How to Ideate Content Topics by Conducting Keyword Research

Overview:

Conducting research is the all-important first step to producing high-quality, engaging content. Content marketing research breaks down broadly into two categories: SEO keyword research and content research.

We conduct research in both categories to:

Uncover what phrases and how many users are searching
Understand what kind of content users are looking for
Determine how those searches affect expectations around content
Understand the competitive landscape for producing content that will rank
Reveal the scope and breadth required to produce a piece of content that both answers user questions and ranks on the search results page
Gauge how many users we could expect to have landed on our web page if we ranked for a given a search phrase

Keyword Research

Keyword research is the starting point for every piece of content. If you want your content to rank for relevant search terms, then you’ll need to understand why, how, and what users are searching for.

At its core, keyword research begins with a keyword research tool like SEMRush, Aherefs, or Moz. Tools like these aggregate keywords. They help you order and prioritize which keywords your content should target.

The basic keyword research process begins by understanding user search intent.

Matching User Search Intent

User search intent refers exactly to what someone wants to find when they type a phrase into a search engine. The closer you can get to understanding exactly what a user is searching for, then the more closely you can align your content with a keyword phrase and position yourself as a relevant solution to their problems.

As an example:

Users might search broadly for “pens”. Searches like these open the possibility for all manner of pens. You don’t know if the user is interested in:

The history of pens.
How a pen works.
Or if they’re searching with buying intent for a specific type or color of pen.

Broad searches like the above don’t give you room to write compelling or relevant content as they don’t provide you with insight into what the user really wants.

More specifically, “longtail” search phrases typically yield more specific, segmented search results.

Longtail vs. Shorttail Keyword Phrases

Longtail and shorttail keyword phrases both refer to the length and specificity of intent related to searches.

Longtail search phrases are typically strings of five or more words that create a complete search.

Here’s an example of a longtail search phrase:

“Red Bic Ball Point Pen”

Shorttail search phrases are typically no more than three words long. These phrases are broader in their intent and scope and typically look like:

“Pens”

The major differences between long and shorttail search phrases come down to search volume and search intent.

Typically, the shorter the search phrase, the more search volume for that phrase in a given month.

But these phrases are inherently broad. They don’t inform you (as the content writer) exactly what someone is searching for.

Because these phrases aren’t specific, they’re also harder to rank for. Ranking for broad phrases like this typically requires a lot of domain authority and backlinks.

Comparatively, longtail search phrases are much more specific. But because they’re longer, they typically have less search volume.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. Since these phrases map more exactly to what a user is searching for, they’re easier to write toward. Longtail phrases allow you to make your content more specific and relevant, which also makes them easier to rank for.

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) and Related Key Phrases

Latent semantic indexing is a fancy way of saying “related words”. As search engines have become increasingly more sophisticated, they’ve gotten better at understanding words related to someone’s parent search.

If someone were to search for “writing utensils” Google is smart enough to identify and return results that might include pens, pencils, ink wells, etc.

Latent semantic indexing is also useful when it comes to crafting content. Including related phrases in your content will often add more breadth and depth. It can also help you uncover previously unthought-of avenues that can lead to topic departures.

Search Volume

Search volume simply refers to the number of given searches for a given keyword phrase in a given time period. Most keyword research tools aggregate and catalog searches based on monthly search volume.

It goes without saying, but the goal is almost always to map content toward ranking for higher-volume search phrases. The more searches - the more potential for increased web traffic and ultimately conversions.

Keyword Difficulty (KD) Ratio (SEMRush)

Some keyword research tools like SEMRush provide keyword difficulty tools for gauging how hard it is to rank content for a given phrase. These tools vary in how they calculate and display difficulty as a metric, but more often than not it’s presented as a ratio. In SEMRush’s case, the higher the ratio - the more difficult is it to rank.

Factors that affect keyword difficulty often include, but aren’t limited to:

Number of results related to the search phrase
The average length of content ranking for search phrase
Industry, vertical, or segment data that points toward competition for the given phrase
Average domain authority for domains ranking for that phrase

There is no hard-and-fast rule for what is and isn’t acceptable keyword difficulty. Instead, use KD as a guide when first gauging how hard and how long it will take to rank your content for a given phrase.

