KEYWORD RESEARCH GUIDE
How to do keyword research (a seven-step method that works)
To do keyword research, list the problems your customers search for, expand them into keyword ideas, then judge each by search volume, keyword difficulty and intent, and map every chosen keyword to one page. Digimetrics Keyword Analysis returns volume, difficulty, CPC and intent for up to 25 keywords in about a minute, free to try for 7 days.
- Free for 7 days
- Every tool unlocked
- No card needed
Updated 23 October 2026 · Digimetrics editorial team
The short answer
- Keyword research finds the exact words your buyers type, then picks the ones you can realistically win.
- Judge every keyword on four numbers: volume, difficulty, CPC and intent. Volume alone picks the wrong battles.
- Low-competition keywords are usually longer, more specific phrases with clear intent.
- Give each keyword one page. Two pages chasing the same search split your clicks.
- Your own Search Console data is the best free keyword list you have: it shows searches you already appear for.
What is keyword research in SEO?
Keyword research is the process of finding the search terms people use for what you offer and choosing the ones worth building pages around. It decides what you write before you write it.
Google's own SEO Starter Guide makes the core point with an example: some people search for "charcuterie" while others search for "cheese board". Experts and beginners use different words for the same thing, and keyword research is how you learn which words your audience uses.
It also stops you wasting months. A beautifully written page aimed at a search nobody makes, or one dominated by sites far stronger than yours, will not bring visitors. Research first means every page has a reason to exist.
Three terms come up constantly. Search volume is how many times a month a keyword is searched. Keyword difficulty estimates how hard page one is to reach. Search intent is why the person is searching: to learn, compare or buy.
Is keyword research still important in 2026?
Yes, but its job has shifted from finding exact phrases to repeat towards understanding topics and intent. Google understands synonyms, so you no longer need a page for every variation.
Google says its language matching systems can relate a page to many queries even if the page does not use the exact terms, and its AI guidance adds that you do not need to capture every long-tail variation. It also warns that creating separate pages for every possible phrasing primarily to manipulate rankings violates its scaled content abuse policy.
So modern keyword research is about choosing topics and pages, not stuffing phrases. You still need volumes to size demand, difficulty to pick winnable fights and intent to decide the page type. What changed is the output: a short list of page topics, each covering a cluster of related searches. Our topic cluster entry explains how to group them.
How to read keyword metrics (and what each tells you)
Volume sizes demand, difficulty sizes competition, CPC signals buyer value and intent tells you which type of page will rank. Read them together, never one at a time.
In the official tutorial's sample (fictional brand Brightpath), Keyword Analysis showed "work management" at 720 searches a month with difficulty 21, the easiest win in the list. Time to Rank then forecast page one in 2 to 3 months for the same keyword. That is the pattern to look for: modest volume, low difficulty, clear relevance.
| Metric | What it means | How to use it | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search volume | Monthly searches for the keyword | Size the opportunity | Estimates are ranges, not exact counts |
| Keyword difficulty | How hard page one is; green means within reach | Pick fights your site can win now | Scores differ between tools, compare within one tool |
| CPC | What advertisers pay per click | A clue to commercial value | High CPC also means ads above organic results |
| Intent | Learn, compare or buy | Choose the page type: guide, comparison or product page | Mixed-intent keywords need a careful page type check |
| Time to rank | Forecast range in months for your domain | Order your content calendar | A forecast, not a promise |
How to find low competition keywords
Look for longer, more specific phrases, questions and comparisons where page one is held by forums, thin pages or sites no stronger than yours. Then confirm with a difficulty score and a time-to-rank estimate.
Low competition rarely means zero volume. It means the pages currently ranking are beatable. These are the places to look:
- Your page-two keywords: queries where you already sit in positions 11 to 20. In the official tutorial's sample, Page Technical & Domain Analysis found 186 keywords on page two, where the quickest gains are.
- Question searches: "how to", "what is" and "vs" phrases that big sites answer poorly.
- Specific modifiers: industry, location, use case or price ("for small teams", "free template").
- Competitor gaps: keywords a similar-sized rival ranks for and you do not. Find rivals with Competitor Analysis.
