How SEO professionals do keyword research in 2016

Keyword research in 2016 done by SEO professionals is not the same as last year (not to mention like 2-3 years ago!) And this is because search engines have regular algorithm updates, which change the game’s rules. The whole evolution of the digital world constantly affects the SEO process and therefore the keyword research, that’s why if you want to keep up with others or even get ahead of competitors you must take into account a number of criteria, dictated both by the search engines and your target audience.

1. Think about how your target audience search for things

Before you start using a tool for identifying keywords for your online business, think about what your potential clients might seek to find your site. Take into consideration their age and demographics and that the way they write is different from the way they speak. In addition, think about the device that your website is most often accessed from: desktop or mobile. To identify relevant keywords, just like SEO professionals do, think about the products or services you sell, the way they are described by the users and the categories they fall. Use synonyms and relevant articles from Wikipedia, which is a very rich source of succinct and well-written content, which helps you identify terms that people interested in the subject use.

2. Find relevant topics instead of keywords or keyphrases

Google has made serious progress in terms of his ability to understand and analyze the content. He no longer indexes poor content and can’t be manipulated by SEO professionals with just a bunch of keywords. Now, this search engine can understand the quality and purpose of a text. So it’s very important for those who own online businesses to produce relevant and quality content that is useful and interesting for users, not just a text of at least 250 words for the sake of keywords. If you deliver poor content, even if you manage at first to position yourself on the first page of Google, the big bounce rate will pull you down later.

3. Use Social Media to find popular and viral topics

Do not limit yourself to software to do keyword research in 2016 because there are many more topics and ideas that various tools can’t reveal. Social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, Google+, niche forums or questions and answers websites are great places for SEO professionals to find subjects that can attract rich traffic to your website. The basic idea is simple: find content that went viral and reuse the main subject to create your own content that will go viral.

4. Monitor Trends

Google Trends can give you plenty ideas for keywords that will become popular in the near future. Planning in advance content that relies on these keywords can be a very good strategy because you can position yourself ahead of the competition. Social networks can also help SEO professionals to discover new and attractive topics that everyone is talking about. All they have to do is to be alert and act promptly.

5. Research the competitors’ keywords

If your main competitors rank better in the search engine results, finding out  the keywords they used will help you a lot, especially if you have a better strategy of creating backlinks. In order to do this, you simply enter the URL of each competitor’s website in Google Keyword Planner. You will not identify the exact keywords that bring traffic to competition, but at least you'll get some ideas. And if SEO professionals want to know exactly what they are, they can use a paid tool such as Semrush.

6. Identify trending topics on competitors’ blogs

This is a very simple and quick way to get ideas for content that can generate more targeted traffic. Simply search for the category of popular posts on competitors’ blogs. These are the ones that attract many potential clients, so they are a good source of inspiration for keyword research in 2016. However, don’t forget that you need to produce better content than theirs and create some strong backlinks to overtake the competition. Otherwise, focus on some keywords with less competition, establish your authority in your field and only then use this technique.

7. Search and target keywords that show intention

To do an optimal keyword research in 2016 SEO professionals have to identify descriptive search terms that express the user's intent and create content accordingly to those. Google is able to interpret the message behind them and refine its results based accordingly. In addition, these terms suggest a strong desire for action on behalf of your potential clients which helps you increase the conversion rate.

8. Focus on long-tail keywords

These are keywords that contain 3-4 or more words that express very specific desires, therefore they have a high degree of relevance. In addition, they benefit from low competition, so it's much easier to improve your Google ranking if you use them.

9. Analyze search volume for each keyword

After you have identified numerous keywords that seem relevant to your website, you must use a software to sort them according to the volume of searches. It’s no use to create content for those that hardly anyone searches for. On the other hand, you can’t choose only those with high search volume because they have a great competition, and if you're new on the market you need a lot of work and time to improve your ranking on these terms. It’s not easy for SEO professionals to do a keyword research in 2016, but if they take into account our advice they will do it very well.

10. Identify the keywords people use to find you

As you create content on your website, Google begins to position it in its results on a variety of keywords, including those that you haven’t targeted. Use Google Webmaster Tools to find them because they are a new source of inspiration to get traffic.

11. Do keyword research on a regular basis

Keyword research is a never ending story. Just like search engine optimization, it’s an ongoing process because you always have to enrich and diversify your keywords basis, depending on the evolution of your business, the industry that you activate in, the target audience and Google algorithm updates. Always keep an eye on websites that are related to your field, on your competitors’ websites and blogs, on news portals and on any other sites that could help you find new topics for the content that you create.

Doing a keyword research takes time, regardless of the business profile. Each market has a different pattern of search queries and identifying these basic models allows SEO professionals to better understand the market. Using a keyword research properly adapted to the times, you can always produce quality content and get better exposure in search engine results.