If you launch a content page without keyword research, it’s like sending a ship out at sea without a compass. You might eventually bump into land, but more often, you’ll drift aimlessly. Done right, keyword research gives you direction, clarity, and the best chance that your content will attract the right people.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to do keyword research from scratch, not just the mechanics, but the mindset, pitfalls, and strategic decisions behind each move. You’ll end up with a practical, usable roadmap, and confidence that your content efforts won’t vanish into the void.

Why Keyword Research Is a Non-Negotiable Starting Point

Before we dig into steps, it’s worth pausing to grasp why keyword research is foundational. If you skip it, here’s what tends to happen:

You write content nobody searches for.
You optimize for the “wrong” words, mismatching how your audience thinks.
You compete unnecessarily with giants rather than finding your niche.
Your traffic is unfocused, low-quality, or never comes at all.

Keyword research is how you listen to the market. It reveals:

The language your audience uses.
The topics they care about now and in the future.
The intention behind their searches (are they ready to buy, or just exploring?).
What your real opportunities are, versus the ones dominated by big players.

In short: keyword research turns guesswork into insight. Now let’s turn insight into action.

Core Concepts You Need to Know

Before you start, get comfortable with these key terms. They’ll help you make sharper decisions:

Seed Keywords: Basic terms that define your domain (e.g. “running shoes”). This is the starting points for keyword expansion.
Search Volume: Average number of monthly searches. It helps gauge traffic potential.
Keyword Difficulty: Measure of how hard a keyword is to rank. It helps avoid overly competitive keywords.
Search Intent: The user’s underlying goal (informational, navigational, transactional, etc.). Aligning intent ensures better conversions.
Long-Tail Keywords: More specific, often longer phrases (e.g. “best trail running shoes for flat feet”). Lower competition and higher relevance.
Keyword Clustering / Topics: Grouping related keywords under one page or content cluster. This prevents content overlap and cannibalization.

The 7-Step Process of Getting Real Keyword Insights

Think of keyword research as a funnel: start wide (brainstorm, seed), then gradually refine until you land on focused, actionable phrases. Here’s how to do it properly:

Step 1: Define Your Goals & Topics

Start by clarifying why you’re doing this research:

Are you launching a new content pillar?
Improving existing pages?
Exploring new niches?

Then, pick 5 – 10 broad themes or topic buckets your audience cares about (e.g., “home gardening,” “organic skincare,” “personal finance for freelancers”). This is what Mailchimp suggests as a first step. These themes act as anchors, everything you do in keyword work will tie back to these.

Step 2: Brainstorm and Expand Seed Keywords

With your themes in place, write down all the words or short phrases your audience might use in relation to those themes. Don’t overthink, get everything out.

Then plug those into keyword tools (free or paid) to generate many more ideas. Tools like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer or Mangools’ KWFinder help scale your list.

Also leverage:

Google’s autocomplete / “suggestions” as you type.
“Related searches” and “People also ask” sections on SERPs.
Community forums (Reddit, Quora, industry-specific forums) to hear how real people talk.
Your own analytics (if you already have a site), what are people already searching to land on you?

Step 3: Filter & Evaluate Your Keyword List

Now that you’ve got a big list, narrow it down by applying filters and criteria. The main ones are:

Search Volume (but don’t over-fix on high volume only)
Keyword Difficulty / Competition
Search Intent Alignment
Business Value or Relevance
SERP Features / Rich Snippets Presence (Is Google highlighting “featured snippets,” “people also ask” boxes, video carousels, etc. for that term?)

HubSpot suggests looking for “low-hanging fruit”, keywords you realistically have a chance to rank for. If a keyword’s volume is extremely low (say, <10/month) or the difficulty is extremely high, drop or deprioritize it, unless it aligns tightly with your business.

Step 4: Analyze Top-Performing Pages & Competition

Before you invest energy in a keyword, type it into Google (in incognito mode) and study the first page. Ask:

What kind of content dominates? (How-to guides? Listicles? Product pages?)
How authoritative are the competing sites?
Do they have tens of thousands of backlinks, brand names, or media coverage?

This gives you a reality-check: if dominating pages are from huge, well-resourced domains, you may need a niche or narrower angle to compete.

Also, use SEO tools to analyze competitors’ ranking keywords and overlapping niche terms. Many SEOs export ranked keyword lists, then cluster or filter them.

Step 5: Group / Cluster Related Keywords

Rather than making one page per keyword, it’s smarter to group related keywords into clusters. When you cluster:

You reduce keyword cannibalization (multiple pages competing for the same term).
You create stronger, theme-driven content hubs where individual pages support each other.
You help search engines understand depth and context.

Keyword clustering is a recognized practice in SEO. For instance, for a theme like “organic skincare,” you might cluster:

“organic skincare for sensitive skin”
“organic skincare routine evening vs morning”
“best organic skincare brands UK”

And target them under a broader pillar page or tightly linked cluster.

