The Beginner’s Guide to Keyword Discovery for Your Website

Ever wonder why some websites explode in popularity overnight? The answer often lies in the magic of keyword discovery!

In the vast expanse of the internet, a new website without proper keyword discovery is akin to a ship sailing without a compass – destined to drift aimlessly in an ocean of content. Lost in between countless websites, it goes unnoticed and unvisited. No matter how brilliant the design or compelling the content, without the relevant keywords, the site fades into obscurity, buried pages deep in search results, with potential visitors and opportunities forever out of reach.

We’ll cover what keyword discovery is, how it’s different from keyword searching, and the tools and strategies essential for uncovering fresh keywords for you blog and more.

Let’s dive into the topic of keyword discovery!

Table of Contents for Keyword Discovery

Keyword Searching vs. Keyword Discovery: Know the Difference

Let’s clarify the distinction between keyword searching and keyword discovery. Then, in the next section we’ll explain keyword discovery in depth.

Keyword searching is the act of using a search engine to find information. Users enter specific terms, such as “Keto Diet” or “yoga mats Florida”, seeking answers to queries, researching topics or products, or preparing to make a purchase.

This is not to be confused with keyword discovery, which is a separate concept altogether.

What is Keyword Discovery: An Overview

Now we’ve got that potential confusion out of the way we can look at keyword discovery. First, let’s start with a definition.

Definition: Keyword discovery is the process used by content creators, marketers, and SEO professionals to identify (or “discover”) keywords that their target audience might use in search engines.

Why focus on uncovering these keywords? Because that’s how your audience finds content online. If you are not using those keyword phrases your content has slim to no chance of showing up in search engine results pages (often abbreviated as “SERPs”).

Keyword discovery can be further divided into the following categories:

A guide to search intent for bloggers

How to find Low Competition Keywords

Diving Deep into What is Keyword Discovery

So, let’s get practical now. How exactly do we discover keywords?

Let’s run through the keyword discovery process and then, in the next section, we’ll show how tools help with this process.

Brainstorm Blog Ideas

First, think of a blog post you want to write for your audience. If you struggle finding blog topics then use Google autosuggest or Google Trends to help you research suitable topics.

For instance, let’s say I write blog posts about keto diets. This is how I can use Google auto suggest to help me come up with blog ideas:

So, it looks like people are interested in meal planning, recipes, food lists and the benefits of keto diets.

If you need more ideas, follow websites, blogs, and social media in your niche to stay updated with the latest trends and news.

Leverage AI to help you brainstorm new ideas. ChatGPT is free to use and can generate ideas for any blog post topic you can imagine. For instance, type ‘Generate blog post ideas for Rock Garden Decor‘ into the ChatGPT prompt for suggestions. Remember, you’ll still need to research the best keywords, which is covered in the next section.

Harness AI to help with your content creation

How to dominate your niche using keyword research

Use a Tool to find Relevant Keywords

Starting keyword discovery without a dedicated tool is like trying to navigate a maze blindfolded. Fortunately, numerous top-notch tools come with either free trials or offer a handful of complimentary reports daily.

For those new to the game or operating on tighter budgets, I recommend SE Ranking. It’s my personal choice too. Not only is it a robust keyword research instrument, but it also packs additional features—like SEO audits, competitive analysis, and keyword monitoring.

Let’s get some keyword suggestions for the phrase “keto meal diets”, a term frequently keyed into Google.

Below is an unfiltered report. These suggestions are for Google searches in the US, though the region can be adjusted based on your target audience.

Hmmm…. The top results have a keyword difficulty score of 50 (out of 100). These keywords are too difficult to rank for unless we’re established in the blogging niche already.

To get rankable keywords it’s essential to refine the report. Using SE Ranking, we can set specific parameters to filter keywords that we stand a genuine chance of ranking for. Note that most other tools offer similar filtering options.

Here are some suggested filters we can apply:

• Word Count
• Keyword Difficulty
• Monthly Search Volume

There are more filters but I would limit myself to those to begin with. I suggest the following settings for a small website:

• Word Count: Minimum of 3 words
• Keyword Difficulty: Max 30
• Monthly Search Volume: Min 10

Fine-tuning Our Keyword Strategy: Understanding the Filters

By setting a minimum word count of three, we’re zeroing in on long-tail keywords. These are generally less competitive, offering a more achievable target. A keyword difficulty score capped at 30 (out of 100) suggests that ranking on Google’s first page is within reach, although it still demands writing a high quality blog post.

Lastly, with a baseline monthly search volume of 10, we ensure that there’s at least some interest in the keyword, guaranteeing some level of organic traffic.

That’s better, now we have some keywords we can rank for. Good blog post topics would be:

• Mediterranean keto diet meal plan (90 searches per month)
• Meal prep for keto diet (70 searches per month)
• Keto Carnivore diet meal plan(50 searchers per month but only 19 difficulty!)

For a new website, or one with very little or no traffic, I would chose the “Keto Carnivore Diet Meal Plan”.

Give Keyword Discovery a Whirl!

Experience the keyword research report firsthand with SE Ranking. They grant a few complimentary reports daily — no account setup required. Simply enter “keto diet meals” and fiddle with the filters. Or better yet, input keywords from your blogging niche and discover personalized suggestions.

Monitoring Your Keywords

Beyond discovery, it’s crucial to monitor and track keywords you include in your blog posts. How can you gauge the success of your keyword strategy otherwise? Thankfully, most keyword discovery tools include keyword tracking. The number of keywords you can monitor depends on your chosen plan, but starting small is okay.

Want a competitive edge? Analyze your competitors’ keywords. By generating a competitive research report on their entire website or specific pages, you can pinpoint the exact keywords they are using to rank in Google.

Dominate Your Niche with Comprehensive Competitive Content Analysis

Strategically Placing Your Keywords

Keywords can be strategically placed in various sections of your blog post. Google prioritizes certain areas more than others. Below are essential areas in your content where keywords should be incorporated:

• Blog Post Title: Ensure it’s under 60 characters to avoid truncation in the search results.
• URL: A concise and clear representation of your content.
• Subheaders: Prioritize H2 and H3 tags.
• Content Body: Include both primary and additional keywords throughout.
• Image Alt Text: Describes the image and improves accessibility.
• Meta Description: While it doesn’t appear in the blog post, it’s displayed in search results.

Remember, wherever you add text in your blog post, there’s an opportunity for a keyword.

How do you add keywords to your website

The Art of Optimization: Real-World Example of SEO Keywords

Final Thoughts on Keyword Discovery

Thanks for reading this article, I hope you found it informative and useful. Here is a quick recap:

• Keyword discovery is the process of finding keywords users type into search engines
• First, brainstorm blog ideas, then discovery keywords for those ideas
• Use Google autosuggest or AI tools to help you find blog ideas
• Use a keyword discovery tool to research which keywords you can rank for
• Place keywords throughout your content and especially your title and subheaders

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