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In today's rapidly evolving world, the success of any website depends on an effective strategy and making the right decisions. Getting a high position in search engine results is the foundation for any website owner. However, a high position alone does not guarantee success if we are visible only to a limited audience. The decisive factor for achieving the goal is to choose the right keywords - those that are actually searched for by Internet users.
In this article, I will show you how to determine search volume, that is, the average number of monthly queries for a given keyword, using the easiest techniques and tools available on the market. I invite you to continue reading!
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The easiest way to verify whether a particular phrase is of interest to users is to use the suggestions that appear in Google when a query is entered. These suggestions are often for long tail phrases, which may have a lower search volume, but are more precise and better suited to searchers' intentions.
Another way to discover keywords that are popular among users is to use the similar searches section, which is usually located at the end of the search results page.
It is worth noting, however, that using the search engine's suggestions and similar searches section, we will not get precise information on volume, i.e. the average number of searches for a given keyword per month. Google provides suggestions for phrases searched by others, but does not provide data on their actual popularity. Fortunately, there are specialized tools that make it possible to verify the popularity of keywords, presenting the results in numerical form.
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There is a wide range of tools and add-ons, designed for analyzing and working with keywords, that enable detailed research in this area. However, it should be borne in mind that most of these solutions are not available for free, and the purchase of at least a basic subscription version is required to be able to analyze keywords in the context of their search popularity.
At the top of the list is the Keyword Planner, a free tool offered by Google for, among other things, finding keywords and analyzing their volume and trends in the context of Google Ads.
In order to use the Keyword Planner, it is necessary to sign in to Google Ads with your Google account. Once logged in, simply go to the Tools section and select Keyword Planner. Two options will then appear: “Discover new keywords” and ”Check search volumes and forecasts.” Regardless of which function you choose, both allow you to get data on the average number of searches for a given keyword.
We then enter the keywords we are interested in, specify the language and location (for example, country or city). When we don't currently have any ad campaign in our Google Ads account, the tool will present the results in a less precise form, that is, as a numerical range:
We will get more accurate data if there is an active campaign on our account. When we enter the same key phrases for cough syrups, we will get detailed information about search volume and current trends:
If you hover the cursor over the graph, you will get detailed information about the number of searches in specific months:
Another tool from Google that allows you to monitor the popularity of key phrases is Trends. It allows you to track the evolution of interest among users and analyze seasonal fluctuations in queries.
In the graph, popularity is displayed using a numerical scale from 0 to 100, where a value of 100 indicates that a keyword phrase is very popular, while a value of 0 means that Google does not have enough data to determine the popularity of a particular keyword.
Senuto is a tool from Poland that offers a wide range of features and an extensive keyword database. It allows SEO experts to monitor the effects of their efforts, analyze the actions of competitors and find new key phrases that can attract more visitors to the site.
Senuto's developers are giving new users the opportunity to try the app for free for a period of 14 days.
So how do you research the popularity of a specific keyword in Senuto? After logging in, go to the Keyword Database section and enter the search term. The screen will display a list of keywords with data on the average monthly number of searches, number of variations, trends, cost per click (CPC) and the number of words making up the phrase.
Ahrefs is one of the most reputable tools on the market, having gained recognition since 2010 mainly due to its advanced backlink analysis capabilities and comprehensive site auditing. As part of its extensive feature offering, Ahrefs also provides keyword research tools.
The Keywords Explorer feature in Ahrefs is ideal for determining the number of searches for a given phrase. It is available to users who have purchased access to this tool.
SEMSTORM is a subscription tool that allows you to perform detailed keyword analysis, including determining the number of searches for your keywords. Of course, this is just one of the many features that SEMSTORM offers, providing a wide range of capabilities.
In order to use this tool, it is necessary to create an account, which opens access to some free features. One of them is the “Keywords” section, which, however, functions differently than, for example, the Keyword Planner from Google or the Senuto tool. When you enter the phrase you're associated with, you get an extensive list of suggestions, mostly consisting of long tail phrases, but without information on their volume, which limits our knowledge of the approximate number of searches.
The paid version of the tool includes Suggester functionality, which provides search volume data for selected keywords.
SEMrush is a versatile tool used by SEO experts around the world to optimize a website, analyze the competition or effectively run advertising campaigns. It is also invaluable for keyword research and analysis.
Creating an account with SEMrush is required to use the tool, but you don't have to immediately decide to purchase a subscription to take advantage of some of the basic options. To perform comprehensive keyword analysis, however, you'll need the Pro version, which requires you to enter each keyword separately. It is also worth bearing in mind that a limit of 10 queries per day is imposed on users without a paid subscription.
In the keyword overview interface, we get information about the number of searches and the difficulty of the phrase from SEMrush's perspective. In addition, the tool provides clues about user intent and trends, presented through a simple graph, without additional comments. Below we can also find suggestions for other keywords that can be useful in the process of developing our website.