- Topic gaps: the Keyword Strategy Builder groups a site's keywords into topics. Its tutorial sample found 46 topics from 1,000 keywords, including "free gantt chart template" with 9,900 searches sitting at position 14.
How to do keyword research for free
You can do solid keyword research for free with Search Console, Google's autocomplete and People Also Ask boxes, and a free trial of a keyword tool for volumes and difficulty.
Each free source covers part of the job. Search Console is the most underused: it lists real searches that already show your site. In the official Search Console tutorial's sample, one search was shown 61,300 times with a 3.5% click rate, split across three competing pages, a keyword problem no outside tool could have revealed.
| Source | What you get | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Queries you already appear for, with clicks, impressions, CTR and position | Only shows searches where you already appear |
| Google autocomplete and People Also Ask | Real phrasing and follow-up questions | No volumes or difficulty |
| Google Keyword Planner | Keyword ideas and monthly search estimates | Requires a Google Ads account with billing info; built for ads |
| Digimetrics free plan | Volume, difficulty, CPC and intent, plus time to rank | Free for 7 days, then a paid plan |
Keyword research for a blog vs for Google Ads
For a blog, prioritise informational intent and low difficulty you can rank for organically. For Google Ads, prioritise commercial intent and CPC you can afford, because you pay per click instead of earning the position.
The same keyword list serves both, sorted differently. Bloggers and content writers should favour question keywords with modest difficulty and build clusters around them; see how content writers use Digimetrics for briefs. For ads, Google's Keyword Planner help notes that campaign performance depends on bid, budget, ad quality and more, so treat CPC as a starting estimate.
Once your list is ready, turn the top keywords into ad copy with the SEM Ad Copy Generator, or into pages with the steps in our on-page SEO checklist.
HOW IT WORKS
How to do keyword research in seven steps
- 1
Write down seed topics
List your products, services and the problems customers describe in their own words. Ten seeds is plenty.
- 2
Mine what you already rank for
Open Search Console and export queries with impressions but few clicks. These are proven demand.
- 3
Expand seeds into ideas
Run the seeds through Keyword Research in grow mode, or enter a competitor's domain to see what it ranks for.
- 4
Score each keyword
Check volume, difficulty, CPC and intent side by side. Mark anything with clear buying intent and difficulty you can reach.
- 5
Check who ranks today
Search the keyword and look at page one: page types, brands and depth tell you what Google thinks the intent is.
- 6
Estimate time to rank
Run your shortlist through Time to Rank to see which ones your domain can win soonest.
- 7
Map one keyword group per page
Assign each keyword cluster to an existing page or a new one with Keyword Mapping, then write or update the page.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Frequently asked questions
Still unsure? Email support@digimetrics.ai and a person will reply.
How do I do keyword research for SEO as a beginner?
Start with ten seed topics from your own products and customer questions, check them in a keyword tool for volume, difficulty and intent, and pick three with low difficulty and clear relevance. Write one strong page for each before expanding.
How many keywords should one page target?
One main keyword plus its close variants and related questions. If two keywords need different page types or answers, they need different pages.
Why is keyword research important in SEO?
It tells you which topics have demand, which you can realistically win and which page type Google expects. Without it, you can write excellent pages for searches nobody makes or that only giant sites can win.
What is a good keyword difficulty score?
It depends on your site's authority. A newer site should start with low scores (green in Digimetrics) and build up. Time to Rank weighs your authority against difficulty to give a forecast in months.
How long does keyword research take?
A first pass for a small business takes an hour or two. Keyword Analysis returns metrics for up to 25 keywords in about a minute, so most of the time goes into judging intent and mapping keywords to pages.
What tools help with keyword research?
Google Search Console for your existing searches, a keyword tool for volume and difficulty, and a competitor tool for gaps. In Digimetrics that is Keyword Analysis, Time to Rank, Competitors Identifier and Keyword Strategy Builder.
Find the keywords you can actually win.
Check volume, difficulty, CPC and intent for your first keyword list in about a minute. Free for 7 days, no credit card.