What Are Keywords? How Keyword Research Works: For Beginners (2024)

One of the problem for us is that there are mostly three types of bloggers. First, the new bloggers are looking to know what is keyword and how to do keyword research but unable to conduct research effectively because most of the new bloggers lacks money, and it is mostly spent on buying domain name, web hosting, etc.

There are individuals who have a sufficient amount of money but still doubtful to invest a large amount of money in their blogging efforts. Their concern is about whether their blog will achieve success or not. Therefore, they are stuck and looking to fix keyword research, as they realize its importance in improving their blog's visibility and reach. They want to gain knowledge and skills on how to conduct effective keyword research to ensure that their blog gains maximum exposure and attracts a wider audience.

And there are some bloggers who also want to invest money and want to do good keyword research, but they do not know what is the keyword and how to conduct successful keyword research.

You will find all answers to all these questions on this page today, in which I will tell you further advantages of keyword research along with most preferred types of keywords.

So if you also want to know what are the best tools with which you can do good keyword research, then read this post completely, in this page all the effective tools of keyword research are listed down.

Don't forget to check our FAQ.

Learn the importance of keywords and how to use keyword research to improve your search engine optimization.

What is a keyword?

Whatever you search by typing or speaking in Google, Bing, Youtube, or other search engines is called keywords like "how to start a blog" or "how to earn money online" are the types of keywords.

The word we used to speak or write to get information about a particular topic is called a KEYWORD, whether those words are searched on the Internet or you got it in a book or you ask someone, they are all keywords like - "What is mutual fund" or “How to make YouTube channel” is all the keywords.

Here we are talking about the keyword, particularly in blogging, so whether it is blogging or a book, the work of both is the same, to give information. For example, the title of a book might be "How to Win Friends and Influence People," which makes clear about what the book is published for. In a similar way, keywords are words that briefly describe the meaning/subject/matter of a piece of content published. The title of the book is also a type of keyword because it outlines the content and helps the reader understand the topic. Similarly, in online content, some particular words & phrases are used as keywords in order to guide search engine bots to understand what the content is about and show it to the related audience.

So basically we can say that keywords are the words used to understand the meaning of what is being written, spoken, or presented. In simple language, these are words that are meaningful & related to a particular topic. Therefore, the method of finding and determining the right keywords is called keyword research.

On this page, I will guide you on the topic of keyword research and learn the various techniques by using which you can able to find the most relevant and targeted keywords for your quality content. You can improve your chances of reaching your target audience, increasing website traffic, and improving search engine rankings by conducting proper keyword research.

What Is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is a kind of process by using which you can find how much 'search volume' is there on that keyword means how many people search this keyword.

Like suppose you want to know 'how many people searching for' a particular word like "How to earn money from Instagram" and the frequency of these searches (i.e. search volume); so the method you will adopt to find all this info is called KEYWORD RESEARCH.

Keyword research is the method of researching and investigating the most commonly used words & terms in search engines, to determine their popularity along with competition levels.

Why Keyword Research is important?

It helps to determine the terms people use to search for specific products, services, or information, and how frequently they are used.

By using keyword research, you can get useful insights into your target audience, competitors, and trends, which can help you in developing effective marketing strategies and so content.

Purpose of Keyword Research

The purpose of keyword research is to get a detailed understanding and statistics of how people are searching for a particular topic, product, service, or information, and how to optimize web content for ranking higher in SERP.

By determining the correct keywords, businesses can drive more traffic to their website and increase the probability of reaching their target audience. Therefore, it is important to select the right approach for keyword research that works for your goals & requirements.

How to do Keyword Research for free?

Now Keyword Research can be different for everyone, which people do according to their requirements. Like someone conducts keyword research to know the search volume of a keyword only, whereas someone just wants to know the level of competition for a specific keyword.

But a professional blogger needs complete data on any keyword so that he can understand whether the keyword on which he is writing the post will rank in Google or not. Moreover, he will also get indetailed data about the search volume of that keyword, competition CPC, and how many posts are there on that keyword in Google, how many backlinks have been made on those posts and what is the DA, PA of that website, how old is that website, and much more.

