3 Easy Keyword Research Tools Every Content Marketer Needs

Keyword happens to be one of the key concepts when it comes to SEO, content writing and marketing. Finding and using the right keywords is important to ensure appearance in SERPs. 

The first step in writing any campaign or a blog post, we must identify the keyword that will form the foundation of the entire post. 

So how to we find the right keyword? Is it the highest ranking keyword in the industry or otherwise? 

Most of the time, we end up choosing the highest ranking keywords for our SEO efforts, as they seem closest and most pertinent to our offerings. But there is a problem here. 

There is a high probability that the big brands in the industry have already taken up the first pages in the SERPs by using these keywords. 

When fighting it out with the biggies while scoring on the SERPs, the game is not an easy one to win. We also have to consider the sponsored posts, that are taking up the space as well, in fact appearing ahead of the bigger brands, most of the time. 

Do we have the time or the resources to wait for that one day when for some reason, like continuous SEO effort for years or a change in Google's search algorithm, our website does make it to the first page? 

Most probably not. So what can we do to land the right keywords and find results faster, if not immediately.

Long-tailed keywords can help a lot. More so because, they are more specific than high-ranking single keywords or phrases. 

Long-tailed keywords can help you capture just the right kind of target audience you are looking for rather than pooling in everyone who might have typed in the high-ranking keyword. 

For example, the keyword Dry-Cleaners might be a high ranking keyword, but in an industry of Dry Cleaners, does it specifically point to a person who might be offering Dry Cleaning services in an area, say Denver?

Take a look at this example:

With only Dry Cleaners as your keyword you are looking at a volume of 110k searches, which brings out around 17.5M search results. 

Whereas, with a long-tailed keyword like Dry Cleaners in Denver, you can find a more targeted spread of audience who have been looking for the service you provide, at the place where you are located.

For example, with a long-tailed keyword like Dry Cleaners in Denver, you can see that the volume of search conducted is only 20. If you could effectively carry out a keyword marketing strategy then you could appear in the search results to those people who have used these particular keywords and have a high chance of being a potential customer.

This was just an example. So, how do you find out the right keywords which are relevant to your business and to your industry?

There are many tools available online to help you do this. Here are 3 keyword tools that you can use to boost your business' bottom line.

SEMrush

SEMrush has some great features that focus not only on the keyword analytics but also provide you with some awesome advertising data that you can use for your ad campaigns. 

Even if you are not working on ad campaigns, you can use this data to find out the most profitable keywords to use for your blog posts and website. 

It also gives you a complete idea of the trends the keyword has been following, how much your competitors have been paying for the same, and more information to help base your ad campaigns on.

In fact, SEMrush even gives you a look into the kind of ad headlines your competitors are using. You can always edit your SEO Titles to match the same as the ones which are high-ranking.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics has been evolving constantly. With its new features, it has become a richer SEO tool than it was before. 

One of the best examples is the way it allows you to do targeted marketing by finding out more about the people who are looking at your website. 

You can find this out by clicking on Audience --> Interests --> Affinity Categories. This report will give you a unique insight into the different customers who are visiting your website, their demographics, preferences and lot more.

This will help you find out who represents the biggest percentage of your site visitors who are also converting. You can then create more impactful messages and CTAs for these potential customers.

This is my favorite tool when it comes to keyword research. The single most important reason would be the simple UI and delightful UX. Well, there are many other reasons that go to the advantage of KW Finder when it comes to being a quality keyword research tool. 

It gives you amazing results when it comes to keyword analysis, through great data aggregation. More data processed, better results at your disposal. It also provides you with quite a few research options when it comes to studying various keywords and their applications. 

The one drawback would be that it is not optimized for competitor research, but you always have SEMrush for that. Also, if you are a heavy user, KW Finder might put some limitations to the number of times you can access their tool. It is comparatively cheaper than the other keyword tools in the market, so you can always check out their pricing and start off with their basic plan.

In my opinion, I don't think a single keyword research tool will ever suffice. Given the data and the kind of analytics report we need to create and continue our campaigns, the more data we have, the better. 

There are plenty of other tools which you can check out for sure. But for starters, I found these three to be really helpful and user friendly. 

This post was originally published in www.proma-nautiyal.com. You can find the original post here.

A content writer and marketer by profession, I have a knack for marketing, technology, and languages. When I am not doing anything related to the above three, you will find me on my spiritual quest. For me life is about continuous learning till the end of days. 

My motto: "There is no bigger pleasure than going to bed, everyday, a little bit wiser and happier than you woke up that morning."

You can find out more about me and my works at: www.proma-nautiyal.com