Choosing the right keywords is crucial for increasing the traffic to your blog or owned media. By selecting keywords with high search demand and naturally incorporating them into your blog or site, you can increase access from search results. Keyword selection is the foundation of SEO strategy and achieving SEO effects.

For beginners managing blogs or sites, keyword selection can be a significant hurdle. Once you become adept at keyword selection, you will feel the results and your motivation for management will greatly increase. This guide aims to explain the knowledge, methods, tools, and tips for keyword selection in an easy-to-understand manner, especially for those who find keyword selection challenging.

Related Articles on Keyword Selection

• What is Content SEO?
• Understanding Search Intent
• What is Search Volume?
• Understanding Search Queries
• What is SEO Writing?
• What is Content Marketing?

What are SEO Keywords?

SEO begins with selecting keywords. Every site has a purpose, and to achieve that purpose, your site should have a theme.

Often, the site’s theme and SEO keywords will align or be very closely related, though sometimes you may find websites where the theme and keywords do not match.

To succeed in SEO, you must align the direction of your site’s theme and keywords, creating content that fulfills user needs.

SEO keywords are the words that should serve as the theme for your site or page.

Big Keywords and Small Keywords

Keywords can be broadly classified into three categories based on search volume (the number of times users search for them per month):

• Big Keywords: 10,000 searches per month and above
• Middle Keywords: 1,000 to 10,000 searches per month
• Small Keywords: Up to 1,000 searches per month

Big Keywords

Big words, also known as big keywords, refer to highly demanded keywords with a search volume exceeding 10,000 queries. Ranking on the first page of search results for big words can significantly increase site traffic, leading many sites to seek out big words they can compete for and optimize their SEO strategies accordingly.

However, highly demanded keywords often face stiff competition, making SEO efforts particularly challenging. Typically, such keywords are single words like “SEO,” covering a very broad range of topics. To meet user effectively needs, it is crucial to create comprehensive content that addresses a wide spectrum of related information.

Middle Keywords

Middle Keywords have a search volume exceeding 1,000. They often consist of multiple words, like “SEO keywords,” and while there’s user interest, solely focusing on big keywords makes it hard to achieve SEO effects. Ranking for several middle keywords is a fundamental SEO strategy.

Compared to big keywords, it is easier to discern user needs from these keywords, making it more straightforward to define a clear theme when creating content.

Small Keywords

Small words, also known as small keywords or long-tail keywords, are those with a search volume of less than 1,000 queries. While a monthly search volume of fewer than 1,000 queries indicates a relatively low search demand, these keywords often have a clear search intent, making them likely to lead to conversions (CV) if they rank high in search results.

If small words are transactional queries that can lead to purchases, they are easier to target. However, given their potential for high conversion rates, many competitors also invest in creating content around these keywords. Since it is relatively easier to rank higher for small words , it is crucial to create articles that stand out and surpass competitor content in quality.

Google’s Four Query Types

Queries are the actual keywords used by users when searching. While sites are designed with keywords in mind, the words used by users may differ.

Remember, a keyword becomes a query if a user has used it for searching. Google categorizes queries into four types:

• Know Queries
• Go Queries
• Do Queries
• Buy Queries

Know Queries are used by users wanting knowledge (to know something). Also known as informational queries, they are highly valued in content SEO. 

Examples include “SEO keywords” and “SEO tools”.

Go Queries

Go queries are keywords used when a user wants to visit a specific site or brand. Also known as navigational queries or branded searches, go queries are one form of the ultimate goal of SEO efforts.

Examples: “Tokyo SEO Maker,” “Amazon.”

Do Queries

Do queries are keywords used when a user wants to take some action. These are also referred to as transactional queries.

Examples: “How to use SEO Check,” “Login to Onamae.com.”

Buy Queries

Buy queries fall under do queries but specifically focus on the action of “wanting to purchase.” These are highly likely to lead to conversions.

Keyword Selection Explained

Keyword selection involves choosing the words for a web page or content that will make it appear in search engine results. Inserting the selected keywords into your site or page makes it more likely to appear prominently in search results. Keyword selection is a fundamental part of SEO strategy and effectiveness.

