Laying the groundwork with the right keyword is essential for any SEO strategy. However, knowing what to do after keyword research is where the real work begins. The challenge lies in transforming them into tangible results. Without a well-defined plan, even the most thorough keyword research can fail to drive organic traffic, enhance online visibility, and boost conversions.
At tiny lever, our SEO strategies go beyond just analyzing keywords and crafting strategic content plan. We meticulously ensure that every piece of content is flawlessly optimized for SEO and aligned with your goals. Our process doesn’t end with publishing–we rigorously track performance and refine our approach to maximize impact and drive your business forward.
With our expertise in SEO best practices, we’ll walk you through the seven crucial steps that follow keyword research, including analyzing search volume, identifying keyword intent, and creating content that ranks. By the end, you’ll have a comprehensive strategy to transform your keyword research into a powerful driver of organic traffic and conversion.
Let’s get started!
What Are the 7 Steps to Take After Completing Keyword Research?
What to do after keyword research is to take actionable steps that effectively utilize the research findings to enhance search engine performance. This entails activities such as in-depth analysis of competitors, precise identification of keyword intent, and continuous monitoring of keyword performance to ensure optimal results.
Step 1: Understanding Your Keyword Data
Keyword research is the backbone of search engine optimization (SEO) and content creation. It’s the first step you take when developing online strategies to effectively reach your audience. Through this, businesses can identify the search terms and phrases that potential customers use when searching for products, services, or information.
Keyword data contains the search volume, keyword difficulty, and related terms, which collectively provide insights into the frequency of searches, the competitiveness of specific keywords, and overall search trends. Analyzing these metrics well lets you prioritize the most impactful keywords for driving traffic and achieving marketing objectives.
In this section, we’ll help turn these insights into actionable steps. We’ll cover various strategies and best practices so your keyword research can produce effective content and marketing strategies that support your business goals.
Step 2: Analyzing Search Volume and Competition
Effective keyword optimization involves assessing both the search volume and competition to ensure that your content is well-targeted and has strong potential for high search engine rankings.
Search volume refers to the frequency of searches for a particular keyword during a given period. Higher search volumes indicate greater demand but also come with increased competition. Conversely, reduced competition may make ranking keywords with lower search engine volumes easier. The key is to balance choosing from a list of keywords that are in demand but not overly competitive.
Best Keyword Research Tools to Measure Search Volume
- Google’s Keyword Planner: A free keyword research tool that provides insights into keyword search volumes and trends for marketing campaigns.
- Semrush and Ahrefs: Offer comprehensive SEO keyword research, competition analysis, a keyword magic tool, keyword suggestions, and search volume data.
- Moz Keyword Explorer: A keyword tool that provides keyword data, including search volume and competition.
Keyword difficulty measures how difficult it is to tank for a specific keyword. Lower KD values show a better chance of ranking, especially if your website’s authority is still growing. Enterprise SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush can assess KD effectively.
Strategies for Balancing Search Volume and Competition
- Target Long-Tail Keywords: These are specific phrases with lower search volume but often lead to higher conversion rates, making them advantageous for targeting niche markets or specific audiences.
- Find Low Competition Opportunities: Seek the best keywords with moderate search volume and lower competition. These can establish authority in specific niches and improve rankings.
- Consider Seasonal Trends: Some keywords have fluctuating search volumes throughout the year. Understand these patterns to plan effective advertising campaigns and content strategies.
Step 3: Identifying Keyword Intent
Understanding user intent is another important aspect of effective content optimization. Aligning your content with intent can improve rankings, engagement, and conversions. There are three main types of user intent:
- Informational Intent: Addresses users searching for information through educational and detailed content that thoroughly answers their questions. For example, users can get a clear, step-by-step guide when they search for “how to tie shoelaces for running shoes.”
- Commercial Intent: Captures users in the research phase through product review, comparisons, and detailed information that helps them evaluate their options. For instance, when someone searches for “best running shoes,” they can get in-depth reviews to guide their buying decision.
- Transactional Intent: Assists users ready to purchase by creating content with clear calls to action (CTAs) and easy navigation. For example, when users search for “buy running shoes online,” ensure your content leads them directly to the purchase page.
When users find exactly what they need, it improves your site’s performance in search engines. Keywords under transactional or commercial keywords can target users who are ready to purchase, while keywords under informational can target users who are still in the research phase.
Focusing on transactional or commercial keywords helps boost conversions and click-through rates, but targeting informational keywords is also important. By using both types, you can reach a wider audience at different stages of their buying journey.
Step 4: Organizing Keywords for Content Planning
Think of your website like a library, where keywords are topics, and your content is the books. You need to organize your keywords into themes or topics to make your website effective and search-engine-friendly. Here's a simple guide to what to do after keyword research:
- Identify Main Topics: Determine your primary and secondary topics. For example, if your site is about home supplies, the main topics could include kitchen appliances, cleaning products, and home decor.
- Match Keywords to Content: Align keywords with relevant content. For instance, a page on kitchen appliances should target keywords like “best kitchen blenders,” “top coffee makers,” and “affordable microwaves.”
- Group Keywords: Organize keyword ideas into categories, such as "social media marketing," "SEO," or "content marketing" for a digital marketing site.
- Prioritize by Intent: Classify keywords by user intent-buying intent (e.g., "best vacuum cleaners") vs. informational intent (e.g., "how to choose a vacuum cleaner").
