How to do a keyword research for SEO

Start by understanding your client's business model and revenue drivers. Before opening any research tool, you need to know what conversions actually matter—whether that's product sales, lead form submissions, service bookings, or something else entirely. This context shapes which keywords are worth targeting. Then identify the search landscape your client operates in by brainstorming seed keywords related to their core offerings. These become your starting point in tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, or Google Keyword Planner. Run these seeds through your tool and examine the results. Look at search volume, keyword difficulty, and crucially, the intent behind the query. A keyword with 5,000 monthly searches means nothing if the top-ranking results show that Google has already decided this query should return informational blog posts rather than product pages or service directories.

Analyze the current top 10 rankings for your target keywords to understand what's actually winning. Visit these pages and assess their quality, word count, backlink profile, and whether they're truly relevant to what the searcher needs. This competitive analysis reveals gaps you can exploit—often you'll find that ranking pages are thin, outdated, or not actually addressing the user's real intent. This is where your content opportunity lies. Pay attention to search features too. If a keyword triggers a featured snippet, People Also Ask section, or local pack, your strategy needs to account for that. A keyword might rank in position five but still drive no traffic if the featured snippet captures all the clicks.

Finally, segment your keywords into groups based on search intent and funnel stage. Informational queries (how-to, educational content) typically target top-of-funnel awareness. Navigational queries (brand name plus modifier) indicate lower-funnel intent. Commercial keywords (best [product], price comparison) signal purchase readiness. This segmentation lets you build a content strategy that matches user intent to page type and matches page type to your conversion goals. Don't fall into the trap of chasing high-volume keywords without considering whether they'll actually drive business results for your client. A lower-volume keyword with clear commercial intent often outperforms a high-volume informational query that brings traffic with no conversion potential.