4 Essential Steps for Effective Keyword Selection and Must-Have Tools
⏳ This article can be read in about 4 minutes
The previous article discusses the basics of SEO and keywords, including important points. Now, let’s explore effective tools for selecting keywords and the steps.
4 steps to select keywords
- Decide on the main keyword
To create effective content, it’s important to select a main keyword that reflects the focus of your blog. This keyword should have a high search volume to ensure your content reaches a wider audience. Avoid using keywords with low search volume, as they may limit the search intent of your target audience. - Identify keywords related to the main keyword
Choose a main keyword relevant to your topic. For instance, if you are talking about “diet,” you can use the keywords “diet meal,” “diet recipe,” “diet exercise,” etc.
At this stage, you don’t need to worry about the quality of the keywords. Just focus on identifying as many relevant keywords as possible. It may be helpful to check suggested keywords and your competitors’ websites for inspiration. - Prioritise your keywords
You should organise and prioritise the keywords that you have identified. You can categorise them by user needs, sort them by search volume, and categorise needs by product name, price, function, concerns, genre, etc.
After categorising, select the needs you want to fulfill with the article you will create this time. The criterion at this point should be, “Does that need to lead to results from the blog?”
For instance, let’s say you want to earn money from purchasing products through affiliate advertising on your blog. In that case, priority should be given to keywords categorised by the needs of “product” and “price.”
Moreover, it’s important to research and analyse competitive sites. By comparing them, you can identify and prioritise keywords that are likely to provide better quality and unique articles and hidden keywords. - Review keywords regularly
Once you have chosen the keywords, written an article, and uploaded it. It is significant to frequently evaluate your keywords, as user needs to keep changing daily, and their search patterns vary with time and trends. Regularly analyse the search rankings of your articles and make necessary additions or updates to the information.
Recommended tools useful for keyword selection
There are several useful tools available to simplify the process of choosing keywords. We will be sharing some recommended tools with you, so be sure to take advantage of them.
Main keyword selection tool
Google Trends is a tool that allows you to track changes in the search volume for particular keywords. Not only can you see the number of searches for a specific keyword, but you can also keep an eye on trending words that have experienced a sudden increase in search volume.
Google Search Console enables you to monitor your blog’s search rankings and the search terms that are driving traffic to your site. You may also discover unexpected keywords that are driving traffic, which can help you identify new opportunities for optimization.
Suggest keyword acquisition tool
Otter Keywords is a tool that provides you with suggested and related keywords. When you search on Google, up to eight suggested keywords will appear in the search window, while the bottom of the Google search results will display up to ten related keywords.
However, the benefit of using Otter Keywords is that it shows a much larger selection of keywords than what is typically displayed.
Google Keyword Planner is a tool that is utilized by Google Ads users to check the search volume and bids for specific keywords. You can check the search volume for free even if you are not a Google Ads user. However, the search volume will be displayed as an approximate range, such as “10-100”.
SEO check! perform an SEO check by entering the URL of a competing website. This will allow you to check the SEO status of that website, including its ranking and frequently used keywords. This tool is completely free and highly useful as it can save you time when conducting competitive website research.
Summary
In this article, we’ve outlined the specific steps for selecting SEO keywords and recommended some useful tools. We hope you find them helpful.
If you choose your keywords wisely, analyse the outcomes, and keep improving your skills, you will gradually develop the ability to think strategically about SEO, eventually leading to better results.
