How to Find SEO Keywords for Your Web Content 

As much as you might enjoy writing articles and blog posts, you don’t go through the effort for your own benefit. The purpose is to provide your customers with helpful, relevant information that nurtures them through the funnel. With so much content on the internet, how can your audience discover your content? SEO keywords.
Anatomy of a Great SEO Keyword
SEO keywords help the search engines index and rank your pages. This way, when users search for information online, your content can be returned to them. To be successful, you must know which keywords to use. As you add these search terms to your content, you’ll hit desirable spots in the SERPs and drive qualified traffic to your site.
Are you curious to know how to find these “right” keywords? I’ll teach you how to do your own SEO keyword research. My favorite tools are SEMrush, Google AdWords and Spyfu. Each tool is unique, but the process of finding keywords is the same. Here is what I look for:

• Long tail keywords. It’s easier to rank for long tail keywords because they are less competitive and more specific.
• Low search competition. Competition refers to how many advertisers are bidding on the same keyword. I prefer low search competition keywords. They are cheaper and easier to rank for.
• High search volume. I might be able to rank for a long tail keyword, but if it’s not something that people search for, it won’t make a difference. I always go after keywords that people are typing into Google.
• Low keyword difficulty. Most keyword tools rank the difficulty of a keyword. A low difficulty score means that it’s easier to compete with others using the same keyword.

How to Uncover the Best SEO Keywords
Let’s move onto how to find SEO keywords using tools like SEMrush, AdWords and Spyfu. It’s easier than you think – and the benefits are incredible!
Start with a relevant, broad search term.
Always start the keyword research process with a relevant, broad search term that has potential. For example, if you sell mortgages, a good keyword to start with would be “mortgage loan”.
Organic search for “mortgage loan” is high, which means you’ll see a large search volume. However, competition is high as well, making it almost impossible to compete. Plus, a lot of people searching for “mortgage loan” are at the beginning of the buying cycle and not ready to fill out an application. To make better use of your campaign dollars, you need to narrow down your search term.
Using your broad search term, make the keyword longer.
We know that “mortgage loan” has potential, but we need to make it longer. Find ways to add to the keyword to make it more specific. Try search terms like “mortgage loan modification” or “mortgage loan calculator” depending on what product you are trying to rank for.
Assess keyword difficulty and search volume.
Most keyword tools are comprehensive and allow you to run full reports on all related keywords. By viewing the full report, you can narrow down your options based on keyword difficulty and search volume. The goal is to find your sweet spot, so review your options and look for terms that balance low keyword difficulty, low competition and high search volume.
Use more than one keyword tool.
You shouldn’t rely on one keyword tool. Use multiple tools to uncover what the best keywords are. Though these tools work in similar fashions, they do have different processes for ranking keyword difficulty, search volume and more. If anything, using a few different tools gives you confidence that you’ve found a high-potential keyword.
Research is the Key to Success
The best way to find profitable SEO keywords is by doing the proper research. The data is out there, you just need to find it and use it. Experiment with various keyword tools and find a few that you like. Some come with free trials so you can get a feel for how the tool works and the amount of data available.
Always look for keywords with the best balance of low keyword difficulty, low competition and high search volume. When you find these keywords, follow the best practices for including them in your content. Keywords should always fit naturally.
Here is a quick refresher on where to insert keywords:  

• Title tags
• Meta description tag
• Meta keywords tag
• Headers and subheaders
• Page content
• Link text
• Alt and title attributes
• Embedded file names (i.e., images)

Practice makes perfect. The way to find SEO keywords is by doing the research and experimenting with various keyword tools. Of course, if you need a bit of help, I’m happy to show you with the way. Give me a call at 510-687-9737 or fill out my contact form and I’ll get back to you.