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Overview

This guide walks you through a practical method for discovering and selecting keywords. Start with your audience’s problems, expand your list, filter by volume and difficulty, and choose your targets.

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Step 1: Start from Audience Problems

Begin by identifying the problems, questions, and needs of your target audience.

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Identify Pain Points

Ask yourself:
  • What problems does my product solve?
  • What questions do customers ask?
  • What challenges do they face?
  • What information do they need?

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Brainstorm Initial Keywords

Create a list of keywords based on these problems: Example for an SEO tool:
  • “how to improve SEO rankings”
  • “SEO optimization guide”
  • “keyword research tools”
  • “content marketing strategy”
Don’t worry about volume or difficulty yet. Just capture all the keywords that relate to your audience’s needs.

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Step 2: Expand Your Keyword List

Once you have initial keywords, expand your list using these methods:

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Use Keyword Research Tools

Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Keyword Planner can help you find related keywords:
  1. Enter your initial keywords
  2. Review suggested keywords
  3. Add relevant ones to your list

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Analyze Competitor Content

Look at what keywords your competitors are targeting:
  1. Identify your main competitors
  2. Review their blog content
  3. Note which keywords they’re targeting
  4. Add relevant keywords to your list

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Use Google Autocomplete

Google’s autocomplete suggests popular searches:
  1. Type your initial keyword into Google
  2. Review autocomplete suggestions
  3. Try variations and related terms
  4. Add relevant suggestions to your list
Google’s “People also ask” and “Related searches” sections:
  1. Search for your initial keyword
  2. Review “People also ask” questions
  3. Check “Related searches” at the bottom
  4. Add relevant terms to your list

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Step 3: Filter by Volume and Difficulty

Now refine your list by filtering keywords based on search volume and difficulty.

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Search Volume

Search volume indicates how many people search for a keyword each month. Guidelines:
  • 10-100 searches/month: Very specific, easy to rank for
  • 100-1,000 searches/month: Good balance of volume and competition
  • 1,000-10,000 searches/month: Higher volume, more competition
  • 10,000+ searches/month: Very competitive, hard to rank for
Don’t ignore low-volume keywords. They often have less competition and can convert better because they’re more specific.

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Keyword Difficulty

Difficulty measures how hard it is to rank for a keyword. Guidelines:
  • 0-30 difficulty: Easy to rank for (good for beginners)
  • 30-60 difficulty: Moderate competition (achievable with good content)
  • 60-80 difficulty: Hard to rank for (requires strong domain authority)
  • 80-100 difficulty: Very competitive (usually dominated by major sites)

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Filtering Process

  1. Remove keywords with zero or very low search volume (unless highly relevant)
  2. Prioritize keywords with difficulty scores you can realistically achieve
  3. Keep keywords that balance volume and difficulty
  4. Focus on keywords that match your domain authority

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Step 4: Pick Your Targets

Select the keywords you’ll actually target based on your goals and resources.

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Prioritization Criteria

Consider these factors when choosing targets: Relevance: How well the keyword matches your content and audience Business value: How ranking for the keyword supports your goals Achievability: Whether you can realistically rank for the keyword Volume: Whether there’s enough search volume to justify the effort Competition: Whether the competition is manageable

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Create a Keyword List

Organize your selected keywords:
  1. Primary keywords: Main keywords you’ll target in individual articles
  2. Secondary keywords: Related keywords to include in content
  3. Long-tail keywords: Specific variations for future content

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Example Keyword List

Primary keywords:
  • “SEO optimization guide”
  • “keyword research tools”
  • “content marketing strategy”
Secondary keywords:
  • “how to improve SEO”
  • “best keyword research tools”
  • “content marketing best practices”
Long-tail keywords:
  • “how to optimize SEO for e-commerce”
  • “keyword research tools for small businesses”
  • “content marketing strategy for SaaS companies”

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

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Targeting Only High-Volume Keywords

Problem: High-volume keywords are usually very competitive and hard to rank for. Solution: Balance volume with difficulty and relevance. Include a mix of high and low-volume keywords.

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Ignoring Long-Tail Keywords

Problem: Focusing only on short, broad keywords misses easier wins. Solution: Include long-tail keywords in your strategy. They’re easier to rank for and often convert better.

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Not Considering Relevance

Problem: Targeting keywords that don’t match your content or audience. Solution: Always prioritize relevance. A relevant keyword with lower volume is better than an irrelevant high-volume keyword.

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Skipping Keyword Research

Problem: Guessing what keywords to target without research. Solution: Use keyword research tools and methods to validate your assumptions and discover new opportunities.

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Best Practices

  • Start with problems: Begin with your audience’s problems and questions
  • Expand systematically: Use multiple methods to find related keywords
  • Filter strategically: Balance volume, difficulty, and relevance
  • Prioritize relevance: Choose relevant keywords over high-volume, irrelevant ones
  • Think long-term: Build a keyword strategy that grows over time

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Next Steps