SEO Keyword Research: Choosing the Right Keyword for your Blog Post

So you have an idea for a blog post that you can’t wait to write. Or maybe you just finished an article that just came to you out of thin air! That’s awesome. But if you want search engines to find you, you need to pick the right keyword for the post based on your SEO keyword research. How is that done, exactly? Here are a few tips to ensure you choose the perfect keyword.

Does it match your main point?

There is no sense in choosing a keyword if it isn’t central to your argument. For instance, I wouldn’t make the keyword of this blog post you’re reading “blog post tips” when I’m really focusing on SEO. I’m not concerned about how you write your blogs, but how you’re incorporating SEO into them. So the keyword “SEO keyword research” fits much better.

Alternately, keywords like “blog SEO tips” or “how to optimize blog posts for SEO” are also good options. More on why I didn’t pick those in a bit.

Consult previous keyword research

Let’s not reinvent the wheel here. The entire purpose of applying SEO methods to your blogs is to capitalize on keywords you want your brand associated with. So take a look at the SEO keyword research you or your team has already done for previous campaigns.

Does the keyword you’re choosing align with what the research you’ve already done? If not, it’s time to start over.

Check the keyword volume

You can use tools like Moz, Google Keyword Planner, or Keywords Everywhere to check the monthly search volumes of keywords you’d like to use. Don’t choose broad keywords with high search volumes, since those will be too hard to compete for. Try to stick to long tail keywords that get over 150 searches every month.

Additionally, if a keyword has a lot of search volume because it’s used by multiple industries, don’t use it. This isn’t valuable to you, since you don’t want to rank for the wrong industry. Make sure it’s specific to your brand.

“How to optimize blog posts for SEO” is a great keyword in terms of fit for this blog post, but it only gets 10 searches every month. I wanted to expand my reach, so I chose a keyword that gets roughly 170 searches monthly.

Some industries need to use keywords that have low (or no) search volumes because their products are new, and readers aren’t searching for them yet. So choose a keyword that is high relative to the industry it relates to. And always do your research to see if there is a better keyword out there that your audience might already be searching for.

Make sure it works in a sentence

Sometimes it’s really tempting to choose a keyword that seems valuable but is a little convoluted. If it doesn’t work into a sentence well, it’s going to seem like you’re writing for Google instead of humans. Hint: humans don’t like that. And Google is catching on. That’s why SEO tools like Yoast measure readability in addition to things like keyword frequency.

Earlier I mentioned “blog post SEO tips.” While this keyword fits my purposes, it’s difficult to work into a sentence multiple times without sounding like a robot.

So get out into the world and start writing by applying the SEO keyword research tips I’ve shown you here. Still need help? Give us a shout.