What is keyword research?

keyword research is the process of finding, analyzing, and selecting the most relevant words and phrases (known as 'keywords') that people use in search engine queries when searching for products or services.

In digital marketing, keyword research is a critical step in the content marketing process. It involves identifying search terms and phrases that are relevant to your target audience's needs and interests. By doing so, you can create content that caters to their wants and needs, thus helping you to attract more quality leads to your products or services.

It's important to note that there are different types of keywords including short-tail keywords (single words or two-word combinations) and long-tail keywords (three word phrases or more). Depending on the type of business you run and the types of queries used by your customers, one type may be more suitable than the other. For example, short-tail keywords tend to have higher search volumes but can also be very competitively priced amongst competitors. Long-tail keywords have lower search volumes but will have less competition which makes them easier to rank for.

In keyword research, one must first evaluate potential topics by seeking out industry expert insights as well as conducting surveys of potential customers to gain an understanding of what they are looking for when searching online. Collecting data from sources such as Google Adwords Keyword Planner and SEMrush can also help provide an idea of which terms and phrases users are searching for in relation to a specific topic. Not all these keywords may necessarily fit within your campaign strategy which is why evaluating click through rates (CTR) on SERPS before finalizing any strategy is important too. This helps gauge whether those terms convert at a rate that would make it worth investing your budget into paid searches for those particular targets.

Finally having done all this work you need to make sure you optimize each page on your website with pertinent titles tags and meta descriptions so that search engines know what each page should rank for in related searches (by including appropriate keyword targets). This will help improve organic rankings ensuring visitors get pointed towards the most relevant pages across all levels of their journey whether they're still researching a particular topic or ready to take action by making a purchase.