Phrases with a high KD aren’t impossible to rank for, they’ll just require time, resources, and most likely a lot of backlinks. Similarly, you might prioritize ranking for easier phrases first as low-hanging fruit.

How to Conduct Keyword Research (SEMRush)

Review writing assignment creative brief
Log in to SEMRush or any other relevant keyword research tool
If in SEMRush, go to Keyword Magic Tool
Enter a search phrase
Add phrases to a new or existing list in the “Keyword Manager”
Search on other keyphrases and semantic variations
Test other longtail keyphrases and semantic variations related to original search phrases
Go to “Keyword Manager” when finished
Review the list of keywords in Keyword Manager
Are there any low-volume search phrases in the list you should eliminate?
Are there any phrases with a high KD ratio that you should eliminate?
Are there any phrases that don’t adequately match the search intent or topic?
Repeat as needed
Export the keyword list as a .csv file and attach to project management card

Content Research:

If keyword research is all about how you organize, structure, and write your content for search engines, then content research is all about how you do the same for readers.

Once you’ve grasped what users are searching for, it’s time to understand their intent and how existing content is already ranking for a search phrase.

Searching for and clicking through to content just as a user will help you to understand what you need to research and ultimately write. It also gives you great insight into competitors and the overall competitive landscape.

Search and See What Comes Up on Page One in the SERP

For any writing project, start by searching for relevant phrases. Searching in Google for the phrases that your users search for will reveal what content currently ranks for the phrase.

Content on page one of the search engine results page (SERP) is considered the “closest match” to the users’ search. It is important when you’re researching to evaluate the content that ranks against what you perceive the users are actually searching for. This is again where search intent comes into play.

If you find that the content ranking on page one for a given phrase is incomplete, irrelevant, or otherwise non-beneficial, then you know you have an opportunity to write something more compelling.

Keep in mind that content ranking on page one is typically there for a good reason. A vast array of factors contribute to whether or not a piece of content ranks, but your initial searches should start to give you an idea of what you need to write to rank on page one and attract visitors.

Competitor Research

Now that you’ve begun searching, start answering the following questions:

What kinds of pages are ranking?
Are these feature pages?
Product pages?
Evergreen how-to articles?
Ultimate guides?
How long is the average piece of content?
How similar is the content that’s ranking?
Does the existing content map to search intent and adequately answer questions?
What are these content pieces missing?
Are the pages well formatted, structured, and easy to follow?
Is the existing content have supplemental graphics and illustrations?
Do the pages that rank make reference to a common source?
Do the pages that rank contain all of the same ideas?
Do the pages that rank load slowly or are they lightning quick?
Do the pages look old or dated?
When was the last time the content was updated or first published? Is it out of date?
Are all of your significant competitors represented on page one?
What could you do to produce content that more exactly answers the question or provides more value to the user?

Answering these questions helps you find holes and places where you can make an intervention. The bottom line is that in order to both rank and convert, your content needs to be better in all, if not most ways, than your competitor’s content.

Topic Socialization

Now that you’ve done your keyword research and content research, it’s time to add a third dimension: user research.

In normal marketing contexts, polls, surveys, focus groups, etc. are the typical practices that lead to market insights. You never want to produce content in a vacuum, so one of the ways you can get feedback on a topic (before you write on it) is through socialization.

Socialization is simply the process of posing a question or some sort of provocative statement to a group of people. This can be done in the hallway, at the office, and amongst friends, but a common way to do this now is through social media.

As you’re researching and writing, you could ask a question to your captive social media audience. If you’re writing on pens, you could as your audience as part of a poll “What’re your favorite pens and why?” Their responses (presuming your question is provocative enough to garner responses) can help you uncover angles and insights that you might have previously missed.

Not only does socialization broaden your content production perspectives, but it also gives you opportunities for syndication and sharing of your content once it’s been produced. Good content marketers know that the best content doesn’t always rank - the best-PROMOTED content does.

If you’ve already gotten responses from socializing your content, then why not tag and share that piece with your respondents? They’re far more likely to comment, like, tweet, and reshare to their audiences. An activity like this is what ultimately leads to backlinks and greater ranking. But more on that later.