Keyword Selection for Blogs and Owned Media

Selecting frequently used keywords for blogs or owned media involves determining the titles and content to write about. By continuously increasing the number of pages (articles) corresponding to various keywords, you can increase site traffic.

For instance, to increase traffic for a blog specializing in Japanese cuisine, you might create pages (articles) for keywords like “Japanese cuisine menu,” “popular Japanese recipes,” “list of Japanese dishes,” “traditional Japanese food,” ” history of Japanese cuisine,” “simple popular Japanese recipes,” “main Japanese dishes,” “Japanese food culture.” This would potentially bring traffic for eight keywords. Including more specific compound words could result in an even broader range of traffic.

The Importance of Keyword Selection for SEO

Proper keyword selection before starting SEO allows you to identify which keywords need to rank highly. Successful ranking for those keywords means catching the attention of many search users, leading to increased traffic.

For example, someone interested in picture books might search for “picture books” or more specifically, “picture books for 2-year-olds.” The keyword “picture books” has a high search count but targets a broad audience. picture books for 2-year-olds” is more segmented, with a search count lower than “picture books” but targets a specific audience, making it easier to create content for ranking.

“Picture books” targets a general user group interested in picture books, while “picture books for 2-year-olds” likely targets users looking for books for 2-year-olds, making search intent easier to identify. Matching search queries with web content fulfills user needs, enhancing satisfaction and potentially leading to conversions.

Therefore, keyword selection is a strategic step that must be undertaken before commencing SEO efforts. Generally, you start with keywords that have a high monthly search count. It’s advisable to phase your keyword strategy, prioritizing them into phases 1, 2, and 3 for targeting.

Recommended Reading: Unit Content SEO

What Constitutes Good Keyword Selection?

Good keyword selection involves choosing keywords that increase traffic. There are primarily two types of keywords that can drive traffic:

• Keywords with high search volume
• Keywords with low search volume but few competitors

Let’s delve into these:

Keywords with High Search Volume

Selecting keywords that are searched for across Japan and the world can lead to an increase in site traffic. Even if you don’t rank at the very top for high-volume keywords, there’s still a potential for traffic.

Keywords with Low Search Volume but Few Competitors

Discovering keywords with a certain demand but fewer competitors is also a sign of good keyword selection.

Keywords with few competitors are easier to rank for. Niche keywords can meet more specific user needs, enhancing user satisfaction.

Considering these factors, keyword selection revolves around researching keyword search volume and competitiveness.

Recommended Reading: What is Search Volume? A Comprehensive Guide to SEO Keyword (Query) Search Volume

Points for Selecting Keywords for SEO 

This section will explain the key points for appropriately selecting keywords for SEO.

• Avoid targeting only big keywords (keywords that are difficult to rank for).
• Choose keywords that can create pillar pages (topic clusters).
• Use Google Search Console for keyword selection.
• Avoid keywords that result in similar content elements.
• Steer clear of keywords that have searches but do not lead to profits.
• Find keywords through competitor content.
• Consider personas and customer journeys.

Not Just Big Keywords 

Big keywords, characterized by their high monthly search volumes and competitive landscape, are challenging to rank for. Focusing solely on these keywords for top ranking is not recommended due to the considerable time and resources required for such an endeavor. Major companies and mainstream media often dominate the search results for many big keywords due to their long-standing site operations and strong domain authority. Outperforming such sites in terms of content quality and quantity requires significant SEO efforts over a substantial period and budget.

Considering the competitive nature of SEO among businesses, it’s wise to conduct a competitive analysis of keywords. If competitors’ site power is formidable, it may be prudent to abandon efforts to rank for certain big keywords in favor of exploring compound words or alternative keywords. It’s crucial to devise a keyword strategy where your site’s power can effectively compete.

Recommended Article: How to Set Up Essential Keywords for SEO? A Comprehensive Guide from Basics to Tips

Choosing Keywords for Pillar Pages 

Pillar pages are central web content pages aimed at achieving top rankings. Also referred to as summary pages, they cover extensive information related to a specific keyword, such as “picture books for 2-year-olds,” including types and recommendations. A pillar page should feature a large number of content elements matching the keyword, linking internally from other site pages built around related terms. Pages with concentrated internal links are more likely to rank higher, so it’s beneficial to coordinate related pages and internal links.

