Keywords form the foundation of a strong SEO strategy.
If you want to learn how to choose keywords for SEO, follow this step-by-step guide. It explains how to identify, analyze, and select the best keywords for your business.
Before you start, create a free Semrush account to follow the process. This will help you understand how to use keyword research tools to choose the right keywords.
1. Find Relevant Keyword Ideas
Before choosing which keywords to target, generate a list of keyword ideas.
There are three basic methods to generate that list:
- Identify competitors’ keywords
- Use a seed keyword to find related keywords
- Review keywords you already rank for
Finding Your Competitors’ Keywords
Competitor analysis is an easy way to discover new keyword ideas.
Enter your domain and competitor domains into Semrush’s Keyword Gap tool.
If you know who your main competitors are, enter their domains.
If not, after entering your domain, review the suggested domains to add for comparison.
Next, select the target location and click “Compare.”
The tool compares keyword profiles of the analyzed domains and lists keyword opportunities.
Focus on the “Missing” and “Weak” tabs.
“Missing” shows keywords that competitors rank for but your site doesn’t. “Weak” shows keywords where competitors outrank your site.
If your site is new and has no rankings, skip entering your domain.
Instead, enter five competitors and focus on the “Shared” tab.
This tab lists keywords that all analyzed domains rank for in the top 100 Google results.
These common keywords are likely relevant. If all your competitors target those keywords, they’re probably relevant for you, too.
If the analysis reveals interesting keywords, move to the next section to learn which metrics to consider when choosing the right keywords.
Finding Keywords Using a Seed Keyword
A seed keyword is a broad term you enter in a keyword research tool to uncover related keyword ideas.
For example, a fitness blog might start with “fitness,” “workout,” or “strength training.”
Enter the seed keyword and target location into Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, then click “Search.”
The tool returns many related keywords.
Use the left-side “Keyword Groups” to narrow down topics. These groups cluster related terms.
For “strength training,” common groups include “strength training program,” “strength training exercise,” and “strength training workout.”
Expand these groups and explore subtopics.
You can repeat this process with various seed keywords. This will give you a great overview of your niche and the most important topics.
Finding Keywords You Already Rank for
Review keywords you already rank for to find potential valuable keywords.
If your page ranks poorly for a keyword, Google still considers your content relevant for that search.
Improving or expanding this content can help your page rank higher and drive more traffic.
After identifying low-ranking keywords, you have two choices:
- Improve the existing content to target these keywords more effectively.
- Create new content focused on these keywords.
Use Google Search Console (GSC) to find these keywords.
Open GSC, then go to the “Search results” report under the “Performance” section on the left sidebar.
You’ll see a graph of your site’s performance over time. Under the “Queries” tab, you’ll find keywords your site ranks for.
To work with this data, export the full report by clicking the “Export” button in the top-right corner.
Choose a format (e.g., Google Sheets), open the file, and sort the keywords by “Position,” which is the last column.
Copy the keywords that appear on the second page of Google’s search results (positions 11 to 20).
Next, open Keyword Strategy Builder and click “create a regular list.”
Name the list (e.g., “GSC positions 11-20”), then click the “Add keywords” button.
Paste the copied keywords from GSC into the tool.
You now have a Semrush keyword list containing the keywords that rank on the second search engine results page (SERP). This list lets you analyze these keywords further.
2. Evaluate Keyword Metrics
The best keywords for SEO balance popularity and ranking difficulty.
Focus on two main metrics:
- Search volume: The average monthly searches for the keyword
- Keyword difficulty: The estimated difficulty of ranking in the top 10 organic results
Search Volume
Search volume indicates how many monthly searches a keyword receives.
Here’s where you’ll find it in the Keyword Magic Tool:
If a keyword has zero searches, ranking for it won’t drive a lot of traffic.
However, not all keywords need to have high search volumes.
Long-tail keywords often have lower search volumes but higher conversion potential.
