What Is Keyword Research?
Do you know the secret to unlocking the internet and getting found by customers?
It's not a magic trick or some guru's get-rich-quick scheme. Internet marketers are always promoting schemes that promise to make everyone wealthy overnight. Spoiler alert: they rarely work as advertised.
But keyword research? That's different. Keywords and keyword research aren't a scheme - they're fundamental to how the internet actually works and how people find information. When you understand how to use them properly, they can transform your business visibility.
By mastering keywords and keyword research, your potential to increase website visitors and profit rises dramatically.
TLDR: Keywords are the phrases people type into search engines. Keyword research identifies which terms your target customers use, considering search volume, relevance, competition, and intent. This data-driven approach helps you create content that ranks in search results and attracts qualified traffic - people actively searching for what you offer.
Interested? Let's dive into everything you need to know about keywords and keyword research.
What Are Keywords and Why Do They Matter?
A keyword is a phrase that people use to search the internet. For example, you might want to learn about the most comfortable leashes for Labradors. You'll probably go online and type something like "comfortable leashes for medium-sized dogs" or "best leashes for Labradors."
Despite those searches including multiple words, each phrase counts as a single keyword in SEO terms.
Keywords become fascinating when you scale up to the billions of people using the internet daily. Suddenly, clear trends and patterns emerge.
For example, more than 10,000 people per month might search "best leashes for Labradors," but only 100 people per month search for "comfortable leashes for medium-sized dogs." This data is incredibly valuable for businesses trying to increase revenue.
If you had a business selling dog leashes, you'd look at this data and see 10,000 potential customers searching every month. That's a massive opportunity.
A business can use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques to get web pages to appear for particular keywords. When someone searches "best leashes for Labradors," you want your website showing up on that first page of results.
A Brief History of Keywords (And Why They Exist)
Without understanding the history of keywords, they might seem like an odd way to find information online.
In the very early days of the internet, there were only a handful of websites. People literally wrote them down in notebooks. But as the number of websites exploded, there was a genuine problem: how do you index, navigate, and find millions of websites?
Search engines came to the rescue. They created systems to rank websites based on particular phrases users input into search bars. Using sophisticated algorithms and programming, search engines analyze websites across the internet and store information about them.
Each search engine, including Google, keeps the detailed workings of its algorithms secret. However, through careful analysis, SEO professionals have identified many of the factors that influence rankings. Understanding these factors is essential to getting your website to appear for keywords that matter to your business.
What Exactly Is Keyword Research?
Now that you understand what keywords are, let's explain keyword research.
Keyword research is the process of finding relevant keywords that will help your business or website appear in search engine results.
Several essential elements make up effective keyword research. Professional SEO specialists consider all these factors when developing keyword strategies.
Keyword Volume (How Many People Are Searching)
Keyword volume is usually presented as monthly figures - for instance, "10,000 searches per month." This number represents the approximate number of people searching that term monthly.
Ideally, you'd find relevant keywords with huge search volumes. However, depending on other factors we'll discuss below, sometimes it's smarter to target smaller volume keywords that you can actually rank for.
Quality sometimes beats quantity when it comes to keyword strategy.
Keyword Relevance (Does It Actually Match Your Business?)
Sometimes you'll see a keyword with massive search volume and immediately want to target it. But you need a filter to remove keywords that won't provide actual value to your business.
Actual value means if you sell coffee, there's little point in getting 100,000 page views per month for a keyword about construction screws. Sure, traffic is nice, and maybe you could convert some of it, but it's not an efficient use of your time and resources.
Keep keywords relevant to your purpose. There are opportunities to target a spectrum of keywords, but focus on ones that directly impact your business goals and attract customers who actually need what you offer.
Keyword Competition (Can You Actually Rank?)
Another critical factor is competition. Trying to outrank a long-established, authoritative website is extremely difficult if you're a small or new business. However, it's not impossible, especially if you're extremely relevant to the search query.
