Keyword research.
Keyword research finds out what your audience actually searches for, so content is built on demand instead of guesses. It's the foundation that decides which terms you go after, and which you leave alone.
By Hans Sandblom · Senior SEO Specialist· Published · Updated Our view
The right keyword beats the most keywords. A term you can rank for and that drives business is worth more than ten with high volume and the wrong intent.
What keyword research is.
Keyword research is the work of identifying and prioritizing the search terms your audience uses, and matching them to content and structure on the site. It answers one simple but decisive question: what are people actually looking for, and which of those terms can and should you show up for? It's the first step in strategic SEO, described in Google's SEO guide↗.
The point isn't to find the highest-volume terms, but the intersection of what people search, what you can realistically rank for, and what actually drives business. The discipline is called keyword research↗, and it's done before content is created, so each page is built against known demand instead of a guess.
What you weigh in keyword research.
Each candidate keyword is weighed against a few measures. It's the interplay between them, not any single measure, that decides what's worth pursuing:
Search volume
How many people search the term each month. A term with no volume drives no traffic, however high you rank, but high volume without relevance is worth just as little.
Difficulty and competition
How hard it is to rank, given who already does. A term with low competition and the right intent is often worth more than a head term you never reach.
Search intent
What the person wants to do: understand, compare or buy. Intent decides which type of page should answer, and therefore how the content is built.
Business relevance
How close the term sits to what you sell. A term that pulls visitors with no buying intent can look good in the stats but rarely moves the business.
Current state and gaps
What you already rank for and where the gaps are. This is where keyword research meets the SEO analysis, which measures your current visibility against the goal.
How to do keyword research.
The approach is the same whatever the industry, even if the depth varies. Five steps from idea to finished keyword map:
- 01Start with seed terms. List the words that describe the business: what would a customer search to find you?
- 02Expand with tools. Google Search Console↗ and Google's Keyword Planner↗ fill out the list with real search terms and give volume and difficulty.
- 03Assess each term. Weigh volume, difficulty, search intent and business value against each other, and cut what doesn't carry.
- 04Cluster into themes. Group closely related terms, since one page can often answer several variants of the same question.
- 05Map to pages. Tie each cluster to an existing or new page, so the research becomes a concrete content plan.
Common misconceptions.
Keyword research is surrounded by a few myths that lead astray from the start:
- ”Highest volume wins.” A head term with huge volume but the wrong intent or impossible competition pays off worse than a narrower term you can own and that leads to business.
- ”More keywords is better.” A long list without prioritization never turns into action. The value is in the few terms that are both reachable and relevant.
- ”The narrow terms aren't worth the effort.” Long tail, longer and more specific searches, often has lower competition and clearer buying intent than the broad terms.
- ”It's a one-off.” Search behaviour and competition change. Keyword research is a living map that needs updating, not a list you make once.
The through-line: search intent before volume. A term means nothing until you understand what the person behind it wants, something Google's helpful content guidance↗ comes back to again and again.
How we approach keyword research.
We start from the audience's language and your business, not from a tool's top volumes. Terms are weighed against search intent and business value, clustered and mapped to pages, so the research becomes a content plan you can act on. An initial review we do free of charge, so you can see where the realistic opportunities are.
We measure against the business, not against the number of keywords. Keyword research is done when it points to the right terms to own, and the value shows up in visibility and leads on those terms. It's the same principle that runs through everything we do: the right call, at the lowest possible effort.
Want to know which keywords you should own?
Send us your URL and we'll show which terms your audience searches and where the realistic opportunities are. The initial review is free.
Write to us →Frequently asked questions about keyword research
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the work of finding and prioritizing the search terms your audience uses, and mapping them to the right pages. Terms are weighed by volume, difficulty, search intent and business value, and the result is the foundation for what content gets built.
How do you do keyword research?
You start with seed terms that describe the business, expand the list with tools like Google Search Console and Keyword Planner, assess each term against volume, difficulty and search intent, cluster into themes, and map the clusters to pages.
Which tools are used for keyword research?
Google Search Console and Google's Keyword Planner are free starting points, and tools like Ahrefs and Semrush give deeper data on volume, difficulty and competitors' terms. The tools provide the input, but prioritization takes judgement.
What is search intent and why does it matter?
Search intent is what the person behind a search wants to do: understand, compare or buy. It decides which type of page should answer. Ranking with the wrong page type for the intent rarely delivers, however high the volume.
How often should you do keyword research?
A thorough analysis at the start, and then ongoing updates. Search behaviour, competition and your own offering change, so keyword research is a living map rather than a one-time task.