Keyword analysis, also called keyword analysis, is the process by which you analyze the potential of driving organic traffic through different keywords.
Doing keyword analysis means, among other things, that you investigate:
- How many searches your primary keywords have on Google.
- What related terms and phrases your primary keyword has.
- What are the questions and phrases that users ask on Google for your keyword?
Keyword analysis is thus an important part of an SEO analysis and is done to plan the website’s keyword marketing to better understand the users’ search behavior.
The explanation above was the short answer to what keyword analysis means. Continue reading or jump on to the desired section via the links below:
Table of Contents:
Why do keyword analysis?
- Keyword analysis tool
- Google Keyword Planner
- Google search engine
- Ubersuggest
- Keywordtool.io
How to do a keyword analysis then?
Keyword analysis can be done in several different ways. Namely, there are several different tools and methods for performing such an analysis.
In this post I will present some good tools to optimize your SEO and explain how they can be used for different purposes. But first I will briefly explain why the analysis is important.
If you do not yet know what SEO is, then I recommend that you start by reading the post ‘ What is SEO? ‘and then return to this post.
Why do keyword analysis?
- Through keyword analysis, you can find more opportunities to appear on Google and thus drive more relevant and valuable traffic to your site.
- The keyword analysis is a market research where you create an understanding of the users’ search behavior on search engines.
- A detailed keyword analysis can therefore help you in satisfying users’ search intentions, as well as answering their questions and needs when they land on your web page.
To do keyword analysis with different tools (guide)
There are several different keyword analysis tools used for search engine optimization. SEO experts may have different preferences regarding the tools, but what is right and wrong can always be debated.
Keyword analysis is still best done when you combine several tactics, as it provides a versatile understanding of how people use keywords to find information. Below you will find tips on effective tools for your keyword analysis.
Keyword analysis tool
- Google Keyword Planner AdWords keyword tool
- Google search engine
- Ubersuggest
- Keywordtool.io
Google Keyword Planner: AdWords keyword tool
What is the Google Keyword Tool?
Google’s Keyword Planner (aka Keyword tool) is a free tool designed primarily to plan and manage AdWords campaigns. In SEO, the tool is also used to examine how many people search for one or more keywords. The tool is therefore very useful when planning your SEO strategy.
What are Keyword Planner’s primary features?
The Keyword Planner’s primary benefit is that you can find out how often different keywords are searched on Google, monthly. The number of searches presented here is a rounded average, which means that it gives an overview of approximate monthly searches rather than exact numbers. It is thus an optimal tool for market research and for investigating the potential of different keywords based on the amount of traffic they can generate.
Another benefit of the tool is the ability to find related keywords that are also worth seeing for, and that can further boost the ranking of your primary keyword. You can find related keywords by looking at the keyword ideas section, which was also presented in the screenshot above. It automatically creates a list of keywords that Google thinks are related to the keyword (s) you placed in the search box.
To get the maximum benefit from your analysis on keyword planner, it pays to go through all the ideas it suggests. The goal here is to identify important related keywords that should be included as secondary keywords in your post.
Note that many of Google’s suggestions are very irrelevant to you. Therefore, consider only the keywords that are relevant to you.
Long-tail keywords – Long phrases that include your primary keyword
One of the most valuable things you will find through Keyword Planner is longer phrases that include your primary keyword. These are also called long tails or long-tail keywords in English. An easy way to do this is to:
- Downloads keyword planner ideas on an excel sheet.
- Uses the search function to search for all ideas that include your keyword.
- Looks through the list of ideas and writes down all the longer phrases and questions you find, including search volumes.
Although the search volumes are not that large for these, it is a very good way to drive relevant traffic to the website. The long tails also often have lower competition as they are not as popular keywords.
Keyword analysis directly on Google search engine
Doing a keyword analysis “manually” directly on Google is often underestimated. The primary goal of search engine optimization is to be visible on search engines. What is better than to look at how those who are already seen there are doing?
So how does a keyword analysis work on Google?
SEO titles and meta descriptions
Check what the search results’ SEO titles (title tags) and meta descriptions (also called SEO descriptions) say when searching for your keyword. So, these are the headlines and descriptions you see for every search result on Google. Meta-titles are especially useful for getting inspiration because they are strongly linked to your keyword, they already get a lot of clicks and are thus considered relevant by Google.
Related searches
Another important thing to check is the ‘related searches’ section below the search results. Check to find some closely related terms and phrases among the related searches. You will find ideas for themes your post should address as well as possibly inspiration for headings, questions and content you can use in your text.
Analyze competing posts
Another way to do keyword analysis is to visit the search results on the first page. Examine what the focus of the highest ranked posts is, what they discuss and how often primary and secondary keywords are repeated. This is time consuming and can be of greater use if you optimize existing posts. Investigate, among other things, the following factors:
- What themes are in focus in their headlines?
- How often does the primary keyword appear in headlines?
- What is keyword density? (ie how often the keyword occurs)
- Do they mention many industry / product related terms that you have not thought of?
In principle, it is important to get inspiration for themes and terms that are often in focus in these posts. If this information tops the results, it’s something users probably like. Now you just have to do better.
NOTE! Do not duplicate!
Ubersuggest – an online keyword planner to find keyword ideas
Ubersuggest is another easy-to-use keyword planner that requires no login. It is thus quickly accessible and easy to use and has various filtering options. This is a very good alternative to the Google Keyword Tool or as an add-on to possibly find additional tips.
A fantastic feature of Ubersuggest is that in addition to keyword ideas, it also shows ‘Google suggestions’, ie. autocomplete suggestions that the Google search box suggests when you type something in the search box. By this I mean search suggestions, such as ‘do keyword analysis’, which is illustrated in the image below.
Even with this tool, you must remember to determine the relevance of the proposals yourself, as there will be many irrelevant concepts that you should not consider.
Keywordtool.io – get a bigger overview of autocomplete variations with your keyword
An alternative to Ubersuggest is Keywordtool.io which is said to generate even more autocomplete suggestions than Ubersuggest and is also well-liked by well-known SEO experts.
The downside of Keywordtool.io is that the free version does not show search volumes, but only a list of keywords and phrases. Despite this, it is an effective tool, especially for finding long-tail keywords that include your keyword. This will help you understand the type of information visitors often request.