Selecting a group of keywords that allows for the construction of a topic cluster model , and then selecting keywords for both pillar pages and supporting cluster pages as units, is part of the strategy.

The concept of topic clusters in keyword selection involves creating groups of web content related to a specific topic. By choosing a topic you want to rank for and developing web content based on related, specific keywords, you can create new related content and link them together to form a cohesive group targeting the desired topic. Topic clusters enhance the site’s expertise overall and can improve SEO evaluation, even for big keywords.

Recommended Article: The New Norm in SEO: Topic Clusters – How to Create Them with Examples

Using Google Search Console for Keyword Selection As SEO efforts progress and session numbers increase, using Google Search Console for keyword selection becomes feasible. It displays clicks and impressions per query, indicating user search terms.

Reviewing queries with significant impressions suggests a demand for those keywords, making web content utilizing them potentially in demand.

Avoiding Keywords That Result in Similar Content 

Creating a large volume of content with similar keywords in hopes of appearing in many search results is not advisable. Keywords like “choosing picture books – things to be cautious of” and “choosing picture books – things to watch out for” may differ but cater to the same need, leading to similar content which can negatively affect SEO evaluations by Google’s algorithm. It’s better to produce one high-quality content piece for each need and consolidate overlapping or duplicate content into a single URL.

Avoiding Keywords That Don’t Lead to Profit 

Some keywords may well but not result in tangible outcomes. KNOW queries, for instance, merely seek information, often not leading to conversions. Understanding search intent, which can be classified into four categories, is key to keyword selection.

• KNOW queries: Desire to know about the search keyword.
• GO queries: Want to go to a place related to the search keyword.
• DO queries: Wish to perform an action related to the search keyword.
• BUY queries: Intend to purchase the search keyword.

For example, using “picture book” as a core keyword, search intentions like “picture book publishers” or “how to sell picture books” can guide keyword selection. Categorizing search user intentions can improve strategy clarity.

Recommended Article: What is a Search Query? Explaining Query Meaning, Importance in SEO, and Usage

Finding Keywords from Competitor Content 

Competition in products or services and competition in SEO are different. Competitors relevant for SEO are not necessarily the same as those for products or services. When selecting keywords, the focus should be on competitors in terms of SEO. Knowing the keywords for which competitors rank highly can guide your keyword selection. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can extract the keyword strategies of competitors.

The advantage of selecting keywords based on competitor trends is the ability to find a variety of keywords, from core keywords to extended ones, from different perspectives.

If high-quality content frequently appears in competitors’ top rankings, it may also be crucial to consider other keywords. While competing with high-quality content is possible, if it’s determined to be a losing battle, aiming for high rankings with other keywords is also vital.

Recommended Article: What is Ahrefs? An Exhaustive Guide on How to Use It and Things to Note

Selecting Based on Persona and Customer Journey 

If the purpose of your web content is clear, keyword selection can be based on the persona and customer journey. Consider which actions, thoughts, and emotions (customer journey) lead a user (persona) with specific needs to conversion and select keywords accordingly.

For instance, if web content aims to sell picture books by conveying their educational effectiveness, topics for users interested in educational benefits of picture books and topics for users looking for recommended picture books for different developmental stages at affordable prices may be necessary. By segmenting these topics, keywords can be selected.

Recommended Article: What is a Persona? Explaining the Necessity in Marketing and How to Define One

Types of Keyword Selection 

Beginners in blog or site management often wonder which part of their content needs keyword selection. The primary areas for keyword selection to increase search engine traffic are as follows:

• The h1 tag on the homepage
• The content on the homepage
• Page (article) titles
• Page (article) headings
• Categories

Let’s discuss these in detail.

Homepage h1 Tag 

The homepage is the most likely to be displayed in search results, making it the most impactful for SEO effects. Keyword selection should prioritize the homepage, especially the h1 tag, requiring careful choice. The most important keyword you want to highlight should be included in the h1 tag.

Recommended Reading: What is an h1 Tag? Effective Writing Techniques and Examples for SEO

Homepage Content 

As mentioned, the homepage is crucial for SEO effects, so not only the h1 tag but also the overall content should be carefully considered for keyword selection. Natural incorporation of keywords that have search demand into the h2, h3 tags, and main content is ideal.

