How to Carry Out Primary Keyword Research
What is keyword research?
Primary and secondary keywords are essential when fulfilling SEO best practices. There are many free resources available, which can be overwhelming at times. In this blog we demonstrate which main resource we utilise when completing our SEO Glow Up.
Why do you need to do keyword research?
Think of keyword research as your secret weapon. It’s the process of finding out the exact words and phrases your potential customers are typing into Google to find what you offer.
What does Search Volume (SV) and Search Difficulty (SD) mean?
Search Volume
Search Volume (SV) tells you the average number of times a particular keyword is searched for each month. A high search volume means more people are interested in that topic, which can lead to a lot of potential traffic.
Search Difficulty
Search Difficulty (SD) is a score that estimates how hard it will be to rank on the first page of Google for that keyword. This score is based on the strength of the websites already ranking, so a lower score means you have a better chance of competing and getting your content seen. The goal is to find a good balance: keywords with a high search volume but a low search difficulty.
How do we carry out Primary keyword research for our SEO Glow Up?
The main keyword research tool we use when carrying out an SEO Glow Up is a browser extension called Keywords Everywhere. It's our go-to tool because it's extremely user-friendly and affordable.
Here is a Keywords Everywhere Breakdown
Free Version: The free version gives you access to some helpful tools like an Instagram hashtag generator, Pinterest metrics, and various prompts for AI tools like ChatGPT. However, it does not provide the key SEO data like search volume (SV), search difficulty (SD), and competitor data, which are the main reasons people use the tool for keyword research.
Paid Version: To see the actual search volume (SV), search difficulty (SD) and all the other important metrics, you need to purchase credits. These credits are used each time you query for data. This makes it an affordable option compared to more expensive subscription-based tools, as you're only paying for the data you use.
What are Keywords Everywhere credits?
One of the best parts about using Keywords Everywhere is how they do their pricing. You buy a pack of credits, and you use one of them each time you look up a keyword. If you want to see all the extra ideas and related searches, those will use a few more credits, but it's a perfect pay-as-you-go system, so you're only paying for the data you actually use. You can get a pack of 100,000 credits for around £10, which for most people is more than enough to get your keyword research sorted.
How to see search volume (SV)
Type your keyword idea into the search engine search box
Click enter
Your search volume figure for that keyword will be displayed under the search box
How to see search difficulty (SD)
Add your keyword to the search engine search box
Click enter
Your search difficulty will be displayed in a box the same as the one below, either at the top right of your search page or lower down the page.
Finding other relevant keywords from your primary keyword
When you add a keyword into a search engine search box, the search engine will offer you other relevant options from the search box drop-down, including the search volume for each, as below:
How to see what keywords your competitors are ranking for using Keywords Everywhere
Type a relevant keyword for your competitors into the search engine search box
Click enter
For example - if you are an interior designer, add the keyword ‘interior designer’; the search engine will then list the best-ranking websites for an interior designer.
Then pick a competitor from the list
Hover over - Keywords (uk) as shown in the screenshot above, for the box below to appear:
Click on the figure under ‘Total Keywords’, as shown in the screenshot above, in this case 25.70K, to see a list of your competitors ranking keywords as below:
You will then be able to see the following information for each of your competitors’ ranking keywords
Estimated Traffic - projected number of monthly visitors driven by that keyword
SERP Postion - Search Engine Results Page - refers to where your competitors website or content appears on a results page when using that keyword
Volume - this is the search volume (SV) for that keyword
CPC - Cost Per Click - represents the actual amount an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on one of their ads after using that keyword
Summary
By now, you'll have a clear understanding of what keyword research is. You've learned how to find valuable primary keywords using a simple and affordable tool. You also know how to interpret the key metrics and use this information to see exactly what your competitors are doing. You are now equipped to choose the right keywords, and with a bit of dedication and this new knowledge, you’ll be well on your way to getting your content seen and attracting the perfect audience to your website.
