Advanced Keyword Research Tips You're Probably Overlooking
Co-Founder / CMO
You spend countless hours creating amazing content, but are the right people even finding it? You won’t know unless you’ve nailed your keyword research process. A solid keyword strategy is foundational to any successful search engine optimization campaign.
Look, keyword research is about one thing – connecting with the right people at the exact moment they're searching for what you offer. Get it right, and your content has a fighting chance to be discovered by your ideal audience when it matters most. This is how you drive valuable organic traffic.
This article will “flip” your approach to keyword research on its head. I’ll share some fresh strategies you can implement right away.
Table of Contents
Common mistakes you make with keyword research
We’ve all been there, going after high-volume keywords that seem like they’re going to land us right on the first page of Google. Or just picking terms that “feel right”. Many people start with very seed keywords and don't dig deeper.
But those tactics are keyword research Russian roulette.
Here's the hard truth: obsessing over mainstream keywords is a quick way to get lost in the noise. Everyone and their mom is targeting those uber-popular terms. Sure, they drive searches. But good luck winning the traffic battle against giant brands and their massive budgets.
Here are the limitations of Traditional Methods
Okay, so the "basic" keyword research tools seem like a safe middle ground, right? They'll just magically spit out a list of perfect terms for you?
Not so fast.
Those generic keyword tools are decent for getting basic volumes and competition metrics. But they tend to miss the full picture of how real people actually search in your specific niche. You're left trying to shoehorn in keywords that don't quite fit your audience's true search patterns and intent. You might overlook crucial long-tail keywords that indicate strong commercial intent.
The point is, whether you're guessing, chasing high-volume dreams, or relying on basic tools like Google Keyword Planner, you're likely overlooking a huge chunk of profitable keyword opportunities.
5 Fresh Tips for Keyword Research
It's time you get scrappy and really understand how your people search.
Getting to know user intent
User intent is everything in keyword research. After all, what's the point of ranking for terms that don't actually align with what searchers want? Understanding keyword intent is paramount.
Think about it - the keyword "digital marketing" could mean a dozen different things to different people. Some might want a definition; others are looking to hire an agency. The intent behind that search is what we want to discover.
So how do you figure out user intent?
Pay close attention to the other terms people use around your main keywords. Phrases like "best," "near me," "how to," etc. can reveal a ton about someone's true goal with that search.
For example, the keyword "keto diet plan" likely has the intent to find meal plans and recipes. But "keto diet plan free" tells you they specifically want those resources at no cost. Bam - you just unlocked a way more valuable long-tail keyword opportunity.
Exploring Niche-Specific Terminology
Here's a keyword trick most marketers completely miss - the lingo and jargon that only insiders in your niche really know. All those obscure terms and phrases that make sense to your audience but outsiders wouldn't understand.
Let's say you sell software for dentists. Sure, you could target general keywords like "dental software," but you're probably missing a lot of specific terms dentists use like "periapical surgery" or "rubber dam." These can be powerful long-tail keywords.
To find out what these keywords are, you've got to become fluent in your niche's language.
Using Search Suggestions and Related Searches
The search suggests dropdown on Google, and "related searches" results are packed with tons of keywords. These can be a goldmine for keyword ideas.
As you start typing a seed keyword into Google's search bar, pay attention to what suggestions auto-populate. Those provide a peek into other popular and related terms people search for around your topic.
Then once you've made an initial search, scroll down to the "related searches" section at the bottom of the results. Search engines provide these keyword suggestions for a reason.
The key here is to actually browse through all those suggestions and related terms. And pro tip - use tools like Keywords Everywhere to automatically extract and compile all those search suggestions and related searches into a list of keywords to sort through later. You can even use Google Trends to see the popularity of these search terms over time.
Performing Competitive Keyword Gap Analysis
Chances are, your competitors have already put in the hard work to identify at least some of the best keywords in your niche. So why not reverse engineer their keyword strategy?
Keyword gap analysis tools like Semrush and Ahrefs let you see every single keyword any website ranks for in Google. Just plug in your competitor's URL, and the tool will spit out a list of their ranking keywords. These are valuable SEO tools.
From there, you can cross-reference that list against your own site's keywords to identify gaps - i.e. terms they rank for that you don't. Those gaps represent prime keyword opportunities to outrank them and steal some of their traffic.
Just be sure to analyze those competitor keywords for relevance and searcher intent before blindly targeting them. Their goals and audience could be totally different from yours.
