In this guide, we will explore the step-by-step process of doing keyword research with Semrush. Read along to learn the essentials of keyword research and the entire process of doing it right with Semrush.
In your pursuit to find the most lucrative keywords in your niche, Semrush can be of massive assistance. It boasts a huge keyword database and robust keyword research features. However, unless you know the exact keyword research process with Semrush, you won’t be able to take full advantage of it.
That’s why we have compiled a detailed guide on how to do keyword research with Semrush. Utilizing this guide, you can effortlessly identify the most valuable keywords in your niche and eventually rank for them in search results.
What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is often the first step while venturing into the online world. It’s the process to identify search terms relevant to your niche or business. That’s what people enter in search engines to find relevant information. The knowledge of the relevant keywords in your niche is of huge importance. It allows you to weave user-centric content that effectively answers users’ queries. Ultimately, you gain better online visibility and higher search ranking in SERP.
Why is Keyword Research Important?
- It ensures that you satisfy user intent.
- It ensures that your content is visible to the right audience.
- Search engines rank your content for relevant queries.
- It reveals the competition you must overcome to rank for a particular term.
- It uncovers the traffic potential of keywords you are searching for.
Why Choose Semrush for Keyword Research?
Here is a brief overview of why we recommend Semrush so highly when it comes to keyword research.
- Comprehensive and up-to-date database of over 25 billion keywords.
- Accurate data about search volume, keyword difficulty, and other related matrices.
- In-depth competitor analysis to help you uncover competitors’ keyword strategies.
- A separate section called Keyword Magic Tool to find related keywords.
- Tons of filtering and sorting options refine and narrow down the key information.
- Regular updates to keep data relevant per the search behavior and keyword trends.
- You can even opt for Semrush’s 14-day free trial to evaluate its keyword research capabilities.
Expert Tip: We have done an in-depth Semrush Review that will give you a complete insight about Semrush and its robust capabilities.
Now that you have a Keyword Research Tool let’s move on to the next step.
How to do keyword Research Using Semrush?
In this segment, we will explore different methods and the steps involved in keyword research via Semrush. Let’s dive in;
Method 1: Using The Keyword Magic Tool
Step 1: Brainstorm Keyword Ideas
This is the easiest step – if you know your niche or have any online business, you can quickly rack up some keyword ideas, often called seed phrases.
Let’s say your blog is about business ideas; these can be some seed phrases.
- Business Ideas
- Low-cost business ideas
- Online business ideas
That’s how you get seed phrases—got it!
Step 2: Put Them in Keyword Overview Tool for Quick Analysis
The Keyword Overview tool gives you a quick verdict about the potential of the entered term. You can quickly evaluate the volume, difficulty, CPC, ranking pages etc., for the given keyword.
For example, KD for the search term’ online business ideas’ is 90%. That’s too competitive.
Don’t worry; we will build a list and find low-competitive keywords in this niche.
Step 3: Use the Keywords Magic Tool to Build a List of Potential Keyword
Keyword Magic Tool is a valuable tool from Semrush that quickly churns tons of semantically related long-tail keyword suggestions and builds keyword lists.
Begin with a single keyword, let’s say, ‘Business Ideas.’
When searching the terms, Keyword Magic Tool will list all related keywords alongside their volume, KD, CPC, search intent, etc.
To narrow down the results, you set filters for KD, intent, include or exclude keywords, etc. You can even set keyword type as broad match, phrase match, or exact match.
For this post, I will set KD to very easy to find some easy-to-rank phrases. I see several keywords that could be beneficial for the ‘Business Ideas’ blog. For example – ‘ChatGPT business ideas’ could attract tons of visitors looking for AI chatbot-related businesses.
Play around with the filter and pick keywords that may appear lucrative for your niche.
Method 2: Extract Keywords from Competitors
One of the simplest ways to get keywords with potential is to scan your competitor’s website. Semrush lets you analyze your competitors for the keywords they are targeting.
But first, you need to discover your competitors;
All you need to do is enter a seed phrase you brainstormed earlier in Google. It will list all your competitors’ domains.
Next, you have to search for keywords that your competitor ranks for. Follow the steps to do that;
In Semrush, go to the Organic Search tab.
- Put your competitor’s URL in the search box and hit the search button.
- Semrush will then list the keywords that your competitor is ranking for.
- You can expand the list by clicking the ‘view all organic keywords button.
Now, go through the keywords to shortlist the juiciest keywords for your niche.
Tick the box next to each keyword that fits your criteria and then export the list to a CSV or send it to Semrush Keyword Manager for keyword grouping.
Bonus: We have also listed the best keyword research tools that you can use to find trending topics to cover.
What To Do After The Keyword Research
By now, you will have a long list of keywords. Well, targeting them all is not feasible. What you have to do is prioritize which keywords to target.
Now different people might have different priorities for creating content, but I will suggest you focus on these three matrices if you are new to keyword research;
- Keyword Difficulty – KD correlates to the efforts required to outrank competitors. Lower KD means better chances to rank for that keyword.
- Volume – It’s the number of people searching for the keywords every month. There’s no ideal number, but a higher number translates to more traffic.
- Keyword Trend – These metrics indicate the user’s interest in the search terms. It’s a no-brainer that you should always target a trending keyword or keywords that don’t involve too many ups and downs in interest over time.
The keyword magic tool itself gives you several filters to get your priority keywords. When you have a list of keywords, just export them in a CSV file.
The Final Step! Curate Content Around Your Keywords
If you have followed the guides, you must have by now keywords;
- Reasonably high monthly search volume.
- Lower keyword difficulty
- Relevance to your niche
Now you must weave quality content with an optimum level of strategically placed priority keywords. Know that keywords alone aren’t worth anything unless you craft content that satisfies user intent.
Semrush Pricing
Semrush offers three basic plans, you can choose a plan according to your needs and operations.
Here is a table showing Semrush’s plan at a glance:
| Plans | Monthly Price | Annual Price |
|---|---|---|
| Pro Plan | $129.95/month | $108.33/month |
| Guru Plan | $249.95/month | $208.33/month |
| Business Plan | $449.95/month | $416.66/month |
Pro Tip: Semrush offers a 17% Discount on its annual pricing.
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Conclusion
Keyword research isn’t rocket science; you only need a quality tool like Semrush as it is the only platform that has more than 25 billion updated keywords. However, it’s an indispensable part of SEO strategy, something that is too crucial to be overlooked. Remember that keywords pave the way for high-quality search-engine-optimized content. And it’s quality content that ranks higher in search engines and brings traffic.
Do keep in mind that keyword research is a continuous process. It’s because;
- Search behavior changes over time.
- Search engines evolve with algorithm updates.
- Keyword trends change over time.
- The way people search for particular things might change. For example, they might use different terms to search for something.
Therefore it’s crucial that you always have a mix of relevant keywords that keeps your content perfectly aligned with users’ expectations and search engine algorithms. This way, you can continue to enjoy higher search visibility for a longer period.
