6 Essential Keyword Research Programs for Success

Keyword research is a blend of art and science, a topic close to my heart due to its complexity.

Dominating the industry's top keyword isn't enough; search volume matters, but popular keywords pose challenges.

Competing with giant companies diminishes your chances and delays results.

Impatience drives me to seek immediate, impactful outcomes from my efforts.

This brings us to another issue in keyword research—targeting broad terms like "content marketing" may yield traffic but not necessarily customers.

Many users entering such terms seek information rather than making purchases.

To address this, finding the perfect keywords that drive sales is crucial.

Here are my top-recommended programs for effective keyword research.

Initiating my list with Google Ads might seem unconventional.

Indeed, it's primarily an advertising platform, but its robust features offer a quick route to discover lucrative keywords.

The Google Keyword Planner, a familiar tool, provides insights into search volume and keyword performance.

However, I don't leverage it for that purpose. Why?

Regrettably, its data lacks reliability.

Instead, I utilize the program for competitive analysis.

By entering a URL or landing page, I swiftly unveil the keywords my competitors employ.

Just input a rival's website into the search box and gain valuable insights.

The Google Keyword Planner generates fresh keyword suggestions, which you can now save for future reference.

Alternatively, for immediate insights, you can submit them to Google Ads.

This flexibility is what makes the program invaluable; I can promptly categorize keywords into ad groups.

By reviewing the results, selecting the most promising ones, and clicking the small blue arrow on the right, I can efficiently manage my keyword strategy.

These terms will be instantly transferred to your Google Ads account.

Keyword research with Google Ads offers two additional benefits.

Firstly, it allows you to identify lucrative keywords more rapidly—those that not only drive substantial traffic but are also more likely to convert.

Secondly, it helps uncover profitable keywords that may not have crossed your mind otherwise.

The process operates as follows.

While you bid on keywords, you actually pay for search terms.

This distinction is crucial. To illustrate, here's an image for better clarity:

Let's break it down step by step.

• 1. Added / Excluded: This column indicates which search terms have been added to or excluded from the campaign, or neither.

  • Why is this important?

• The first search term, "WordPress Themes for Designers," hasn't been added to the campaign yet, despite me already paying for it.
  This is due to the keyword options. For a keyword set as "Broadly Matching," the ad will be displayed for relevant variants. Although the term is bringing clicks and visitors, I don't have a specific ad or landing page for it, explaining the relatively poor results.

• 2.Impressions: While I'm not a big fan of this metric, it can be helpful for keyword research. It shows how many users are seeing the ad, but it doesn't directly impact sales.

  • Our search term has a high number of impressions, indicating strong user interest.

• However, don't jump to conclusions. Let's delve into the next metric.

• 3. CTR (Click-Through Rate): The click-through rate is a crucial indicator of a search term's performance, revealing how many users clicked on the ad compared to those who saw it.

  • The click rate for the search term is notably low, likely because I haven't actively used the term. There's no specific ad targeting this term, as it never crossed my mind.

Do you grasp the concept? It involves spending a bit more money, but the goal is not lead or customer acquisition. It's about discovering new keywords, separating the promising ones from the less favorable.

Now, let's move to the second step, where I'll guide you on how Google Analytics can help you save some money.

Google Analytics boasts several incredible features, some of which you might not be familiar with. 

While most users focus on analyzing traffic and conversions, we'll now explore the often overlooked Google Search Console (formerly known as Webmaster Tools).

I want to understand what users are searching for on my website.

Most blogs feature an internal search function, and mine is located in the sidebar.

Users employ this search function to expedite their quest for specific content.

Here lies valuable information about the topics that truly interest your visitors but may be challenging to locate.

By activating this feature and examining user "behavior," Google Analytics reveals what your visitors are searching for.

Navigate to "Site Search" and then access "Search Terms."

This section provides a list of search terms based on the queries within your website, accompanied by the frequency of each term.

This is highly beneficial as it allows you to identify customer interests and assist them in finding desired content more efficiently.

Isn't that impressive?

There's another report I find useful.

Go to "Target Audience," select "Interests," and then explore "Categories of Common Interests."

This report reveals the shared interests of your website visitors, providing fresh insights into your target audience.

Consider, for instance, that you operate a hotel.

Chances are, you cater to various customer segments, such as families, individual travelers, and adventurous solo explorers.

In deciding which target group to prioritize and for whom to create content, the "Categories of Common Interests" can offer valuable insights.

You can ascertain whether your visitors lean towards family vacations or harbor an interest in adventurous sailing trips.

I'd like to introduce you to a free tool from Google before delving into paid programs.

Many keyword tools rely on historical data, which can often be outdated, spanning months or even years.

These tools use historical data to predict perennially popular keywords. However, this approach has two significant drawbacks.

