How to Search for Keywords for a new Blogpost to Get Traffic?

In this article, we will help you learn how to do keyword research for improving traffic with this step-by-step guide.

Whether you are a fresh or a professional blogger, everyone understands that getting long-term organic traffic to your blog is a difficult task. If you don’t include the correct keywords and phrases in your blog post that assist your target audience, you’re giving up a huge chance.

Introduction

Ask any Digital Marketing professional or content writer about the relevance of keywords, and they can write a thesis on this topic. Without the appropriate keywords in your blog, your web page might not get the attention it deserves on search engine results pages (SERPs). However, more often than not, you would find professionals struggling for keywords as there are various things to consider, such as volume, density, competitor analysis, etc. You can also enroll yourself in a blogging course if you want to brush up your blogging basics.

Although it may sound complicated right now, we will make it easier for you. Keep on reading this blog and understand how to search for keywords or how to do the keyword research for your next blog post.

Also, if you are eager to learn the SEO fundamentals, then enroll in this Free SEO Course

Understanding keyword research

What is Keyword Research?

It is the technique of identifying and assessing relevant keywords and using them to optimize blog content. Researching the keywords also helps uncover the popularity of these terms, their ranking difficulty, and more.

“How to make coffee” or “cheap used phones” are both examples of what a user can type into the Google search bar to find information.

When many people use a specific term to search for a particular topic or service, you can create content around those keywords and work them into your blogs. This is what we mean by “keyword-optimized” content.

Why is keyword research important?

Imagine searching for the word “highlight” rather than the more specific “how to get hair highlight at home.” One will open all kinds of non-related results, while the other will help you find the answers you need to accomplish your goal.

Difference between two terms “highlight” and “How to get hair highlight at home.”
Source – Google

Sure, “highlight” gets a lot more traffic, but it is a lot more competitive, and searchers can mean anything from the definition of the term to different hair salons. So, while “how to get hair highlights at home” may have fewer searches, these people know what they are looking for.

These longer, more specific search phrases are called “long-tail keywords.” Targeting these keywords can help you rank in search results and drive in more relevant traffic.

How the popularity of a keyword affects the ranking

If you choose an overly popular topic for your blog, using SEO methods can help you rank well and attract the audience. Thus, for beginners, picking a different or more particular phrase (or term) can help them stand out from others/competitors.

If you manage to incorporate the right keywords in your blog, it can help to boost your rankings in search results, and customers are more likely to find you. That said, stuffing your article with a single target keyword is not right either. Keyword-stuffing is also discouraged by Google, as it does not help your blog rank.

For example, a blog trying to rank for the term “phone under 15k” and using the following copy – 

“If you’re looking for the best phone under 15k, look no further. Our brand offers the best affordable phone under 15k. With 8GM RAM in our product and a 512GB storage, this is the best phone under 15k for everyday use.”

Read More: SEO vs SEM: What’s the Difference

How to search for keywords

Now that you have an idea of what types of search terms to target, let us get started on how to search for keywords for a blog-

Step 1 – Develop a Keyword List

It is best to start with statistics about the keyword. You can use keyword planning tools as they can help you look for the most searched terms by the users for a particular topic.

The trick is to understand who is searching for your blog and why (understanding buyers’ persona). It will help you decide the right keywords for the article, structure it and have a thorough understanding of your audience.

Let’s say, you own a clothing store. If you want to rank the blog, you have to pick 2 keywords: clothing store in Delhi and best cotton clothes. This way, potential customers can see your blog when searching for either of the terms. 

Read More: 23 Marketing Automation Tools You Need to Use

Step 2 – Check Search Volume and Difficulty

A part of choosing keywords for your keyword list is evaluating how competitive they are. There are many free (about which we shall discuss a little later) and paid tools that can help you with this. They can help in measuring the search volume and competition of that keyword. The higher the difficulty, the harder it will be to rank the blog in search rankings.

So, for starters, begin with low-difficulty keywords. As you start getting more traffic and better Google results, you will have a better chance at ranking for high-difficulty keywords.

For example, the keyword “film promotions” has a global search volume of 20. Since this is a medium-difficulty keyword, you can create an SEO-optimized blog and have a better chance of getting ranked on the search results page.

[NOTE: Search volumes may vary from tool to tool because each tool calculates and updates metrics differently.]

Step 3 – Prepare a Strategy

Mentioning the same keyword repetitively can annoy a reader and search engines too. So, utilize your target keywords strategically like, in the topic, heading, and the opening line or section of the blog, where it sounds organic and offers SEO value.

Once you have placed your top-priority keywords, look for semantically related terms to use in other SEO-sensitive elements like link anchor text, image file names, and image alt-text. By limiting the usage of similar phrases and incorporating relevant terms from your keyword list, you can boost your blog authority with search engines.

Step 4 – The Big Picture

You need to remember that keywords are just one aspect of successful blogging and can only improve the ranking. But what matters the most is what value your information provides to the readers.

Search engines consider various factors when offering up search results. The best way to succeed is to publish high-quality blogs made explicitly for your buyer persona.

[NOTE: Google keeps tweaking its algorithm to deliver more helpful and better search results, so keep your focus on quality over quantity.]

Here are some popular and free keyword research tools that can help you do everything mentioned above.

Name of the ToolDescription1.Google Keyword PlannerGet unique keyword suggestions and updated CPC (Cost Per Click) values.2.Google TrendsCompare trends and research their geography.3.Google Search ConsoleCheck the top 1000 keywords you already rank for and the amount of traffic those keywords send you.4.AhrefsCheck all the keywords you currently rank for along with their estimated search volumes, keyword difficulty scores, traffic potential, and other useful SEO metrics.5.SEMrushClassify keywords into topic-specific categories, use advanced filters to narrow or broaden your search.6.Google Search AutosuggestUsed it to guide strategy, gather keywords, and discover the most critical topics clients are asking.7.Google Related SearchesUse it to generate content ideas that address user intent.8.Keywords EverywhereGet keyword statistics for the top ten websites.

Helps in finding the best keywords, assessing traffic potential, and ranking difficulty with ease.

What’s next for me?

Well, you can jump right in and give it a shot! Keyword research gets easier once you get a hang of it. 

Creating a content strategy is a critical component of efficiently growing your blog. And I have exactly what might help you. There is a fantastic PG Program in Strategic Digital Marketing by Great Lakes Executive Learning which can help you understand the basic marketing concepts and tools. 

The program will help you showcase your expertise through a capstone project. The learners will also get a post-graduate certificate from the Great Lakes Executive Learning, which is ranked among the top 10 institutes of the country. Click on the link above and check it. You will love it!