How to do keyword research

Before writing any content, you need to know what people are searching for. Keyword research transforms assumptions into data: instead of thinking you know what the audience wants, you discover it based on real searches. This guides what content to create, with what terms, and in what order of priority, avoiding wasted effort on topics nobody searches for or that don't bring business results.

Start broadly, without tools. List the main topics related to your business and the words your audience would use to find them. Think about the questions customers ask, the products and services you offer, and the problems you solve. These are your seed terms, the starting point that tools will later expand. Involving those who interact with clients, such as the sales and customer service teams, greatly enriches this list.

With your seed terms in hand, use keyword research tools to expand the list. They show variations, related terms, frequently asked questions, and suggestions you wouldn't have thought of. This is where a list of ten ideas turns into one of hundreds. There are free and paid tools, and all help discover how people actually phrase their searches, which is often different from how the company talks.

Not every keyword is worth the same effort. For each relevant term, evaluate three things: search volume (how many people search for it), difficulty (how competitive it is to rank for that term), and intent (what the person wants when searching). A high-volume keyword with very high difficulty and non-converting intent might be worth less than a medium-volume keyword with accessible difficulty and intent aligned with your business.

It's worth looking at who already ranks for the terms you want. By analyzing the pages that occupy the top positions, you understand the type of content Google considers appropriate for that search, the expected level of depth, and opportunities to do better. This analysis also reveals gaps: topics that the competition doesn't cover well and that could be your entry point.

With the analyzed list, group keywords by topic and intent, forming clusters that can become content pieces or sections of the website. Then, prioritize. A good criterion is to start with terms of good business relevance, accessible difficulty, and clear intent, which tend to bring results faster. The research doesn't end in a loose list, but rather in a prioritized content plan.

Some pitfalls recur: targeting only very high-volume keywords (and very high competition), ignoring the long tail; choosing terms without considering intent, attracting visitors who don't convert; not considering business relevance, generating traffic that doesn't become a customer; and treating research as a one-time thing, when it should be reviewed periodically. Avoiding these mistakes makes the research much more effective.