For example, “men’s brown wool half coat” targets a very specific need, likely increasing the chance of a conversion compared to a generic term like “coat.”
In some cases, ranking for multiple long-tail keywords can be more beneficial than ranking for one high-volume keyword.
To find keywords with specific search volumes, use the “Volume” filter in the Keyword Magic Tool.
If you want to see keywords with search volumes of 100 or more, enter “100” as the “From” value under the “Custom range” and hit “Apply.”
Now, you’ll only see keywords that have at least 100 average monthly searches.
Adjust this threshold as needed based on niche size and specificity.
Keyword Difficulty
Keyword difficulty (KD %) estimates the difficulty of ranking in the top 10 organic Google search results for a keyword. The metric ranges from 0 to 100.
In the Keyword Magic Tool, the “KD %” column indicates this difficulty.
Use KD % to find keywords with relatively low competition.
If a keyword’s difficulty is very high, ranking for it may require a very authoritative site. In that case, spending time and resources targeting it may not be worthwhile.
Generally, highly searched keywords often have high KD % scores.
For example, “wireless mouse” has 33,100 monthly searches and a KD % of 80. Ranking for it without strong authority is unlikely.
To find less competitive keywords, apply the “KD %” filter. Set it to show keywords with a difficulty between 0 and 30.
These keywords have lower search volume but are easier to rank for.
At any stage of keyword research, save keywords to a keyword list.
In Semrush, check the boxes next to your desired keywords and click the “+ Add to list” button in the top right corner of the table.
Create a new list by clicking “Create new empty list” at the bottom of the pop-up window.
All lists are stored in Keyword Strategy Builder, where they can be managed easily.
After adding a keyword to a list, a green check mark will appear next to it in the table.
3. Identify Search Intent
Search intent is the main goal behind a user’s search query. It explains why someone searches for a term and what they hope to find.
Identifying search intent helps you:
- Shape your content strategy more effectively
- Remove irrelevant keywords
- Choose the right content formats to target a keyword
- Meet user needs more directly
- Assess a keyword’s business value
There are four main search intent types:
- Navigational intent: The user wants a specific page (e.g., “amazon kindle login”)
- Informational intent: The user wants information (e.g., “what is amazon kindle”)
- Commercial intent: The user wants to do research before converting (e.g., “amazon kindle paperwhite review”)
- Transactional intent: The user wants to complete a transaction (e.g., “amazon kindle paperwhite cover”)
To understand search intent, analyze the SERPs.
Examine what types of pages appear and which SERP features show up. This tells you how Google interprets the keyword’s intent.
For example, the top results for “what is the best kindle” only contain reviews, which means searchers want to see reviews, not product pages.
In other words, their intent is commercial, not transactional.
If you sell Kindle products directly, this keyword may not be ideal for your product page.
Understanding search intent also helps you evaluate a keyword’s business value.
Users move through different stages of the buyer’s journey, and they use different keyword types at each stage.
Matching the right intent at the right stage can increase conversions or support other business goals.
However, manually checking every keyword can be time-consuming.
Semrush tools display “Intent” info so you can quickly filter keywords by search intent.
For example, this is what intent looks like In the Keyword Magic Tool:
Use the filters to only show keywords with the search intent types you want.
For example, if you have a blog, apply intent filters to focus on informational and commercial keywords.
Now, the list only contains keywords that fall into these two intent categories.
SERP analysis is a natural next step to confirm the search intent and refine your keyword selections.
4. Analyze the SERP
SERP analysis means examining a specific keyword’s SERP by looking at SERP features (like featured snippets and People Also Ask boxes) and top-performing pages.
This includes reviewing title tags, headings, content angles, and comprehensiveness.
To conduct SERP analysis, either enter the keyword directly into Google or use the Keyword Overview tool.
Enter your keyword, select the target location, and click “Search.”
In the “SERP Analysis” section, you’ll see the ranking pages for that keyword.
