Analysis of Keywords: Comprehensive Handbook
In the realm of search engine optimization (SEO), understanding and analyzing keywords is an essential step towards achieving online visibility. Keyword analysis is the process of researching and analyzing the search terms (keywords) people enter into search engines to understand their intent and improve website content, SEO strategy, and marketing efforts by targeting relevant keywords effectively.
Keyword research is the first stage of this process, where we discover keywords and search terms that our target audience is looking for. Tools like Google Keyword Planner and Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool can aid in this discovery.
Once we have a list of potential keywords, we move on to the second stage: keyword analysis. This stage helps us narrow down the selection of keywords to the most relevant and profitable ones. We can conduct keyword analysis by examining factors such as keyword difficulty, monthly search volume, conversion potential, and the intent of a keyword.
Keyword difficulty refers to how difficult it would be to rank for a given keyword, based on factors such as competition levels and thematic relevance between a domain and a keyword. The Personal Keyword Difficulty metric, calculated using Semrush's AI algorithm, is particularly useful for evaluating this.
Monthly search volume is an estimate of how many times a keyword was searched nationally over a month, and holds several benefits, including the ability to estimate the traffic potential of a keyword.
Keyword Intent refers to understanding the reason why the keyword is being searched for, and is important for creating content that answers searchers' needs. For example, a user searching for "best running shoes" may be looking for product reviews, while a user searching for "how to run a marathon" is likely seeking informative content.
Seasonal keyword analysis involves examining how keywords rise and fall in popularity over time. Google Trends is the best tool for the job, allowing us to analyze the current and long-term popularity of keywords. Trending keyword analysis is a practice of finding keywords that are currently search engine buzzwords of sorts.
Local and geo-targeted analysis is crucial for businesses with a local presence. Using location terms in your keywords can help you appear in search results for spatial terms such as "nearby", "local", and "near me".
Keyword gap analysis is the process of comparing your own keywords to your competitors and identifying terms that they're ranking for that you are not. Semrush's Keyword Gap tool is particularly effective for this.
Another useful tool is Semrush's SERP Gap Analyzer, which finds keyword opportunities by analyzing specific weaknesses in the top 10 search results.
Lastly, it's important to note that voice search terms can be drastically different from regular search terms, and need to be treated as separate entities. Google Analytics is useful for analyzing keywords already on your site and understanding what leads visitors to your site, while Google Trends is a tool that allows you to analyze the current and long-term popularity of keywords.
By conducting thorough keyword analysis, we can determine which keywords to target first, which search terms could benefit our SEO campaign, which are most important, and which are too difficult to try. This, in turn, can help us create effective SEO strategies, improve our website content, and ultimately, reach the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
