content, including in the title, headings, meta tags, and body text. Strategic placement means you don’t have to force a keyword in every paragraph.
A rule of thumb is to have your main keyword in the introduction, the conclusion, and metadata.
This is followed by using secondary keywords in h2 and the headings around the body text.
2. Use Variations and Synonyms
Use variations and synonyms of your keywords to make your content more diverse and appealing to search engines.
It also helps to maintain readability and avoid keyword stuffing.
This is where LSI keywords come in as well. These are just keywords or phrases that relate to your main keyword in the same context, like content frameworks, SEO strategy, content optimization, and more.
For instance, if you type your main keyword on Google, “digital marketing strategies,” you can find and use related terms like “digital marketing strategy examples,” “digital marketing strategies for small businesses,” or “marketing strategies for startups.”
This approach ensures your content remains relevant to a broader audience and includes what they’re looking for while still targeting your primary keyword.
3. User Experience
Prioritize the user experience when using your selected keywords in your content. Craft valuable, informative, and engaging content that meets the search intent behind your keywords.
Look at this blog division, for instance. Notice how we’ve divided each part into a distinguished category so it’s easier for users to scan.
By delivering content that satisfies user intent, you increase the likelihood of attracting and retaining visitors to your website.
4. Optimize Metadata
Optimize your metadata, including meta titles and descriptions, to improve your content’s visibility in search engine results.
Ensure your primary keyword is included in your meta title and description to attract clicks from search engine users.
See how the metadata here is optimized for the keyword, ‘keyword research,’ and it pulls when someone makes a search query. This makes it easier for the user to understand the content.
5. Internal Linking
Build high-quality internal links to other content on your website to increase its visibility and authority in search engine rankings. When search engine bots crawl your website, they look for pages you’re linking to and why they’re relevant.
You can also use AIOSEO’s Link Assistant feature to identify linking opportunities and optimize your content.
Final Word
Remember, keyword research is an ongoing process, so regularly evaluate and update your keyword strategy to stay ahead of the competition.
And if you’re looking for an all-in-one SEO tool that does keyword research and content optimization, try SEOBoost today!
It is built for SEO experts to assist with keyword research, competitor research, creating content briefs, and drafts.
FAQs
1. How should you choose keywords?
Consider relevance to your content, search volume, competition level, and user intent. Opt for a mix of high-volume and long-tail keywords, balancing popularity with attainability. Prioritize keywords that align with your target audience’s interests and needs.
2. What are the 3 main factors in choosing a keyword?
When choosing a keyword, the three main factors to consider are relevance to your content or business, search volume, and competition level. Balancing these factors helps ensure you select keywords that are both aligned with your goals and likely to attract traffic to your website.
3. How do I find SEO keywords?
To find SEO keywords, brainstorm relevant terms, use tools like SEOBoost to analyze competitors’ keywords, prioritize long-tail keywords, consider user intent, and monitor performance for adjustments.