AnswerThePublic is a useful tool that allows you to create lists of questions and key phrases based on popular queries. This allows us to select the right keywords for our website and provides the ability to check their popularity. A limited amount of information is available in the free version of the tool, but the developers offer the possibility to try the full version for 7 days at no cost.
Ubersuggest is a tool closely related to AnswerThePublic - both are part of NP Digital, founded by Neil Patel, a well-known SEO expert. In its basic version, the tool is available to everyone and allows analysis of the popularity of specific phrases. Ubersuggest also offers features such as “Keyword Ideas” and “Content Ideas,” which allow you to generate keyword suggestions and concepts for articles or posts capable of attracting potential customers to your site.
At the end of our review is a free Chrome browser extension designed by Surfer, a company well known to SEO professionals around the world through their flagship product, Surfer SEO. This free extension presents search volume for a selected phrase directly in Google search results, as well as offering a list of related suggestions.
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In this section you will learn where and how to search for key phrases. We will show you how to prepare for this and which places on the Internet are worth analyzing.
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The first step is to define the scope of your keywords, which means determining the basic terms related to your field of activity. You can't approach this task too narrowly. Think about the industry from the perspective of the customer, whose level of knowledge, approach to the product and terms used often differ from yours. Based on this, determine what key phrases you will be searching for.
To find out what keyword phrases your competitors are positioning for, there are several places to analyze. We'll discover how to examine your rivals' keywords by researching:
However, it is not worth focusing excessively on your competitors' keywords! Think of it as an opportunity to understand their keyword strategy, not as a task of listing every phrase found in detail.
Source code
You don't have to be an SEO or programming expert to research competitors' keywords hidden in their site's code. Open a page that interests you, such as your competitor's main site. You can then access the site's code in a variety of ways:
You will find yourself on a code page - although it may seem complicated, don't worry. You'll easily find what you need!
Pay special attention to the title metatag. To find it, use the shortcut CTRL+F and type “title”. The browser will find this element in the page code. What you will find just after the highlighted word is the title of the subpage. It is in the title that you should find the key word under which the page is positioned, telling Google's search engine algorithms what the main topic of the page is.
You can easily see the title of a page without looking at its source code - just look at the top bar of your browser. However, accessing the page code gives you the ability to copy the text, which is much more convenient than manually rewriting keywords if you intend to collect them.
The next step is to find the meta description - use the CTRL+F key combination and enter “description”. This is the description of the page, where also often appear key phrases for which the competition is positioned. Check the home page and pay attention to the key sub-pages of the site (e.g. offer, main categories).
Although some sources may recommend looking for the “keyword” metatag in the page code, keep in mind that as of 2009 Google does not take this tag into account for SEO, so from an SEO point of view it is not relevant. Many sites don't even complete it, so while you can check it, it's not worth your time to do so.
Sub-pages indexed by Google
By indexed pages, we mean those that have been registered by Google's robots and are visible in search engine results pages (SERPs). By analyzing their titles, you can learn about some of the keywords used by competitors, but this is only part of the picture. It's worth conducting such an analysis to understand a rival's strategy - what sub-sites it has, what products it offers. This knowledge is essential to create content of greater value to users, taking into account already existing material.
To see which of your competitors' sites are indexed by Google, go to the search engine's website, then type “site:” and the address of your competitor's main site, such as:
Don't waste your time analyzing keywords from all available results! Focus on key sub-pages and, as with metatag research, use this analysis as a source of inspiration and additional knowledge about your competition, rather than as a direct list of phrases to use.
Take a look at your competitors' subsites and blog to see what they are publishing there! Pay special attention to headlines, which often contain key words. Content creators on websites still often graphically highlight important key phrases in the text - so read the content carefully.
Your own keywords! Have you ever wondered what queries are driving users to your site? To find out what your site visitors are typing in, use Ubersuggest or Google Analytics. These tools will reveal what phrases your site appears under in search results - we'll discuss this in more detail in the next section of this guide. You may come across interesting phrases and better understand what attracts your customers.
One of the key places to discover interesting phrases are online forums, especially those where users actively ask questions and exchange experiences and advice. As we have already mentioned in the context of theoretical considerations of keyword research: often, the establishment of a thread in a forum indicates that the author was looking for answers in a search engine, but did not find satisfactory information. By analyzing the topics raised by forum users, we may come across as yet unexplored areas and issues that are highly relevant to our target audience.
The result of the previous search should be a set of phrases that caught your attention. Now it's time for the next step: filtering out those keywords that may not bring the expected improvement in your website's visibility. In this section, you will learn how to verify keywords and what criteria to use when selecting them.
This issue is probably of greatest interest to most people. A variety of tools, both free and those requiring a subscription, are used to analyze keyword popularity. A detailed discussion will follow, but it is worth mentioning some of them now. The volume of searches for a given phrase on Google can be checked using tools such as Keyword Planner from Google Ads or Ubersuggest. If you are interested in paid options, Semstorm, Ahrefs or Senuto may be a good choice.