When analyzing keyword competition, examine the websites currently ranking for that keyword. Ask yourself: can I realistically compete with these sites? If the answer is yes, the keyword is worth pursuing. If not, look for lower-competition alternatives.
Don't waste months trying to rank for keywords you'll never win. Be strategic.
Primary Keywords (Your Top Priority Targets)
When researching keywords, identify the most important one or two. These are your primary targets - the keywords that would have the biggest impact on your business if you ranked for them.
If you ranked for a primary keyword, you'd see a significant increase in not just traffic, but in sales, leads, and business growth.
Choose these carefully. Your primary keywords should have good search volume, reasonable competition, and direct relevance to your core offerings.
Secondary Keywords (Expand Your Reach)
You can only have one or two primary keywords for any given page or campaign. All the others are secondary keywords.
Ranking for secondary keywords is still valuable and can drive significant traffic. Your secondary keyword list can be much more extensive and target different aspects of your business or different customer segments.
Don't ignore secondary keywords just because they're not your top priority. They collectively can drive as much or more traffic than your primary keywords.
Understanding Keyword Types and Search Intent
Another important aspect of keyword research is defining what type of keyword you're targeting.
Informational Keywords
Some keywords are informational, meaning the person searching wants an answer to a question. These people aren't looking to buy or purchase anything right now.
For example, "how many inches are in a foot" is an informational keyword. The person searching has zero buying intent - they just want quick information.
Transactional Keywords (Converting Keywords)
On the other hand, someone searching "brown wedding shoes, size 9" is much more likely to purchase. This is a transactional or converting keyword - the person is ready to buy.
Understanding search intent is critical to reaching your particular business goals. If you want immediate sales, focus on transactional keywords. If you want to build authority and brand awareness, informational keywords have value too.
Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that typically have lower search volume but higher conversion rates. "Best CRM software for real estate agents under $100/month" is a long-tail keyword.
These are often easier to rank for because there's less competition, and they attract highly qualified traffic - people who know exactly what they want.
Why Keyword Research Matters for Your Small Business
By researching keywords thoroughly, small business owners can identify the exact phrases and terms your target customers use when searching for solutions or services like yours.
This allows you to create content that both serves your customers' needs and has a much greater chance of appearing on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Keyword research also helps you understand customer intent behind searches. Are they looking for more information about a product? Trying to make a purchase decision? Looking for customer support? Understanding this intent allows you to craft content and campaigns that actually deliver what customers are searching for.
For small businesses competing against larger companies with bigger budgets, keyword research is your competitive advantage. You can identify valuable keywords that big competitors have overlooked or ignored. You can target long-tail keywords where you can win, even if you can't compete for the biggest, most competitive terms.
Smart keyword research levels the playing field and helps you capture traffic and customers that would otherwise go to competitors.
Stop Marketing in the Dark
Without keyword research, marketing on the internet is like wandering in the dark with a blindfold on. You're guessing, hoping, and wasting time and money on strategies that may or may not work.
Do yourself a favor: take that blindfold off.
You need to understand your audience and target market. Keyword research provides the data and insights to inform your decisions and guide your strategy. It tells you exactly what your potential customers are searching for and how you can reach them.
This isn't guesswork or theory. It's data-driven strategy that produces measurable results.
We Help You Develop and Execute Winning Keyword Strategies
At Your WP Guy, we understand keyword research and how to translate it into real business results. We can help you identify the right keywords to target, create content that ranks, and ensure your website is optimized to convert that traffic into customers.
But keyword research is just the beginning. Your website also needs to be fast, secure, and working flawlessly to convert the visitors you attract. We handle all the technical details - speed optimization, security updates, ongoing maintenance - so your keyword strategy actually delivers results.
You focus on running your business. We'll make sure your website is optimized to attract and convert search traffic.
Ready to stop guessing and start growing? Request an appointment today to learn more about our keyword research process and how it can transform your online visibility and business growth.
Your competitors are researching keywords and capturing customers. Don't let them dominate the search results that should be bringing you business.
