Keyword discovery refers to the process of identifying and researching the words or phrases that people use to search for information or products online. It is a crucial step in SEO as well as PPC advertising. Choosing the right keywords can help drive more targeted traffic to a website and improve its ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). Keyword discovery can involve using various tools and techniques, such as keyword research tools, competitor analysis, and customer feedback, to find relevant and high-traffic keywords for a particular business or industry.
Employing Seed Keywords
Keyword Research begins with thinking about how potential customers might be searching for your business or website. You can then employ keyword research tools to extend the list of your so-called “seed” keyword ideas to also incorporate other “related” search terms. The first step to discovering seed keywords is to define your business and target audience. Then, determine the products or services your business offers, and create a list of the potential search terms your target audience might use to find them.
Similarly, if your website is already established and has some traction from organic search, you can head over to Google Search Console, visit the Performance report and identify keywords your website is already ranking for. You can take this a step further by filtering by URL to get keywords which are only related to a specific URL to get an early structure for your Keyword Mapping.
Employing Keyword Research Tools
Once you’ve established a list of keyword ideas along with those your website already ranks for, you may want to extend into those that neither you nor your competitors do
Ahrefs Keyword Explorer
There are a number of keyword discovery tools, however, we’ll use Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer as the leader among them based on the number of keywords provided along with the targeting options available. This is already enough to generate a certain amount of keyword ideas to work with.
Keyword Metrics in Ahrefs Keyword Explorer
Once you enter a list of keywords in Ahrefs Keyword Explorer and click search, you will be presented with a list of various factors to consider when doing Keyword Research among which will be such Keyword Metrics as Keyword Difficulty, National and Global Search Volumes along with Traffic Potential and Paid Search Cost per Click (CPC). You are also presented with a graph that shows fluctuations of SERPs for this keyword over time along with the SERPs themselves for manually determining Search Intent.
You can then expand this list by navigating to the Keywords Ideas panel on the left-hand side and clicking “Matching Terms”, which will show you the keyword ideas that contain your target keyword or phrase. You can then further filter by “All” search terms or “Questions” only, which may help to further narrow down your search. There’s also filtering by “Related Terms” which shows keyword ideas that are related to your seed keywords or phrases as well as “Search Suggestions” which shows “autocomplete” suggestions for your target query.
“Matching Terms” Filter in Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
“Matching Terms” however remains the most lucrative way of further expanding your list of seed keywords and you’re encouraged to apply filters to this view in order to get the most out of it. Another great benefit of Ahrefs is that you can add these keywords directly to a list that can be accessed at a later point in time or they can be added directly into Rank Tracker by clicking the plus button in front of any keyword from the list.
Analyse Competition Keywords
“Organic Keywords” Report in Ahrefs Site Explorer
The Keyword Discovery process begins with setting apart a limited list of keywords that will then be used for brainstorming. As an extension, you can also have a peek at your competitors’ keywords, those that already bring organic traffic. Even if you’re well familiar with your industry, looking for keyword ideas from your competition can go a long way in discovering new keyword ideas. In order to do this navigate to Ahrefs Site Explorer and Open the “Organic Keywords” Report.
You will be presented with the same list of Keyword Metrics as in Keywords Explorer and given the chance to add individual keywords to either a list or directly to Rank Tracker.
Scouting Your Niche
To extend this list you may also turn to industry forums; groups and Q&A sites, however, that’s for when you’ve exhausted the first option. It is also not out of the question to experiment with these and go back and forth as you learn.