Social Listening for Keyword Insights
Your audience's conversations on social media reveal tons of insight into their biggest interests, pain points, and how they communicate about your industry.
Social listening tools like Awario, Mention, and BuzzSumo let you monitor specific keywords, phrases, and hashtags across every major social platform. You can see the exact language your audience uses to discuss topics related to your product or service.
Then you can reverse engineer that lingo into killer long-tail keyword opportunities. Identify trending topics and discussions to create hyper-relevant content loaded with phrases your audience actually uses in the real world.
Should you integrate AI in Keyword Research?
As tempting as it may be to steer away from AI for keyword research, you'd be missing out on a powerful tool that can complement your own knowledge and efforts.
While some tools rely solely on AI models, which can produce inconsistent or limited results, the smart approach is to use AI in tandem with your human expertise.
Shameless plug, but you can actually do this with Yahini.
Rather than using AI in its raw form, Yahini combines machine learning with real-world data sources and human-guided training. The AI models are taught to analyze your brand, products, target audience, and competitors holistically. This unique approach generates keyword lists and content briefs that are tailored and relevant, not just random word combos.
Benefits of AI-Driven Keyword Research
Integrating an AI-powered solution like Yahini into your keyword workflow has so many advantages:
- Saves massive amounts of time compared to manual research;
- Uncovers hidden, highly relevant keywords and long-tail keywords opportunities;
- Provides consistent, scalable results across your entire strategy;
- Combines multiple data sources like APIs, web scraping, and Google Ads;
- Prioritizes keywords based on relevance, keyword search volume, competition, and funnel stage;
- Classifies keywords by funnel stage for a balanced content strategy;
- Flexible to use the full keyword list or filter/handpick terms for specific goals;
- Continuously learns and improves its recommendations over time.
The key is using AI as an assist, not a complete replacement for your keyword skills and niche expertise.
How to implement your keyword findings
Here's how to take those newly discovered terms and put them to work:
Learn how to prioritize your keywords
Not all keywords are created equal in terms of their potential impact. You'll want to prioritize the ones that check these key boxes:
- Traffic potential: While search volume shouldn't be the only factor, you'll want to ensure the keyword has enough monthly searches to make it worth pursuing. Pay close attention to trends over time too.
- Relevance to your business: The keyword may have great traffic, but is it actually aligned with your products/services and the types of potential customers you want to attract? Stay within vanity keyword territory.
- Competition landscape: Evaluate how fiercely competitors are already battling for these terms. There's a smart balance between terms with some competition (meaning they're relevant) and ones that aren't oversaturated. Keyword difficulty is a key metric here.
A simple way to prioritize is scoring keywords across those 3 factors and sorting them into tiers like high/medium/low priority. That way you can systematically tackle the most impactful terms first.
Learn how to align your Keywords with Content Types
Certain keywords just lend themselves better to specific content formats and structures. Here are some of them:
- Product/service keywords: These should map directly to your core product/service pages. Think keywords like "project management software" or "plumbing services NYC."
- Informational keywords: More top-of-funnel queries looking for education/guidance are perfect for blog posts and guides. Examples: "what is project management?", "diy plumbing tips." These often start from a broad topic or seed keywords.
- Buyer intent keywords: Phrases with qualifiers like "best", "pricing", "reviews", etc. signal someone is closer to purchase and primed for product comparisons or pricing pages.
- Local keywords: If you have brick-and-mortar locations or serve specific cities/regions, make sure you have locally-targeted landing pages and listings to capture those "near me" searches.
The key is understanding where different keywords fall in the marketing funnel and buyer's journey, then serving up the right type of content for that stage. Don't treat all keywords equally with generic blog posts. Every piece of content should have a purpose.
You’re ready to start creating content
The keyword research game has been broken for too long. You've been spinning your wheels chasing generic terms or wasting hours on outdated tactics that leave you with a pile of so-so keywords. Potential keywords are often missed.
But now you've got an arsenal of fresh approaches to uncover keywords your competitors are missing. More than that, you understand how to strategically prioritize and map those discoveries into a cohesive, revenue-driving content strategy. One that serves up the right content at every stage of the funnel. This forms the core of a good SEO strategy.
Yahini offers you the strategic advice you need to create a content strategy from the ground up. Its AI has been trained by seasoned content strategists, providing you with expert-level content briefs right at your fingertips. Target keywords are identified, monthly search volume is analyzed, and keyword difficulty is assessed. SEO keywords are then clustered to improve your content rank and overall organic traffic. Google Analytics and Google Keyword Planner insights can be further leveraged.
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