You will also find useful metrics, such as:
- Page AS: Authority Score of the page on a scale from 0 to 100
- Ref. Domains: The number of domains linking to the page
These help you understand the level of competition.
Click the blue link next to any URL to open it in the Organic Research tool, or click the icon to open it in a new window.
You can also click the “View SERP” button in the top-right corner to see a snapshot of the actual results page.
This analysis gives you a clearer idea of:
- Expected content types: For example, if the top results are listicles, a listicle might be the best content format
- Related topics and questions: Look at PAA and other features to see what else users search for
- Content gaps: Identify topics the top results don’t cover so you can provide unique and valuable information
SERP analysis can also help estimate potential organic click-through rate (CTR).
Higher-ranking pages earn higher CTR, according to a Backlinko study.
However, SERP features like ads and featured snippets can reduce clicks to organic listings.
Some searches now yield zero-click searches because Google answers the query directly on the SERP.
In other words, searchers get what they need right on the SERP and decide not to click on any of the search results.
About 25% of searches result in no clicks at all, according to Semrush’s zero-clicks Study.
When selecting keywords, consider the impact of these SERP features.
Semrush’s Keyword Strategy Builder tool provides a “Click Potential” metric that estimates how likely it is for users to click through if you rank highly for that keyword.
A higher percentage means fewer SERP features reduce CTR. A lower number suggests even top-ranking results get fewer clicks.
If you haven’t yet, save your target keywords to a keyword list. Select the keywords, click “+ Add to list,” and store them in Keyword Strategy Builder.
With your keywords saved, you can analyze them further, organize them with tags, and set priorities based on various factors.
5. Select Primary Keywords
A primary keyword (often called a “target keyword”) best represents your page’s topic. It’s usually the most searched keyword within the topic.
You use this keyword to optimize elements like the title tag, main heading, first paragraph, and URL.
Here’s the rule of thumb: Assign one primary keyword per page. This prevents keyword cannibalization and clarifies your content’s main focus for both search engines and users.
Here’s how to choose a primary keyword:
Take your list from step one and choose a keyword that you think might work.
Imagine you select the keyword “long head tricep workout” for your fitness blog.
It has strong metrics and a suitable search intent, according to Keyword Overview.
The SERP shows blog posts focused on exercises for the long head of the triceps. This keyword looks like a good match.
The next step is to find the top-ranking page for your selected keyword and find out what other keywords it’s ranking for.
Running the top-ranking page for “long head tricep workout” through Organic Research shows the page is ranking for similar keywords with higher search volumes. Most notably, “long head tricep exercises.”
This means “long head tricep exercises” is a better primary keyword choice, as it’s the more popular variant.
A quick search will also show you that the results for both keywords are identical, which means Google sees these two keywords as the same.
Confirm this using the SEO Content Template. Enter both keywords into the tool and hit “Create content template.”
If you look at the top-ranking pages for both of them, you’ll notice that the results are basically the same.
Also, take note that secondary keywords (often less popular variants) can still appear naturally in your content. They can help you avoid repetitive language without sacrificing clarity.
As you can see, the top-ranking article ranks for 549 keywords, according to Organic Research.
Even though the page you analyzed doesn’t specifically mention “long head tricep workout,” it still ranks for that keyword and many others.
After selecting a primary keyword, center your page optimization around it and incorporate secondary keywords naturally.
Keep your content clear, readable, and user-focused.
Avoid adding unnecessary terms or over-optimizing with excessive keyword use, as this can ultimately hurt your rankings.
Next Steps
Choosing the right keywords sets the stage for better rankings and more traffic. After understanding these steps, explore more advanced topics:
- Avoiding zero-click searches
- Discovering the best keyword research tools
- Conducting local keyword research
Put this knowledge into practice.
Sign up for Semrush and begin your keyword research journey. Enjoy the process of finding the best keywords and watching your rankings improve.
Happy researching!