Keyword Research and Competition

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing the exact words and phrases that people type into search engines when looking for information, products, or services.

The goal?
To discover keywords that are relevant to your content, have decent search volume, and aren’t too competitive — so you can attract the right audience and rank higher on Google.

Why Keyword Research is So Important ?

Here’s the thing: you could write the best article in the world, but if no one is searching for that topic — or you’re using the wrong keywords — your content won’t get seen.

Keyword research helps you:

  • To understand that what your audience wants or what your audience actually looking for,
  • We can create that content which can ranks well in search engine
  • With the Keyword research we can increase the traffic to our website
  • Improve conversions by targeting the right intent

Think of keywords as a bridge between what people are searching for and the content you’re offering.

Types of Keywords (With Examples)

Key words that are on the basis of length

1. Short-Tail Keywords

  1. Short tail key words are of 1-2 words.

  2. Broad and competitive

  3. High search volume

  4. Lower conversion rate

Example:

  1. “SEO”

  2. “digital marketing”

2.  Medium-Tail Keywords

  1. Medium tail key words are of 2-3 words.

  2. Broad and competitive

  3. High search volume

  4. Lower conversion rate

Example:

  1. “Rolex watch”

  2. “digital marketing classes”

3. Long-Tail Keywords

  1. Long tail keywords are of 3+ words
  2. More specific
  3. Lower search volume
  4. Higher conversion rate

Example:

  1. “how to do keyword research for beginners”
  2. “best website for learning digital marketing”

Keywords based on the intent:

1. Informational Keywords: This are used by the users looking for the some kind of information or some knowledge or some solution aor guidance. This are generally starts with Who, what, When, Why, How.

Example:

  1. Who is the owner of space X ?
  2. How to make cake without egg.

2. Navigational Keywords: This keywords are use to find some specific website or page

Example:

  1. Amazon.

3. Commercial Keywords: This keywords shows that a user is seriously considering a purchase, but hasn’t made the final decision yet. These users are in the “consideration” stage of the buying journey — they’re comparing products, reading reviews, and looking for the best deals.

They’re not just browsing; they’re close to taking action.

These are gold for new websites. This are easier to rank and bringing more traffic.

Common modifiers in commercial keywords include:

  1. Best

  2. Top

  3. Compare

  4. Review

  5. Affordable

  6. Cheapest

  7. Deals

  8. Discount

  9. Features

  10. Pricing

Example:

  1. Nike vs Adidas sneakers comparison
  2. Best smartphone under 1,00,000

4. Transactional Keywords: This keywords are search terms that users type in when they are ready to make a purchase or take a specific action.They’ve already done their research. They know what they want. Now, they’re looking for the easiest, fastest, or best place to get it.This is where conversions happen — which is why transactional keywords are often referred to as “money keywords.”

Common Features of Transactional Keywords

You’ll often recognize transactional keywords by the action-oriented language they include. Common terms include:

  1. Buy

  2. Order

  3. Subscribe

  4. Get

  5. Book

  6. Download

  7. Schedule

  8. Sign up

  9. Trial

  10. Coupon / Promo code

  11. Hire

Examples:

  1. Buy SEO training program with certificate
  2. Order men’s sneakers with free delivery

Other types of KeyWords

  1. Geo-targeted keywords
  2. LSI Keywords
  3. Long term evergreen keyword
  4. short term fresh keyword

How to Do Keyword Research (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Brainstorm Topic Ideas

Start with broad topics related to your niche. For example, if your website is about digital marketing, some topic buckets could be:

  1. Content marketing

  2. Social media

  3. SEO

  4. Email campaigns

  5. Google Ads

Step 2: Use Keyword Research Tools

There are several tools that can help you discover keywords, along with their search volume, competition, and difficulty.

Free Tools:

  1. Google Keyword Planner

  2. Ubersuggest

  3. AnswerThePublic

  4. Google Search Auto-Suggestions

  5. Google Trends

Premium Tools (Paid Tools):

  1. Ahrefs

  2. SEMrush

  3. Moz

Step 3: Analyze Keyword Metrics

Here are the key things to look for:

  1. Search Volume: How many people search for this each month?

  2. Keyword Difficulty (KD): How hard is it to rank for this term?

  3. CPC (Cost Per Click): Useful if you’re running paid ads.

  4. Search Intent: What is the user really looking for?