How many types of keywords are there?

There are many types of keywords, such as some keywords are very big, and some are very small. Apart from this, there are many types of keywords categorized, that are especially important for every blogger to know, only then you can do good keyword research.

Firstly, let's explore the different types of keywords. There are a total of seven types of keywords.

1. Short Tail Keywords
2. Long Tail Keywords
3. Geo-Targeted Keywords
4. Short Term Fresh Keywords or Trending Keywords
5. Branded Keywords
6. Long-Term Evergreen Keywords
7. LSI keywords

So, let's discuss each type of keyword in detail to understand its characteristics and usage.

1. Short Tail Keywords

As its name suggests, small keywords like Technology, Earn Money, Blogging, Digital Marketing, SEO tips, etc. all come under short tail keywords.

These are the trending keywords whose search value is very high, their competition is also high, and it is very difficult for a new blog to rank on these keywords. You can also call Short Tail Keywords as Head Keywords, as they come automatically in many posts.

Like you are writing a post, "How to make money blogging", the word 'Blogging' as a keyword comes in it many times even without wanting it, and when your post is ranked on 'How to make money blogging', it is ranked as well as on "Blogging", even it is at 20th rank after in search result pages. But I must say, these Short Tail Keywords definitely work somewhere.

Many new bloggers tend to write and publish new posts on these short keywords and this is why their post is not ranked. Or even if it gets ranked, it will be listed too far from the user where he will not be able to reach.

The biggest problem with these keywords is that there is no idea about the 'Search Intent' behind these keywords about what the user wants. Like if someone is searching for 'BitCoin', then what is his purpose, it is not known, but the same user can enlarge this keyword a little and search for 'How to buy Bitcoin' then it is known that he wants to know about Blogging. For instance, a search for "Blogging" doesn't specify the user's intention. However, by searching for "what is Blogging," the user's purpose becomes clearer.

2. Long Tail Keywords

It simply means a long keyword in which the 'Search Intent' of the users exposes what the user actually wants, like "How to Start Blogging", "How to start a Blog", "How to Earn Money From YouTube" and "How to Get FREE Custom Domain Email Address For Your Business", all these are examples of long tail keywords.

The search volume of long tail keywords is often very less, and whose competition is also very less, like "how to earn money from Instagram". But the biggest advantage of long tail keywords is that when you make longer keywords from short keywords, a little longer, its search volume will decrease and so the competition will also decrease. So it will help new blogs to rank for these keywords easily and get higher positions in SERPs.

Another advantage of the long tail keyword is that when your blog posts rank on a long tail keyword, then the short tail keyword you added inside the page content also ranks.

That is why new bloggers are always recommended to write posts on long tail keywords which can easily rank.

3. Geo-Targeted Keywords

Geo-targeted i.e. location-targeted keywords refer to location-specific keywords. They are mostly used by businesses that want to target customers in specific geographic locations. These keywords help businesses improve their local search engine optimization (SEO) and reach potential customers in their area.

E.g., a local restaurant that makes the best pizzas will use geo-targeted keywords like "best pizza in New York City" or "Fast pizza delivery in London" to target specific buyers in that particular area.

Using geo-targeted keywords is especially effective for small businesses that rely on local customers. By using keywords related to geographical location, businesses can increase their chances of listing in local search results and reaching potential customers searching for products and services in their area.

To use geo-targeted keywords effectively, businesses must incorporate them into their website content, meta tags, and other elements search engines use to understand what their website is about. It's also necessary to make sure your keywords are suited to your business and its products and services and used naturally and organically in web content

Overall, geo-targeted keywords are an important tool for businesses looking to improve local SEO and reach potential customers in their region. By using strategic keywords that are relevant and specific to their geographic location, businesses increase their visibility in local search results and drive more customers to their website or physical location.

4. Short Term Fresh Keywords or Trending Keywords

Short Term Fresh Keywords are those keywords whose users usually search about these keywords increased rapidly recently, Searchers of such keywords remain for a few days, then their Searchers become very less or nonexistent.

