How Do You Do Niche Keyword Research?
To help you master the art of niche keyword research, we’ve gathered nine insightful tips from top CEOs, SEO strategists, and other industry leaders. From utilizing SEMrush and Google Autocomplete to aligning keywords with website goals, this article provides a comprehensive guide to effective keyword research. Dive in to discover the strategies these experts use to identify and prioritize business-relevant terms.
- Utilize SEMrush and Google Autocomplete
- Try a Three-Step Process
- Study Niche-Specific Publications and Blogs
- Leverage PAA, Autosuggest, and Reddit
- Focus on Popular Keywords, Not Long-Tail
- Identify Keywords with Business Potential
- Explore Competitors’ Online Presence
- Prioritize Business-Relevant Terms
- Align Keywords with Website Goals
Utilize SEMrush and Google Autocomplete
The process begins with the use of SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to create a list. The keywords that are asked about there are considered to see which ones should also be added. This process is repeated multiple times using various stem keywords. Well-known websites in the niche are then checked, their most popular pages are pulled in SEMrush, and the keywords that are bringing visitors to those pages are identified. From there, new keywords are added to the list.
Google’s autocomplete feature on well-known search keywords is then used. A search term like “how to bake a” is entered and the results are observed. The “a” is then changed to a “b,” then to “c,” and so on. The list is updated with relevant search keywords from these pages as well as any new People Also Ask (PAA) queries.
After doing this for a few days, the entire long list is run through Keyword Cupid to begin creating silos and clustering ideas.
Samantha Hawrylack
CEO, SJ Digital Solutions LLC
Try a Three-Step Process
Step 1 is to go to Google and do an initial search for the most logical, niche-specific keyword. For example, “plumbers London,” and note the top two to three plumbing services-specific websites.
Second, log in to SEMrush.com, open two to three tabs set to “Organic Research,” and enter the domains curated during Step 1. To build a greater content strategy, at least one of the three domains populated in Step 1 will have a subfolder structure, providing what can be a never-ending array of content opportunities to grow traffic.
Finally, take the learnings from the first two steps of Niche Keyword Research and log in to Mangools.com, then go to KWfinder, which is then localized to the specific city, town, or suburb being searched, and then keyword research is NICHE + LOCAL.
Joe Ryan
Founder and CEO, Digital Search Group
Study Niche-Specific Publications and Blogs
To do niche keyword research, analyze publications, magazines, or blogs specifically dedicated to your niche. Study the keywords and topics they cover to gain valuable insights for your keyword research. These publications often use keywords that are highly relevant to your target audience but may be overlooked by others.
By incorporating these niche-specific keywords, you can attract more relevant traffic and gain a competitive advantage. For example, if your niche is “organic skincare,” analyze popular organic skincare blogs and magazines to identify keywords like “natural skincare routine” or “clean beauty products.”
Ben Lau
Founder, Featured SEO Company
Leverage PAA, Autosuggest, and Reddit
Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush often have broad keyword lists that may not align with niche industries and can have more competition. To find actual niche keywords that are low competition, leverage People Also Ask (PAA), Google Autosuggest, and Reddit.
PAA and Google Autosuggest can be used to mine topics/keywords relevant to your audience that likely have less competition. Enter a seed term and review the results showing up for PAA and Autosuggest. For instance, using “life science marketing” as a seed term can yield topics like “life science marketing trends” and “life science marketing strategies.” Reddit is a valuable resource for keyword research.
Find subreddits similar to your niche (r/saas, r/entrepreneur), and create Python scripts that connect to Reddit’s API and pull topic ideas. A script that looks for the top-ranking question posts of all time is typically useful.
Taylor Scher
SEO Associate, TaylorScherSEO
Focus on Popular Keywords, Not Long-Tail
Focusing on long-tail keywords may seem like a good strategy, but personal experience suggests otherwise. Writing numerous articles targeting long-tail keywords, such as “best cleaner for steel grill plates,” initially brought some profit.
However, as products changed and content required continuous updates, these sites lost traffic and money. Long-tail keywords often have low traffic volume, necessitating constant content production. But more articles don’t guarantee more traffic, as older content loses visibility. Sites that rank highly for broader keywords can often negotiate better deals with manufacturers.
For sustainable growth, it’s recommended to focus on more popular keywords and amplify those pages with powerful backlinks.
Dmytro Sokhach
CEO, Editorial.Link
Identify Keywords with Business Potential
As an SEO expert, the task is to help companies discover keywords with business potential for which they can quickly rank.
Handpicking keywords with the following characteristics during the niche keyword research is crucial:
- Low and medium competition (less than 30 according to Ahrefs)
- Decent search volumes (more than 100 according to Ahrefs)
- With traffic potential
- The SERP should not be too competitive
- With business potential (to help a company generate income)
Keeping these characteristics in mind, Ahrefs Keyword Explorer is used to discover suitable keywords. Competitors’ semantic cores are also examined to discover juicy keywords the client does not yet rank for.
Optimization for single keywords is no longer done. In order to rank in organic search results, optimization for topics is necessary. That’s why the target and semantically-related keywords are collected for optimization.
Victoria Kurichenko, SEO Expert and Content Writer, Self Made Millennials
Explore Competitors’ Online Presence
To conduct niche keyword research, you need to put on your detective hat and dive into their online presence. Start by exploring competitors’ website content, blog posts, and product descriptions to identify recurring keywords and phrases. Pay attention to their meta tags and page titles too.
Additionally, scour their social media platforms, noting hashtags and topics frequently used. Look for gaps in their strategy and areas they might be overlooking. By dissecting their approach, you can uncover valuable insights into high-performing keywords and untapped opportunities that will strengthen your own niche marketing strategy.
Usman Ul Haq
SEO Strategist, WPExperts
Prioritize Business-Relevant Terms
Conducting niche keyword research requires a focus on what is most important to the company and the key product or service they are trying to sell to customers. If high search volume keywords are not found, then terms that are highly relevant to the business will attract traffic that is more likely to convert. The priority is to find terms that will bring in qualified traffic.
Take for instance, AmCan Products, a company in the niche industry of bed bug manufacturing.
Targeting terms like “bed bug mattress covers” or “bed bug mattress protectors” is much more effective than “mattress covers” or “mattress protectors.”
Emma Iammarino
SEO Strategist, Sixth City Marketing
Align Keywords with Website Goals
Niche keyword research for each brand/website depends on why that particular website is trying to rank at the top of Google. If they’re looking to get more readers and engagement with their blog posts, then they should focus on information and navigational keywords, which are fulfilling the search for getting some information and not likely to purchase.
However, for affiliate websites and e-commerce stores, ranking on commercial investigation keywords and transactional keywords like “Buy an Apple watch” or “How much does an Apple watch cost?” is important. The first one is a complete transactional keyword, while the second is with an intent to purchase. So, a website’s main motive behind ranking on Google decides particularly which keyword they should try to rank for.
You can also take the help of different SEO tools like Ahrefs and Google Keyword Planner, which can give you estimates around keyword difficulty (KD) and monthly search volume, which can get you further in your search.
Jon Kelly, SEO Specialist, 1st On The List
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