Keyword Research - What It Is and How to Do It

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the SEO process of finding the actual search terms people use to look for products, information, or services in your space, then mapping those terms to pages on your site. It is the first step in any SEO strategy because every other decision (content, internal linking, {on-page-seo}) flows from the keyword list.

Why Keyword Research Matters

Keyword research is where most SEO programmes either gain or lose their leverage. Ahrefs data shows around 95% of all keywords get fewer than 10 monthly searches, but the long tail of low-volume queries accounts for roughly 70% of all search traffic in aggregate. Targeting only head terms means competing for a tiny pool of high-volume keywords; thorough keyword research uncovers the long-tail keywords where conversions actually happen.

How Keyword Research Works

Modern keyword research starts with a seed list of topics your business cares about. Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Keyword Planner, and DataForSEO expand each seed into hundreds of variations along with search volume, keyword difficulty, and search intent signals. You then cluster the expanded list into topic groups, assign each cluster to a page, and prioritise based on volume, difficulty, and commercial value.

Search Console is the other half of the equation: it tells you which queries already produce impressions for your site, including queries no third-party tool will surface. Mining Search Console for queries with high impressions but low CTR is one of the fastest ways to find content opportunities.

Key Inputs in Keyword Research

✓Search volume (monthly searches per query)

✓Keyword difficulty (estimated effort to rank)

✓search intent (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional)

✓Current ranking and competing pages on the SERP

✓Business value (does the keyword attract qualified buyers?)

✓Seasonality and trend trajectory

✓Question-based variations for featured snippet opportunities

How to Do Keyword Research

List 5-10 seed topics covering your products, services, and customer questions

Expand seeds in Ahrefs, Semrush, or DataForSEO to get the full universe of related queries

Pull all queries already producing impressions for your site from Search Console

Cluster keywords by topic and search intent so one cluster maps to one page

Filter aggressively: drop queries that don't match your buyer or business model

Score each cluster on volume, difficulty, and commercial value, then sort

Map each surviving cluster to a new or existing URL with a primary keyword and 5-15 supporting terms

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free keyword research tool?

Google Keyword Planner gives volume bands inside Google Ads. Google Search Console gives the queries your own pages already get impressions for, which is often the most valuable free data. Beyond that, AnswerThePublic and Google autocomplete cover question-based discovery.

How many keywords should one page target?

One primary keyword and a cluster of 5-20 closely related variations and supporting terms. Trying to rank one page for multiple unrelated head terms usually splits relevance and leaves you ranking nowhere.

What is keyword difficulty?

Keyword difficulty is a 0-100 score from SEO tools that estimates how hard it is to rank in the top 10 for a query, based mostly on the backlink profile of the pages currently ranking. It is a guide, not a verdict: lower-difficulty keywords are easier to rank for if search intent is satisfied.