Page (Article) Titles

If you aim to increase traffic by adding more pages (articles), selecting keywords for page (article) titles is crucial. Without proper keyword selection, even if you increase the number of articles to 30, 50, or 100, the blog or owned media may not see any increase in traffic. It’s recommended to thoroughly learn keyword selection before focusing on creating articles.

Recommended Reading: The Effective Number of Characters for SEO Titles: Explaining Title Tag Writing and Examples

Page (Article) Headings 

Article headings significantly impact SEO effects. For example, if you select the keyword “career change for women in their 30s” for a job transition media, the detailed compound words derived from it could include “career change  women  in their 30s  without skills,” “career change  women  in their 30s  office jobs  without skills,” “career change challenges  for the unexperienced  in their 30s,” “careers to aspire to from your 30s,” “career change  full-time employment  women  in their 30s,” “career change  mothers in their 30s,” etc. Including these detailed compound words in headings can increase traffic.

Recommended Reading: What are Headings? An Explanation of h1 to h6 Tags and Their Roles in SEO

Categories 

Creating categories for a blog or site generates category listing pages. Since the h1 tag of a category listing page becomes the category name, it’s also crucial to choose categories with demand.

Recommended Reading: How to Categorize Blog Posts for Optimal SEO Effects: A Comprehensive Guide

Keyword Selection Method and Flow
I’ll introduce how to select keywords. If you’re starting from scratch, it’s crucial to understand the overall flow.

• Choosing a Topic
• Identifying Related Keywords
• Checking Monthly Search Volume and Competition
• Deciding on Keywords to Aim for Top SEO Ranking
• Creating a Keyword Map

1. Choosing a Topic

Select the topic or theme you aim to rank highly in search results for.

The topic is a critical element that determines the direction of your web content. Deciding on your topic depends on your target audience and content strategy. Base your topic on the persona you’re targeting to ensure it resonates with them. If you already have published web content, try to choose a topic closely related to your existing genre. For example, if you’re thinking about web content that introduces picture books, you might choose “early childhood education” as your topic. It’s better to choose a topic with a certain volume rather than a niche one.

• Identifying Related Keywords

Check keywords related to the chosen topic. The main types of related keywords include:

• Suggest Keywords
• Keywords that bring traffic to the site
• Keywords from social media

Suggest keywords appear below the search bar when you start typing a keyword.

Check related content or topics by entering them. For inbound keywords, see how users are finding your web content. You can check this using tools like Google Search Console, which might reveal unexpected keywords, hence identifying user needs.

Using social media like Twitter or Facebook, check reactions to the chosen topic or web content-related keywords. Viewing various opinions is crucial for improving the quality of your web content.

• Checking Monthly Search Volume and Competition 

Check the monthly search volume for keywords related to your topic or web content. Too high a search volume might make it difficult to rank highly, while too low may not bring in much traffic even if you rank well. Balancing the desired outcome of your web content is essential. Monthly search volume refers to the number of times a keyword is searched in a month. Keywords with high search volume are called big keywords, and as the number decreases, they are classified as middle or long-tail keywords.

Big Keywords

are those with a high search volume and many competitors, making it challenging to rank high. The perception of what constitutes high or low search volume can vary by market. Big keywords often consist of a single word, with monthly search volumes often exceeding 10,000. For example, “picture books” with 90,500 monthly searches compared to “picture books for 2-year-olds” with 1,300 searches shows a significant difference.

When ranking high for big keywords with high monthly search volumes, such as ‘picture books,’ you can expect an influx of many search users. However, due to the high competition, including major corporations, achieving a top position is quite challenging. Since big keywords often consist of a single word, it’s not uncommon for search needs to vary widely. Therefore, rather than aiming to rank highly with a single piece of content, it’s advisable to aim for a collection of multiple pieces of content to achieve a high ranking.

Middle Keywords

are those with a monthly search volume between big and long-tail keywords. “Picture books for 2-year-olds,” with 1,300 monthly searches, can be considered a middle keyword. While there’s a chance to rank higher than with big keywords, the influx from ranking high won’t be as significant. However, for small to medium-sized services, these can be target keywords.

