How To Do Keyword Research: Beginners’ Guide

Learn the steps to find, refine, and use keywords that drive organic traffic

If you are just learning how to do SEO, keyword research can feel like a mystery. You may have heard that it is important, but the steps are not always clear. I know that frustration because I have spent more than a decade helping businesses and agencies improve their SEO through keyword research, content strategy, and technical website audits.

What I have learned is that once you understand the basics of keyword research, you’ll have a repeatable framework you can rely on, whether you are building your first blog or scaling an established site.

This keyword research guide draws on my experience. I’ll walk you through each stage, from brainstorming ideas to putting keywords into action. Think of this as a keyword research tutorial built for beginners. It is practical, simple, and designed to help you reach your target audience.

What is keyword research?

Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing the words and phrases people type into search engines. These search terms, often called SEO keywords, are how users connect with the content, products, or services they need. For SEO beginners, keyword research is the first step in building content that has real demand rather than guessing what people might search for.

How keyword research has evolved

In the early years of SEO, keyword research focused mainly on root or head keywords with the highest search volume. Website owners often stuffed these terms into pages, hoping to rank. This practice no longer works. Google’s updates, such as Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, and RankBrain, shifted search toward intent. Today, keyword research is about understanding what people mean when they search and matching your content to that intent.

Search has also moved beyond Google. People now use AI tools and chatbots to ask questions in natural language prompts. When someone types, “Give me a list of the best budget laptops for students,” the AI relies on keyword-rich sources to provide an answer.

As a result, keyword research is not only about ranking in search engines but also about optimizing your content to be cited by AI.

Why keyword research matters

Keyword research matters because it prevents wasted effort. If you publish a page without confirming demand, it may never attract visitors. When you start with keyword research, you can:

• Identify the exact questions your audience is asking.
• Select primary and secondary keywords that help your page rank.
• Target long-tail keywords that bring in visitors with stronger intent.
• Optimize your content so it can surface in both search results and AI-generated responses.

Keyword research is the foundation of every SEO strategy. Without it, most content fails to reach an audience. With it, you create pages that earn visibility, relevance, and long-term traffic.

How to conduct keyword research

If you’re new to SEO, keyword research can feel like staring at a wall of data you don’t understand. Which keywords matter? How do you decide what’s realistic? And what if you choose wrong?

But keyword research doesn’t have to be intimidating. By breaking the process into six clear steps, you’ll create a list of keywords you can actually rank for. Each step builds on the last, giving you confidence and direction.

Step 1: Get started with seed keywords

Every keyword research process starts with seed keywords, sometimes called head or root keywords. These are the simple, obvious terms that describe your product, service, or niche. For example, if you own a dog grooming business, seed keywords might include “dog grooming,” “pet salon,” or “mobile grooming.”

But don’t stop there. You’ll get better results if you use the language your customers use, not just your own. When a customer writes, “best shampoo for itchy dogs,” that phrase reveals how real people search, and it can become a valuable addition to your keyword list. You can also browse online forums or subreddits to see how people phrase their problems.

By starting with seed keywords, you build a foundation. These root terms become the jumping-off point for everything else you’ll research.

Step 2: Expand with keyword research tools

Once you have your root list, the next step is to expand it. At this stage, keyword tools come into play. You will plug your seed keywords into these tools, and they will return hundreds or even thousands of related terms.

Free tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, and AnswerThePublic are a good entry point. Paid tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or KWFinder give you deeper insights, including metrics such as keyword difficulty and click potential.

AI tools are also starting to play a role. Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT can help you brainstorm keyword variations by responding to prompts such as, “Give me a list of long-tail keywords for hiking gear.” While the AI suggestions help spark ideas, you should always verify them in a keyword research tool to confirm search volume and competitiveness.

At this stage, you’ll notice different keyword types emerging:

• Primary keywords are the main keywords you want a page to rank for.
• Secondary keywords are closely related terms or variations that support the primary keyword.
• Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific searches (e.g., “affordable mobile dog grooming near me”) that attract visitors with clear intent.

Don’t filter too aggressively yet. Your goal is to collect possibilities. Later, you’ll refine the list and decide which terms to use as primary keywords and which can serve as supporting secondary ones.

Step 3: Analyze competitors

After you’ve expanded your keyword list, it’s time to see what’s already working for others. Your competitors have already identified primary and secondary keywords worth ranking for, and you can learn from their results.

Start by plugging a competitor’s domain into a tool like Ahrefs Site Explorer or Semrush. These tools show you which keywords — root terms and long-tail variations — drive the most traffic to their site. If you analyze specific URLs, you’ll often uncover dozens of secondary terms that support the main topic.

This step saves you from guessing. Instead, you’re validating which keywords are proven to bring traffic to your niche.