- Create a Keyword Matrix: Tracks keyword search volume, competition, and relevance using SEO tools to prioritize targets. Maintaining a keyword matrix is an ongoing task to ensure your content strategy stays competitive.
- Plan Content: Develop a content calendar based on your keyword list, considering important dates and Google trends to keep your content relevant and engaging. For instance, you can work on keywords like “spring cleaning essentials” in March and “holiday kitchen appliances” in November.
Step 5: Updating Existing Content
To stay competitive in SEO, regularly monitor algorithm updates from search engines like Google, as what worked last year might not be effective today. Stay informed about industry trends and emerging keywords to keep your content relevant.
Periodically refresh your older content, update it with new information and statistics, and fix any broken links. Focus on optimizing existing pages by incorporating new keywords, improving content quality, and adjusting internal links and metadata.
With Google Search Console, you can analyze how your content performs and identify ways to improve. Update outdated content with fresh insights and keywords to revitalize old content, maintain its position in search engine results, and attract a targeted audience.
Other ways to maximize the use of Google Search Console include setting up custom alerts for critical issues, such as indexing errors or security vulnerabilities, to notify you of any problems that could impact your site's performance. Then, utilize the URL inspection tool to troubleshoot and resolve issues specific to individual pages, which is vital for optimal site health.
While updating content is essential, it’s equally important that these updates preserve your text's natural flow and readability. Maintain a clear and engaging writing style to perform well in search rankings.
Step 6: Creating New Content
Once you know what to do after keyword research, create content around targeted keywords. Develop a solid plan to keep it relevant and search-engine friendly. Using a clear template and strategy can simplify things and help you systematically target SERP features, like featured snippets, local packs, or knowledge panels.
1. SEO Keyword Analysis and Selection
- Identify Search Intent: Know what users seek when using your target keywords. Are they seeking information, purchasing, or looking for specific services?
- Prioritize Keywords: Choose keywords based on volume, competition, and relevance to your business goals. Focus on “low-hanging fruits” keywords with a good balance of search volume and lower competition.
2. Content Strategy Development
- Content Mapping: Assign keywords to specific content pieces or pages on your website. Each page should target a unique set of keywords to avoid keyword cannibalization.
- Content Calendar: Plan your content creation, including fresh article ideas, deadlines, and publishing dates, to ensure consistent output.
- Content Gap Analysis: Identify areas where your site is lacking relevant content compared to competitors. Use this insight to create new content that addresses these gaps and meets user demand.
3. Content Creation
- High-Quality Content: Ensure the content is engaging, informative, and valuable to the reader. Avoid keyword stuffing and focus on natural keyword integration.
- Choose the Right Format: Choose the appropriate format depending on the keyword and its intent.
- Keyword Variations: Use keyword variations and related keywords to cover a broader range of organic search queries. This captures more traffic, prevents your content from sounding repetitive, and maintains keyword relevance.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
- Blog Posts: Ideal for informational keywords where users seek detailed explanations or guides.
- Videos and Infographics: Suitable for visual learners or complex topics that benefit from visual representation.
- Product Pages: Best for transactional keywords where users are ready to purchase.
- How-To Guides: Best for instructional keywords, offering step-by-step instructions to help users achieve a specific task.
- Landing Pages: Effective for promotional keywords that convert visitors to leads or customers by highlighting key benefits and calls to action.
4. On-Page SEO Optimization
- Keyword Placement: Include keywords in strategic locations, such as titles, headings, meta descriptions, and throughout the body text.
- Internal Linking: Use internal links to connect related content, enhance navigation, and distribute keyword relevance across your site.
5. Monitor and Adjust
- Keyword Tracking: Use keyword tracking software to monitor your keywords' performance and adjust your strategy based on organic results. Regularly update content to keep it relevant and aligned with any changes in search trends and Google algorithm updates.
Step 7: Monitoring Keyword Performance
To monitor keyword performance, set up tracking tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. These tools give you insights into keyword rankings, traffic, and user engagement. They help you see which keywords bring in the most traffic and which might need more work. A rank tracker also lets you watch for changes in keyword rankings.
To set up these tools, link them to your website and configure them to track specific keywords and pages. This includes adding tracking codes to your website, setting goals in Google Analytics, and using Google Search Console. Furthermore, Centori and Keysearch offer features like keyword clustering and difficulty analysis to organize and prioritize your keywords.
Review and adjust your strategy regularly, typically every month or quarter. However, the frequency of these reviews might vary depending on the site’s size and industry competitiveness. Analyze metrics like search rankings, organic traffic, and user engagement to find trends and areas for improvement. Refine your keyword strategy by focusing on high-performing keywords, enhancing weaker content, and exploring keyword opportunities.
Key Takeaway
Focusing on high-impact keywords and staying updated with search trends can effectively boost your online presence through keyword research. Transforming these insights into actionable strategies will drive traffic to your site. By monitoring search behavior and closely monitoring your competitors, you can elevate your search engine ranking and engage your audience better.
However, the process isn't always straightforward, even if you know what to do after keyword research. Moreover, implementing these strategies requires resources like time, SEO tools, and expertise, which might be challenging for smaller SEO teams. Bringing in fresh perspectives and expertise from the outside can provide valuable insights to stay ahead of the latest digital marketing trends.
At tiny lever, we excel at enhancing online visibility through high-impact keywords and content planning. As a B2B digital marketing agency, we have secured multiple placements on Google’s first page and driven significant organic traffic. Contact us via david@tinylevermarketing.com or fill out this form to establish your brand’s online authority.