Long-tail keywords

such as ‘how to choose picture books for 2-year-olds,’ often consist of three or more words. Due to their lower monthly search volumes, they are sometimes referred to as small or niche keywords. With less competition, they are easier to target for higher rankings. However, the traffic generated from search results is not as significant as with big or mid-tail keywords. Utilizing internal links from long-tail keywords to connect to big keywords and using them as content to improve the ranking of big keywords is advisable.

Recommended Article: Long-Tail SEO: Choosing Effective Long-Tail Keywords Explained Thoroughly

• Deciding on Keywords to Aim for Top SEO Ranking

After understanding the monthly search volume for each keyword, decide on the keywords you aim to rank highly for. Prioritize and select keywords for SEO strategy. Ensure the chosen keywords align with your website’s affinity. Since user needs and competition are always changing, update your selected keywords regularly to create content that meets user satisfaction.

• Creating a Keyword Map

A keyword map visualizes related keywords around a central keyword. It’s similar to a mind map, allowing you to understand the relationships at a glance. Keyword maps can be created using specialized tools and are helpful for SEO. Developing a keyword strategy while creating a keyword map is an option. Using a keyword map to select related keywords and increase the number of quality pages can enhance your website’s expertise, improving search engine evaluation and visibility.

Recommended Article: How to Create a Keyword Map for Effective SEO Use and Free Mapping Tools

Tips for Keyword Selection

 There are various methods for keyword selection, but here are some effective ones that beginners can immediately apply:

• Using Google search suggest words
• Using Rakko Keyword Tool
• Checking volume and competitiveness with Keyword Planner
• Structuring titles and headings with selected keywords

Let’s discuss these further.

Using Google Search Suggest Words 

First, enter a word or phrase related to your content or genre in Google search. As you type, auto-suggest keywords will be displayed. For example, if you enter “Shibuya dinner,” the keywords “Shibuya dinner stylish,” “Shibuya dinner private room,” “Shibuya dinner date,” “Shibuya dinner recommended,” “Shibuya dinner cheap,” “Shibuya dinner girls’ night out,” and “Shibuya dinner Christmas” appear in the suggestions.

This method allows you to structure article titles, headings, and content based on suggested keywords. For beginners, starting with keywords suggested

To check the volume and competitiveness of keywords, use Google’s Keyword Planner. It’s efficient to input a bunch of compound words at once and check the results.

Reference: What is Google Suggest? Thorough explanation of how it works and how to use it

Selecting with the Rakko Keyword Tool

Once you have some keyword ideas from Google’s Suggest function, the next step is to use Rakko Keyword to extract all the compound words associated with the word you have selected.

For example, if you hit the Rakko Keyword search window with the keyword “how to speak,” all compound words for “how to speak” will be extracted. Since compound words are words that have search needs, selecting the ones you want to write about in more detail will help you create article titles, headlines, and content that you can expect to increase traffic.

Use a keyword planner to check volume and competitiveness

If you want to get a better idea of the volume and competitiveness of a keyword at the time of keyword selection, use the Keyword Planner provided by Google. It is more efficient to enter many compound words at once and check the results.

Reference: A Clear Guide on How to Use Google Keyword Planner

Compose titles and headings with the selected keywords

After understanding the variations, compound words, search volume, and competitiveness of the keywords you want to write about, proceed to structure your titles and headings.

The answers to the titles and headings will form the body of your content, naturally fulfilling user needs if written correctly.

For company or business sites, consider whether the content you want to develop on the existing homepage has keywords with demand or if they can be replaced with other in-demand keywords. Replace keywords in areas that can be improved with the selected ones.

Recommended Tools for Keyword Selection 

There are mainly six tools recommended for beginners or those who find keyword selection challenging:

• Rakko Keyword
• Google Keyword Planner
• Google Trends
• ChatGPT
• Google Search Console
• SimilarWeb
• Ahrefs
• SEMRUSH

Below, I will explain.

Rakko Keyword 

Rakko Keyword is a tool useful for SEO and content creation, allowing research on suggest keywords, search volume, top page headings, and Q&A site topics for efficient keyword strategy development. With a user-friendly UI, this tool is sufficient for beginners to carry out keyword selection tasks.

Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is a free tool offered by Google. Designed for advertisers, it’s also useful for SEO and content creation. It helps check search volume data and competitiveness, contributing to keyword selection that can increase access.

Reference: A Clear Guide on How to Use Google Keyword Planner

Google Trends 

Google Trends allows real-time tracking of search engine trends, offering the latest and popular keywords and topics instantly. By incorporating trends quickly, it’s possible to rank higher with less competition and achieve significant traffic gains in a short period, especially beneficial for content related to specific events or topics.

Reference: What is Google Trends? Explaining Its Functions and Utilization Methods

ChatGPT 

ChatGPT enables excellent automated generation with AI, effectively utilized in creating articles or headlines from selected keywords. For instance, inputting selected keywords into ChatGPT and asking, “Please provide 10 article title suggestions suitable for SEO with this keyword,” yields ten title suggestions. ChatGPT is effective when looking to expand ideas on how to handle selected keywords.

Reference: How to Use ChatGPT for SEO Strategy? Introducing Recommended Prompts

Google Search Console 

Google Search Console is a free tool for monitoring and optimizing the performance of websites on search engines. It provides data on how a website appears on search engines and the performance of search queries, which is useful for revising or optimizing SEO strategies.

It offers insights on what keywords to add or remove for already created pages (articles), serving as a reference.

Reference: Introduction and Usage of Google Search Console Explained

Similar Web 

SimilarWeb allows research on web traffic statistics, user behavior, and referral traffic of specific websites or apps, aiding in keyword selection for competitor sites. It serves as a reference for understanding which keywords competitors rank highly for in search results.

Reference: SimilarWeb Explained: Usage, Differences Between Free and Paid Versions, Benefits, and Cautions

Ahrefs 

Ahrefs is an SEO tool with various features usable for keyword selection, including researching keywords competitors are succeeding with or daily ranking fluctuations of operated sites versus competitor sites. Primarily a paid tool.

Recommended Article: Comprehensive Guide on Ahrefs: How to Use, Cautions, and More

SEMRUSH 

SEMRUSH provides various analyses for keywords, including checking monthly search volumes or listing top-ranking domains. It also comes equipped with multiple SEO functions.

Frequently Asked Questions on Keyword Selection

Q: What is keyword selection? 

A: In SEO, keyword selection refers to the process of choosing search queries related to specific pages or content and optimally utilizing them. The purpose of keyword selection is to aim for a higher ranking on search engines, increasing access and conversion. Properly selecting keywords enhances visibility on search engines and yields quality traffic. Keyword selection differentiates your site from competitors and provides valuable information to search users.

Q: What is the process for keyword selection?

 A: The process for keyword selection in SEO strategies starts with clarifying the business or site’s objectives and identifying the target audience. Next, perform a competitive analysis to understand competitors’ keywords and search rankings. Then, use keyword tools or analytics to check search volumes and relevancy, considering geographically specific keywords as well. Finally, integrate the selected keywords into titles, content, and meta information, enhancing search engine rankings and attracting target users.

Q: How to find keywords for SEO?

A: To find keywords for SEO, effective free tools are available. Utilize Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, Rakko Keyword, and other tools to research search volumes, trends, and related keywords. Analyzing competitor websites and understanding the industry and target audience are crucial. By combining these insights, we can select keywords that align with challenges and objectives. Utilizing free tools enables us to acquire valuable information without incurring costs.

Q: What is the importance of keyword selection? 

A: Keyword selection in SEO is a much earlier step than SEO writing or backlink strategies. Thus, maintaining high quality in initial keyword selection improves article quality, internal structure, and the synergy from backlinks, significantly impacting overall SEO. It is, therefore, a critical task.

Summary 

Keyword selection for SEO consultants covers a wide range and may seem daunting to beginners. However, a simple approach can be effective. By adopting the keyword selection techniques presented here, even beginners can gradually improve their skills in keyword selection through the use of tools and data analysis, continuously enhancing their effectiveness.

Author Profile

International Web Consultant Paveena Suphawet

A trilingual professional in English, Thai, and Japanese, she has numerous achievements in international SEO. She studied the latest IT technologies at Assumption International University, Thailand, and majored in International Business at the University of Greenwich, UK. Following her tenure at ExxonMobil’s Thai branch, she became a key member of Admano from its establishment.

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