Keyword research is the foundation of any content strategy. Without it, you're writing content that either targets terms no one searches for, or terms so competitive you have no realistic chance of ranking.

Good keyword research identifies the intersection of search demand, commercial intent, and realistic ranking opportunity for your site.

Start With Seed Keywords

Seed keywords are the broad terms that describe your business, products, or the problems you solve. These aren't necessarily what you'll target directly — they're the starting point for finding specific, rankable opportunities.

For an SEO tool company, seed keywords might be: SEO audit, page speed, site crawler, schema markup, technical SEO.

From each seed, you expand in multiple directions.

Expand With Questions and Modifiers

Real search queries are usually more specific than seed keywords. Users search for: - Questions: "how to fix slow page speed", "what is schema markup" - Problems: "why is my site slow", "Google not indexing my pages" - Comparisons: "best SEO audit tools", "free vs paid SEO tools" - Local: "SEO agency London", "technical SEO consultant" - Long-tail: "how to check if robots.txt is blocking googlebot"

Use tools that show related searches, "people also ask" data, and autocomplete suggestions to build out your list.

Understand Search Intent

The intent behind a search query determines what type of content will rank. There are four main types:

Informational — The user wants to learn something ("what is LCP", "how to write schema markup"). Answered by guides, tutorials, and explanatory articles. Navigational — The user wants to find a specific site or page ("Google Search Console login"). Not usually a content opportunity for third parties. Commercial investigation — The user is comparing options before buying ("best site audit tools", "Screaming Frog alternatives"). Answered by comparison posts and round-ups. Transactional — The user is ready to buy or sign up ("buy SEO audit software", "SEO tool free trial"). Answered by landing pages with clear calls to action.

Targeting the wrong content type for an intent is a common mistake. If you write an informational article for a transactional query, you'll struggle to rank no matter how good the content.

Evaluate Ranking Difficulty

Not all keywords are worth targeting. A keyword with high search volume but dominated by major brands and high-authority sites may take years to rank for, if ever.

Evaluate difficulty by examining: - The domain authority of current top-ranking pages - Whether the results include your site type (blogs, tools, e-commerce) - How many backlinks the ranking pages have - How comprehensive the current top results are

For newer sites, prioritise lower-difficulty keywords first. Build topical authority gradually.

Prioritise High-Intent, Low-Competition Terms

The sweet spot for most sites is high intent, moderate search volume, and realistic competition. A keyword getting 500 searches a month that converts 5% of visitors to customers is worth more than a keyword getting 10,000 searches a month with 0% commercial intent.

Map Keywords to Content

Each piece of content should target one primary keyword and a handful of related secondary keywords. Create a simple mapping document:

| Primary Keyword | Secondary Keywords | Content Type | URL | |---|---|---|---| | site audit | technical seo audit, seo audit checklist | Guide | /blog/site-audit-guide | | fix redirect chains | redirect chain seo, 301 redirect best practices | Tutorial | /blog/fix-redirect-chains |

Build Topical Authority

Google rewards sites that cover a topic comprehensively. Rather than creating isolated pieces on random keywords, build clusters of content around your core topics. A pillar page on "Technical SEO" supported by detailed cluster posts on specific technical topics signals to Google that you're a comprehensive resource on the subject.

Topical authority takes time to build but creates compounding ranking improvements as each new related piece reinforces the others.