Step 6: Prioritize Keywords & Build Your Content Plan

You can’t do everything at once. So sort your keywords into tiers:

Tier 1 (Quick Wins): Keywords that are low-to-moderate competition, moderate volume, high relevance.
Tier 2 (Growth): Medium competition, more volume, worth the effort once your domain strength improves.
Tier 3 (Aspirational / Long-Term): High competition, high reward, but likely take months or years of work.

Map Tier 1 keywords to pages you’ll build soon; Tier 2 to future content; Tier 3 to strategic efforts when your brand is stronger.

Step 7: Test, Monitor, Iterate, Refresh

Keyword research is not “do once and forget.” Over time:

Some keywords gain momentum.
Search patterns change (new terms, phrasing shifts).
Your content may drift in performance.

Use tools like Google Search Console, Analytics, and your chosen SEO platforms to track:

Which keywords bring impressions and clicks.
What pages are performing well or underperforming.
What query terms users are typing that you didn’t plan for.

Then iterate: refine underperforming pages, merge redundant ones, add new content for emerging keywords, or retire stale pages.

Advanced & Emerging Ideas

Use AI tools or prompts to generate keyword ideas, but always validate them with real data (volume, competition).
Leverage semantic / related keywords (not just exact-match). Search engines now understand context and synonyms well. Many guides (Yoast, Mangools) recommend this.
Watch evolving search formats (voice search, question-based queries). Phrasing is changing: people ask full sentences now more often.
Keep an eye on SERP features (featured snippets, video results, People Also Ask boxes). If your target keyword triggers them, structure your content to claim them.
Keyword extraction for existing content using techniques like TF-IDF or graph-based methods (from NLP research) to see underused terms. (For deeper tech interest, see “Back to the Basics” on weighting schemes).
Dynamic keyword generation in ad campaigns: some newer approaches automatically adapt and generate new keyword calls in real time. (See “On-the-fly Keyword Generation”)

Mistakes to Avoid & How to Guard Against Them

Overvaluing search volume more than relevance: a highly relevant low-volume keyword is worth more than an irrelevant high-volume one.
Ignoring intent: writing a “how-to” when users want a product page will flop.
Keyword stuffing: jamming the phrase too many times makes poor reading.
Not clustering / fragmenting your content: many weak pages beat one strong content cluster.
Neglecting to revisit keywords: markets evolve, phrasing shifts, and new terms emerge.
Chasing head terms too early: they often require domain authority you don’t yet have.

Putting It All Together: Your Blueprint

Choose 5 – 10 thematic pillars for your brand.
Brainstorm seed keywords.
Use tools + autocomplete + competitor analysis to expand.
Filter by volume, difficulty, intent, and business fit.
Analyze the competitive landscape for each keyword.
Cluster keywords into related groups.
Prioritize into tiers and map to content.
Publish content aligned with intent.
Monitor, measure, iterate, refresh.

If you follow that blueprint, your content strategy won’t be random, it will be directed, efficient, and grounded in real demand.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many keywords should I target per page?

Quality over quantity. Aim for a primary focus keyword (or phrase) plus a handful of related terms or variations. If keywords are very distinct in intent, they should live on separate pages.

Is keyword research only for SEO specialists?

Not at all. Even content creators, bloggers, and business owners benefit from understanding keyword patterns. The tools have gotten friendlier, and the principles are clear.

How often should I update my keyword research?

At least once a year. In fast-moving niches, revisit every 3 – 6 months to account for evolving language or new competitors.

Which tools are best?

Paid tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, and Mangools are powerful. Free or freemium alternatives (Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, AnswerThePublic) are good starting points. Always corroborate with multiple sources.

Can AI replace manual keyword research?

AI can help spark ideas, suggest hidden phrases, or speed brainstorming, but you must validate with real metrics (volume, competition, intent). AI without data is guesswork.

What if I choose a keyword and it never brings traffic?

That happens. Use performance data: perhaps the content missed intent or competition was underestimated. Revise or merge into stronger pages.

How do I handle multilingual or local keyword research?

Localize terms (dialects, local phrasing), use region-specific tools or filters, and prioritize terms common in your market. Also pay attention to local qualifiers (town names, landmarks).

Should I target very low-volume keywords?

Only if they are tightly relevant and likely to convert. They’re often useful when clustered with broader keywords. Don’t waste resources chasing terms with zero search demand.

Does keyword research work for video or podcast content?

Absolutely. You can research what people search for on YouTube, podcast platforms, or via video keywords. The same principles apply, intent, volume, competition, phrasing.

What’s the most overlooked element of keyword research?

Search intent. Many people pick keywords by volume but fail to grasp why users search. If your content doesn’t match their intent, ranking won’t save you. Intent mismatch is a common “invisible failure.”