Conducting SEO Keyword Research With Semalt

Many of our clients at Semalt go bonkers when they hear of how much key words can help their websites. They immediately suggest that things they assume are useful keywords, but we have to slow their roll because keywords don't work that way.

Having and using keywords that have meaning to your site isn't as simple as picking up the first word that pops up in your mind. You will need practice, research, and experience to get things done the right way. This is where Semalt comes in. As a company dedicated to building your website, you literarily won't find anyone who does it better. This is all thanks to our amazing customers like your self, our amazing team, and our years in the business.

If you've gone through our website, you should have useful information on how we can get your website on the first page of SERP and how we get you top-ranked.  

How can you know which keywords qualify as SEO friendly and which are only random predictions from your imagination?

Who says everyone reading this knows what they are? Yes, we all have an idea, and we know that they are the magnet to internet traffic, but we need to understand them better. By spending years researching and learning about keywords, Semalt can confidently call itself keywords expert. However, we brag about this only because we understand keywords.

Keywords are words of relevance that capture the essence of the topic in a document. On your website, keywords play a very important role. They are the markers internet users and web crawlers rely on to provide find the right websites. Without them, there is no way you would find websites like Semalt when you search for website management companies. 

Step 1: Make a list of important of the relevant topics based on current knowledge about the business.

The first step to take is to think of the topics you want to rank in generic terms. After coming up with 5-10 topics that you feel are important to your business, you then use those topics to find some possible keywords. 

If you're familiar with how SEOs or web-building works, you should have an idea of the possible hot topics in your niche, they should be topics you come across frequently or perhaps topics you find on your competition's website. To get the best topics/ keywords, put yourself in the shoes of your viewers and ask yourself questions like are these types of topic my target audience will research? After answering these questions, you have a clear idea of what your topics will be.  

Step 2: Fill in those topics with keywords

Do you remember how we said these topics would guide you to your Keywords? This is where you fill up your Keywords list. Now that you have a few topics you would like to focus on; you can identify some keywords that fit perfectly into these topics. These keyword phrases are important in getting your content and website to rank for in the SERPs (search engine results pages) because your target audience uses one or some of those keywords to find relevant information on the internet. 

For instance, if you have a website on marketing automation tools, you need to brainstorm market automation topics and keywords. Those may include:

These are some of the topics your readers will find engaging. This step is important because it ensures that you start your keywords on the right foot, although it doesn't give you the keywords. It is important because it provides you with good ideas of phrases you think your target audience will use when searching for information to search for content related to that particular topic.  As we continue listing the steps, we will narrow these keywords and phrases, so you don't have too wide or unspecific keywords.

(Note: If you're a Semalt customer, you wouldn't need to worry about the process of the keyword. This is because Semalt handles all your keyword needs from research to implementing these keywords into your website.)

Today, we can observe that more and more keywords are getting encrypted by Google every day. To stay ahead of the competition, there is another smart way to come up with keyword ideas, which is by figuring out which keywords your website is already getting ranked for. To get accurate data, you will need the help of a Semalt analytics package or google web analytics software. These sources will drill down into your website's traffic sources, and sort through your organic search traffic to identify the keywords that attract the most traffic to your website. 

It is wise that you repeat this exercise frequently. Like a plant, your website needs constant attention and planning to bloom. You need to cut off drying and unproductive parts and replace them with new fresh ideas. By doing this, you give your website the best chances of getting ranked. 

Step 3: Research related search terms.

This part usually pops up during your keyword research. More often than not, you already have an idea of related keywords from the information gathered during the keyword research. 

If you're struggling to think of more keywords people might be searching about a specific topic, you should consider using Google.com. Take a look at the related search terms that appear when you plug in a keyword in the search panel. After google displays a bunch of results, you can scroll to the bottom of Google's results, and you'll notice some more suggestions for searches that relate to your original input. These keywords can be useful when searching for related search terms. 

Step 4: Check for a mix of head and long-tail keywords in each topic

If you’ve never heard of these terms or don't understand them, here is an explanation. Head terms are keywords phrases that are generally shorter and a more generic form of Keywords. You will find them to mainly be just one - three words in length, depending on who you talk to. However, long-tail keywords are longer keyword phrases that are mainly three words or more. 

Mixing these forms of Keywords are important in your keyword strategy. If it comes to the internet, the best websites are the most diverse. Make sure your keyword strategy is well balanced so that you have long-term goals and short-term wins. 

Step 5: See how your competitor’s high competitors get ranked for these keywords

This doesn't mean you should go and clone your competition's website. Just because your competitor is doing something doesn't mean you need to or that it will work well for you. This principle also applies to keywords. Just because a set of keyword made, your competition website rank doesn't mean it will do the same to you. However, you should go through their sites and observe what keywords your competition is trying to get ranked for can also help you get ranked. 

If your competitor is ranking for certain keywords that are on your list, too, you know that you've made a great choice. However, it isn't wise for you to throw away all other keywords you have that your competition didn't make use of. Remember that you're trying to win your competition and not to be equals.

Step 6: Use the Google AdWords Keyword Planner to vet out the useful keywords

Now that you've got the right mix of keywords, it's time to narrow down your lists with some more using quantitative and reliable data. Semalt gets this done for you, but you could also look for some tools at your disposal which could get the job done. However, here are some recommendations on which tools are best.

The special mix of the Google AdWords Keyword Planner ( to do this, you'll need to set up an AdWords account. But you don't need to place ads) and Google Trends. 

The Keyword Planner, formerly known as the Keyword Tool, gives you information on search volume and traffic estimates for keywords you're considering. Unfortunately, when Google transitioned from Keyword Tool to Keyword Planner, they had to strip away more interesting functionality. But you can make up for that if you can combine the information you learn from Keyword Planner and use Google Trends to fill in the missing blank.

Use the Keyword Planner to mark any keyword on your list with way too little (or way too much) search volume. This imbalance won't help you maintain a healthy mix, as we discussed above. But before you delete anything, ensure you check to understand their trend history and projections in Google Trends to ensure you're not making a mistake. You can see whether some low-volume terms might be keywords with prospects that will profit you in the future.  

You can also use this tool to narrow down your list of keywords. Google trends can help you determine which terms are growing in search popularity and which are dying off.