Step 4: Check your own site’s data

Now it’s time to look at the keywords your own site already attracts. Even if you’re new to SEO, you might be ranking for a handful of long-tail searches without realizing it.

Google Search Console shows you the queries sending people to your site. For example, maybe your blog post on “pet shampoos” is ranking on page two for “best shampoo for itchy dogs.” That’s an opportunity: the primary keyword might be “dog shampoo,” but the long-tail secondary term “best shampoo for itchy dogs” is already giving you traction.

Ahrefs Webmaster Tools takes this further by showing you all your keywords, along with their search volume and difficulty. With this information, you can decide which terms are worth targeting as primary keywords and which ones you should use as supporting terms.

Step 5: Refine and prioritize keywords

By now, your list probably feels overwhelming. The key is to refine it down into primary, secondary, and long-tail keywords that make sense for your site.

Start by identifying your primary keyword for each page. The primary keyword should be the most relevant, highest-value term aligned with your goals. Then, choose a few secondary keywords that support it. Secondary keywords often include long-tail variations that capture additional searches without diluting your focus.

AI can also help at this stage, too. By entering prompts like “Which of these keywords show commercial intent?” or “Cluster these keywords into groups with similar meaning,” you can speed up the sorting process. AI will not replace data-driven tools, but it can help you organize your list more quickly. Always confirm AI groupings against actual metrics like search volume and difficulty in a keyword tool.

Categorize your keywords by intent:

• Informational: users want answers (e.g., “how often should I groom my dog”).
• Commercial: users are comparing options (e.g., “best dog grooming clippers”).
• Transactional: users are ready to buy (e.g., “book mobile dog grooming”).

Group related terms into clusters. For example, a page targeting the primary keyword “dog grooming services” could also rank for secondary keywords like “mobile dog grooming” and “affordable dog grooming near me.” This approach lets one page cover a topic thoroughly while capturing both root and long-tail searches.

Step 6: Put keywords into action

Finally, you’ll take your refined list and apply it. Each page should focus on one primary keyword and incorporate several secondary keywords naturally. If you try to target multiple primaries on one page, you risk confusing both readers and search engines.

Map your keywords strategically:

• Homepage: broad root keywords tied to your brand.
• Product or service pages: commercial and transactional primary keywords.
• Blog posts: informational queries, supported by long-tail variations.

As you write, focus on flow and readability. You don’t need to repeat your primary keyword in every sentence. Instead, use secondary terms, synonyms, and natural phrasing. That approach not only reads better but also signals to Google that your content thoroughly covers the topic.

Think of this stage as execution: you’ve moved from brainstorming root keywords to building pages where primary, secondary, and long-tail terms all work together.

Keyword research example

Theory only takes you so far. Seeing the process step by step helps you understand how to conduct keyword research on your own. Imagine you are building a website about hiking gear. Here is how the research might look in practice.

Step 1 example: Seed keywords

You start with obvious root terms like “hiking boots,” “backpacks,” and “trekking poles.” These are your seed keywords and form the base of your list.

Step 2 example: Expanding with tools

Next, you plug “hiking boots” into a tool such as Ahrefs or Semrush. The tool generates hundreds of variations, including “best hiking boots for wide feet,” “lightweight waterproof hiking boots,” and “hiking boots vs trail runners.” Each one shows search volume, difficulty, and potential.

Step 3 example: Competitor analysis

You check competitors like REI and see that they rank for “lightweight waterproof hiking boots.” By analyzing their page, you also uncover secondary keywords such as “ultralight hiking gear.”

Step 4 example: Checking your site’s data

If your site already has content, you might find in Google Search Console that a blog post ranks on page two for “hiking boots for women.” That is a sign of an easy win: optimize that page to move it higher.

Step 5 example: Refining and prioritizing

You decide that “best hiking boots for wide feet” will be your primary keyword for one article, with “lightweight waterproof hiking boots” as a secondary. Both are long-tail keywords with strong buyer intent and manageable difficulty.

Step 6 example: Applying keywords

Finally, you create a detailed guide that compares different boot types, features, and price points. The primary keyword anchors the page, while secondary and long-tail variations appear naturally in the copy. Over time, the article begins ranking for dozens of related searches, not just the primary term.

Get expert help with your keyword research

Keyword research is the backbone of SEO. It helps you understand your audience, build content that meets their needs, and adapt to a changing search landscape. While the process may seem complex at first, it becomes easier once you follow these keyword research steps consistently.

If you’d like expert help, I offer freelance SEO and content strategy services. I can run a keyword analysis tutorial tailored to your site, build topic clusters, and create a roadmap that drives measurable growth. Reach out today for a free estimate and consultation. Let’s turn keyword data into results for your business.