Short term fresh keywords are popular for a short period of time before searchers stop searching for them. They are only in demand for a few days before losing popularity.

A good example of short term fresh keywords is a newly released movie (like The Kerala Story). People search for it a lot when it's about to release and for a few days after its release. But after some time, the searches for that movie decrease or stop altogether.

Another example of short term fresh keywords could be a trending news story (like Donald Trump Arrested At New York Court). When a particular news story gains a lot of attention and becomes viral, people search for related keywords for a few days. But as soon as the news becomes old or new stories start gaining attention, the searches for those keywords decrease or become nonexistent.

You get to see such keywords more in Google Trend, in which Searchers of one keyword are in the range of 1 million to 10 million. So with this advantage, most of the new sites work on such keywords which write hundreds of posts a day.

Short term fresh keywords can be challenging to work with because they are only popular for a short period. Verified websites like AAj Tak News, IBN Lokmat, BBC, and CNN like sites have the advantage of a big audience and resources to cover trending topics fast and effectively. As a blogger or a new website, it may be difficult to rank for such keywords as the competition is high, and the search volume drops rapidly. Thus, it may not be a good idea for bloggers to work only on short term fresh keywords. It is better to concentrate on long-term keywords that have a constant search volume over time.

5. Branded Keywords

Branded keywords are keywords that consist of your company or brand name, such as 'Nike shoes' or 'Coca-Cola drinks'. These keywords are used by businesses to target customers who are specifically looking for their brand or product. Adding branded keywords to web content can be a beneficial technique to improve brand awareness and drive targeted traffic to your website.

Using branded keywords is especially effective for companies with a strong brand presence and a loyal customer base. By targeting customers who already know their brand, businesses can increase their chances of converting those customers into sales and leads.

However, it is important for businesses to use branded keywords strategically rather than relying solely on branded keywords for their SEO strategy. They should also focus on adding non-branded keywords related to your product or service to attract new shoppers unfamiliar with your brand. Overall, the strategy of adding branded keywords to web content can be a useful tool, especially for businesses looking to boost SEO and drive more targeted traffic and so the customers to their website for more sales and leads. By adding important and key branded keywords, businesses can hike brand awareness and bring more customers who are already interested in their products and services. 

Here are a few examples of branded keywords:

• "iPhone" (Apple's brand name for their smartphone)
• "PlayStation" (Sony's brand name for their gaming console)
• "Starbucks coffee" (the brand name for Starbucks coffee products)
• "Adidas shoes" (the brand name for Adidas footwear)
• "Ford trucks" (the brand name for Ford's line of trucks)

In each of these examples, the keyword contains the brand name of the product you are looking for. By targeting these branded keywords in their SEO strategy, these companies can boost visibility in search results and bring customers specifically looking for their brands and products.  

6. Long-Term Evergreen Keywords

These long-term evergreen keywords are the keywords that have a constant search volume all the time, regardless of the season or trend. These keywords stay relevant and helpful to all searchers for a long time. For instance, "How to Start a Blog" or "How to Make Money from Instagram" are examples of Long Term Evergreen Keywords. These keywords are searched for all times of the year and always deliver value to the searchers. As a result, creating content around Long Term Evergreen Keywords can help a website get a constant flow of organic traffic all the time.

Such keywords are best only for bloggers like us as these words keep driving high traffic to your site and content at all time. Such keywords are considered good for all blogs kind of content including new or old and that is why you should also write a blog on similar keywords. These keywords can help drive constant traffic to a website, and as a result, increase its online visibility and authority.

Many bloggers think that they will be ranked quickly on such long-term evergreen keywords, but to be honest it is not so easy. Today every blogger understands this, in any situation, it is not easy to rank a new blog on such evergreen keywords.

But the plus point of such keywords for you is that, today you wrote a post using evergreen keywords, whether it is ranked today or not, but it gets ranked tomorrow. So you get regular traffic from there.

And you can push such a post to higher ranking even by updating it again and again. With such keywords, you can learn what kind of content actually ranks in search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and all. By consistently updating high-quality content around these keywords, a website can earn more backlinks and social media shares, which can help improve its search engine rankings, online reputation, and overall domain authority.

