Almost all SEO begins with keyword research. Understanding what people are searching for and how many people are searching helps form a solid content strategy.
Beyond the basics, keyword research encompasses many more advanced considerations, including SERP features, keyword search intent, competitive analysis, and even internationalization.
Read the latest Moz posts on keyword research. We’ve also included links to our most popular keyword research resources to help your SEO journey.
Keyword Research : Everything you need to get started with keyword research.
Keyword Research Learning Center : Our free keyword research learning hub. Here, we’ve gathered our top resources in one place.
What is search intent and why does it matter? : Learn more about the power of search intent and how to use it in your keyword research strategy.
Keyword Explorer : Want to dive in? Try our top-rated keyword research tool, with over 500 million keyword suggestions.
![How Much Does That Keyword Cost? [TOOL]](https://mza.seotoolninja.com/images/blog/banners/5e167ba59d63c8.04692782_2021-03-11-223327.jpg?w=1180&h=400&auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=crop&dm=1615502007&s=568e5c4c86ce6efea31e4ecb115b046d)
More and more, SEOs and small business owners are realizing that you cannot pay the electric bills or rent in rankings, and often times, traffic. Google Analytics or other site analytics packages can tell you your most profitable keyword broken down into a dollar value, however, what if you’re not ranking for the keyword but still want to assign a dollar value to it?
So recently I was having a chat to some friends involved in the digital space and they had a question: "Hey what do you think are the most competitive SEO term in the Australian SEO market?". Been involved with internet marketing for almost 8 years now I had a good grasp on some of the most difficult terms, I have personally worked in some of the most difficult markets in both Australia and the United States so I thought what better opportunity than to put together some research in this space.
One of my guilty pleasures is looking through the search query reports (SQR) of an AdWords campaign for the cringe-worthy search queries that led to someone clicking on a PPC ad. Really Google? You felt that goat transportation cost was related to my keyword of freight costs? Or that a babe cam search should show my ad for digital camera? Sadly, these matches and worse can happen if you lack proper negative keywords.
A while back, I went to a Distilled meetup here in NYC. SEER Interactive's Mark Lavoritano did some cool slides on the seasonality of keywords. Basically, his presentation made the point that you should not only think about which keywords you want to rank for but also WHEN they are most valuable.
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For the past decade, most of us in the field of search have relied on Google's AdWords data (either in the public tool, the API or the tools inside AdWords accounts). It's the best source we've got, but many marketers may not realize that sadly, the numbers and queries may not always match up to what's actually happening on Google's search engine. I'll illustrate ...
Analyzing keyword performance, discovering new keyword opportunities, and determining which keywords to focus efforts on can be painstaking when you have thousands of keywords to review. With keyword metrics coming from all over the place (Analytics, Adwords, Webmaster Tools, etc.), it’s challenging to analyze all the data in one place regularly without having to do a decent amount of manual data manipulation. In addition, dependent on your site’s business model, tying revenue metrics to keyword data is a whole other battle.
In December, we rolled out branded keyword rules and metrics to campaigns, to help you segment your branded traffic. Now, we’re excited to introduce a companion feature to make your keyword research easier: Find New Keywords. With this feature, you can view keywords sending you organic search traffic, filter on your brand rules, and determine if you want to track them in your campaign....
Google is indisputably seated at the throne in the free internet app kingdom. With 45+ tools in its arsenal, most marketers only use and are familiar with a few of them. One slightly lesser-known tool your marketing campaign should not live without is Google Insights for Search. Here are six of the ways Google Insights can help fine-tune your keyword strategy:
This post is for anyone who is an SEO, Online Marketer, Domain Name Buyer or PPC in general and does keyword research using the Google Keyword Tool. Don't get me wrong -- keyword research is a very important aspect for SEO and if you do not do it correctly you can make a huge mistake by targeting your whole SEO campaign around specific keywords which are not all that correct. Some times the data can leave you a bit angry when you compare it with other real time sources or more accurate PPC data.
Before I even start saying anything about keyword research I want to take my hat off to Richard Baxter because the tools and methodologies he shared at MozCon make me feel silly about even thinking about bringing something to the Keyword Research table. Now with that said, have a few ideas about using data sources outside of those that the Search Engines provide to get a sense of what needs people are looking to fulfill right now. Consider this the first in a series.
Throughout my six years as an SEO, there have been times when I've questioned the value of SEO for clients. The reasoning behind this was that popular non-brand phrases were unlikely to drive business or in some cases where markets were dominated by aggregator sites, where people require choice from the offering, rather than an individual brand. Data was often backed up by generic paid search generating negative return and eventually being switched off.
Keyword research is an all too often under-appreciated aspect of SEO. I've written a few keyword research posts here on Moz and that's because I believe it to be the blueprint of any successful SEO campaign...
Chances are - if you visit SEOmoz on a regular basis - you already know the importance of keywords, choosing your keywords correctly and therefore that keyword research is one of the most important areas behind a successful SEO strategy. The Google AdWords Keyword Tool is probably the i...
Just to say thanks to the Mozteam for flying me over to sunny Seattle, I brought them a new toy to give away. And, it rocks...