Firstly, user behavior doesn't offer reliable insights into the future. Take the search term "movies on DVD" as an example. While many tools might suggest there's still demand, can you truly trust that assertion? I, for one, wouldn't.

Secondly, well-established search terms are highly competitive, making it challenging to rank for these terms. This could potentially take weeks or even months.

This is where Google Trends proves invaluable.

Here, you'll discover current trending topics, allowing you to seize opportunities immediately.

It's akin to surfing—waiting for the perfect wave and then riding it.

With this tool, you can stay one step ahead of the competition.

Let me provide a compelling example:

Five years ago, the term "influencer marketing" didn't even exist; it was entirely unknown.

Look at the swift evolution.

Success often hinges on impeccable timing.

The Emmy Awards, for instance, occur annually.

For the other eleven months, there's minimal interest in this award.

Yet, Google Trends reveals that interest in the Emmys surges in the weeks leading up to the awards ceremony.

Now, armed with this insight, you can adeptly tailor your content, advertisements, and campaigns to align with this peak interest period.

Trending topics are typically novel, offering a lower level of competition with a well-executed plan.

However, it's essential to recognize that once the trend loses momentum, traffic subsides – a notable disadvantage.

Therefore, this keyword research strategy should not be the sole reliance, but rather a method to leverage short-term trends while awaiting long-term success.

As previously emphasized, keyword volume is not the sole crucial criterion.

Competition is equally pivotal, as an excessively competitive market may entail years before achieving a favorable ranking.

However, there's a workaround for this challenge.

Typically, overcoming competitors involves laborious research into link profiles.

Fortunately, certain programs can expedite this process, and Moz offers one such tool: Keyword Explorer.

By inputting a few search terms, users gain insights into search volume and competition.

Moreover, the tool provides details about difficulty levels and an evaluation of the likelihood of success.

This approach allows you to swiftly filter out promising opportunities.

The data aids in pinpointing keywords with the highest potential for success.

Moreover, the program generates new keyword suggestions, offering valuable additions to your advertising campaign.

Now, compile the data on volume, difficulty level, chances of success, and priority of all keywords into a list for thorough comparison.

Evaluate potential costs and success probabilities across different campaigns.

After selecting a keyword, utilize the program to identify websites already ranking for that keyword.

Here are the results for the search term "SEO tips":

You not only view the website and the article but also access various data.

Conduct competitive analysis effortlessly using the program without the need for manual data collection from different sources.

SEMrush is renowned for its advertising data, and it excels in keyword research as well.

Discovering popular and profitable keywords is essential for effective advertising, and SEMrush categorizes such keywords into various segments.

Certain data, like volume or competition, may overlap across categories.

But I think the program is so great for another reason.

Just take a look:

But that's not all—it even displays the ads associated with each keyword.

Why is this beneficial?

The click-through rate (CTR) on search engine results pages (SERP) is becoming increasingly crucial.

You conduct keyword research with the goal of ranking for a specific keyword because that's how you draw new visitors to your website.

Now, by studying the ads you find, you can refine the titles of your own ads and borrow ideas to increase your click-through rates.

You no longer need to secure the top spot; with a well-crafted ad, you can attract the most visitors even with a lower ranking.

Simply learn from the most successful ads in your industry.

The final two programs are excellent, but regrettably, they come with a price tag ranging from 50 to 100 euros per month.

Since keyword research is an ongoing task, you're never truly 'done.'

Paying 100 euros per month multiplied by 12 months accumulates into a significant sum for a software program.

For those seeking a cost-free alternative, WordStream has a solution.

The company offers a new free keyword research tool with comparable features.

You can input a competitor's URL, industry, and location.

Location is crucial because results can vary based on geography. Keyword volume and competition differ significantly between England and the USA.

WordStream presents the most popular keywords along with their corresponding search volume.

However, the evaluation of the potential success of the search term is even more beneficial.

Suppose you were using the program to explore long-form keywords. By examining the opportunity score, you can quickly identify the keywords with the highest potential.

Now you can do away with the need for Excel or Google spreadsheets, and no longer have to compare the data manually.

 This saves you time, allowing you to invest more in your content and advertising campaigns, as keyword research becomes a quicker process.

Keyword research is an iterative process, but it used to be a time-consuming task requiring manual compilation of data. 

Previously, spending several hours daily on keyword research and then organizing the data in Excel was a common practice. 

However, with the six programs highlighted in this article, you can now accomplish the same task in just a few minutes. 

These tools help you find popular keywords, discover new and profitable ones, and immediately capitalize on them.

 Moreover, you can identify keywords that not only drive traffic but also convert visitors into paying customers. 

Ultimately, the goal is to improve rankings, increase traffic, and boost sales, so focusing solely on "SEO" may not be enough. 

Traffic and links are crucial, but they are just part of the equation for achieving more sales. Everything else can be considered a distraction.