Another advantage of long-term evergreen keywords is that they can be updated over time to remain relevant and current. For example, if you already have a page about "how to lose weight" and it is actually ranking high in SERP and if new study or information becomes available, you can update your post to reflect those changes. This helps keep your posts useful and valuable to your old & new readers, and search engines get rewarded for keeping your rank up to date.

7. LSI Keywords

LSI Keywords are an important part of any post, these are keywords that are similar to your main keyword i.e. focus keywords, which are also called supporting keywords.

Its full form in English is "Latest Semantic Indexing", which can also be called "thematic keywords", many people also call it "helping keywords". No matter what the name is, its work is only one to help us rank our main keyword i.e. focus keyword.

LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are words or terms that are semantically linked to the main keyword or topic of content. Including LSI keywords in your content can help search engine bots better understand the meaning of your content, which can increase your chances of ranking high in SERPs.

For example, if you looking to publish a post on the topic of "how to create a blog", then you can add LSI keywords like "free blog", "blog platform", "blog template", or "blog design", etc. These keywords relate to the main topic of your content and help search engines understand what your post is about. Including these LSI keywords in your content will improve the relevance and quality of your content, increasing your chances of ranking higher on search engine result pages. 

If you are not getting any such LSI keywords, then you will have to find or create some LSI keywords. LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are important for optimizing your content for search engines. If you're not able to find suitable LSI keywords for your content, you can create them yourself.

One of the simple ways to find LSI keywords is to search for your primary keyword or topic on Google. Once you type in your main keywords, scroll down to the "related searches" or "people also ask" section of the page. The questions and words shown in these sections are often considered LSI keywords.

For example, if your main keyword is "how to create a blog", you can search on Google for related questions and terms such as "how to start a blog", "blogging for beginners", "blogging platform", or "blog design" etc. These keywords match the main topic of your content and help search engines identify the topic of your article. 

Another way to find LSI keywords is to use online tools like Google Keyword Planner, LSIGraph, and SEMrush. These tools can guide you to find related keywords and terms that are suitable to your primary keyword.

What Are the Advantages of Keyword Research?

1. Keyword research is very important to bring good traffic to your blog or website and get a good ranking.
2. Keyword research can help you identify long-tail keywords that have less competition and higher search intent, which can improve the quality of traffic to your website.
3. Keyword research reveals the competition and search volume of that keyword so that you can make your post better.
4. By targeting specific keywords, you can optimize your website for voice search and attract more traffic from voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant.
5. It helps a lot in increasing the traffic and ranking of your blog or website.
6. Keyword research can help you know new but trending topics and keep you updated with the latest news & updates.
7. Good keyword research can make your blog popular.
8. By analyzing the search terms that your target audience uses, you can create content that addresses their pain points and provides solutions to their problems.
9. When you do good keyword research, you can connect with target visitors, which helps a lot in growing your blog.
10. Keyword research can help you determine loopholes in your content and discover new topics to write about that are suitable for your readers.
11. Only by doing keyword research, you can do a competitive analysis of a keyword in a better way.
12. By targeting high-converting keywords, you can increase your website's revenue and conversion rates.
13. When your posts rank in Google, your domain authority and the number of backlinks on your site also start increasing.
14. With keyword research, you can know your competitor so that you can write better posts than them.
15. Keyword research can help you optimize your on-page & off-page SEO strategies, that can boost your search engine rankings and online visibility.

Best Keyword Research Tools

To conduct keyword research, there are many such websites on the Internet on which you will have a proper guide and get help to search by entering your keywords, then that website will show you the complete data of that keyword.

But some of these websites for keyword research are free, in which you do not have to pay money, but there are some paid services in which you need to spend money.

• SEMrush
• Ahrefs
• Google Keyword Planner
• Moz Pro
• LSIGraph
• UberSuggest
• Majestic
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider
• Mangools KWFinder
• CscognitiveSEO
• Searchmetri

Apart from these websites, there are many ways of keyword research, through which you can do keyword research lifetime for free without any limitation.

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