When analyzing the popularity of keywords, there are several aspects to consider. First, the frequency of typing a particular phrase may depend on the popularity of a particular industry. Second, there are many ways to formulate the same query - although most tools report the popularity of a particular form of the phrase. For example, the queries “where are Google server farms” and “Google server farms where” may have similar popularity, but are treated as separate phrases by the tools.
This demonstrates the power of optimizing for long tail phrases: focusing not just on a few keywords, but a broader spectrum can yield better SEO results.
Even the highest popularity of a phrase in Google search does not translate into success if we are not able to get a high position for that phrase. So how do we assess whether a keyword offers us a real opportunity to achieve a good position? The solution is simple - just type the phrase we are interested in into Google and analyze what pages and what types of content appear in the search results.
The final step is to determine where your chosen phrases can be placed on your site.
Consider the structure of your site and decide whether a search keyword deserves a dedicated sub-page, or if it fits perfectly into the content of an existing page. Consider whether the phrase is suitable for a new blog post, or whether existing content would be better optimized for it. Keep user intent in mind: when a potential customer searches for a specific phrase, they should come across something that really interests them, so make decisions strategically.
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Before you go any further, consider one question. If you were a manufacturer of handmade oak tables, would you consider it worthwhile to position a sub-site under the informative phrase “how to make a wood table yourself” in hopes of attracting profits?
The answer is yes!
This may surprise you, given that we have previously stressed the importance of understanding user intent (recall the article on user intent), and you may also assume that a person interested in making a table on their own will not be interested in buying your product.
However, don't make this mistake! By creating a valuable sub-page on the topic of DIY table, you open your site to people interested in this topic, allowing them to discover your offer among many others. You build the image of an expert in your industry (after all, by writing tutorials, you prove your knowledge!), encourage potential customers to take your advice and learn more about your products (what kind of tables does someone who has written such a thoughtful tutorial make?), and increase your reach (a person who appreciated your article may recommend it to other DIY enthusiasts).
This all adds up to an Inbound Marketing strategy - an approach to sales that allows customers to discover your products when they show interest themselves, rather than being persuaded to buy by intrusive advertising.
As with SEO, the results of Inbound Marketing are long-term - you gradually build a positive image of your brand in the eyes of consumers, who, when they decide to buy a table, will choose a trusted expert, namely your company.
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This challenge is well known to specialists in various sectors. For example, polyvinyl chloride windows are often sought out by customers as “PVC windows,” even though the correct name is “PVC windows.” Similarly, motorcycles are sometimes referred to as “motorcycles.” However, these misnomers do not invalidate the fact that they are commonly used by people searching for relevant products and services online.
Faced with such a situation, don't ignore the phrases you've discovered, but find a way to use them. You can, for example, write a blog article with the title “Do PVC windows really exist?” or “Why driving a motorcycle can be confusing.”
We have already mentioned that it is best when a website is tailored to one, possibly two key phrases. Such a strategy is not arbitrary. For one thing, it is easier to design a site and create materials focused on a single topic than to artificially expand the scope of content to include more phrases. In this way, we can create comprehensive, in-depth and useful material for the audience - the kind that is highly ranked by Google.
Second, search engines prefer sites that focus on a narrow specialty - that is, sites that discuss a single topic, rather than dissecting many different issues.
One might suppose: “If optimizing a page for one phrase is so important, wouldn't it be even better to optimize several pages for the same phrase?”. However, the answer to this question is definitely negative. Designing multiple pages focused on a single keyword can lead to a situation known in SEO as keyword cannibalization.
Discovering that your competitors have a limited amount of content on their sites can be very beneficial. It is important to remember that the goal of SEO is not to copy your competitors' actions, but to do them much better - preferably ten times better! Creating valuable, interesting and useful content increases your ability to improve your site's ranking in Google search results.
Keyword analysis of your competitors is aimed not at replacing them in search engine positions, but at finding and exploiting niches, i.e., keywords that are currently poorly served by Google content, are outdated or insufficiently developed. Therefore, a study of your rivals' keyword phrases should serve as a source of inspiration and a guide for further action on your site, rather than as a direct set of phrases to adopt.
When you analyze the number of searches for specific phrases on Google, you may notice that some keywords have very limited popularity. It can be demotivating to discover that an interesting phrase was searched for only a few times a month. However, don't be discouraged by this - a low number of searches does not mean a failure in keyword research!
We have already mentioned the peculiarities of industry popularity and some limitations of keyword popularity tools, especially those in the long tail category. It is worth adding that one of the main goals of keyword research is to find your niche.
There are many long tail keywords, and optimizing a site for one of them automatically allows us to position ourselves for many variations of it. As a result, what may seem like a small popularity of a phrase can actually significantly increase our online presence. Ten searches for one query per month seems insignificant, but ten searches multiplied by the hundreds of queries to which our site appears makes a big difference.
A site optimized for phrases with low monthly search volume can bring more traffic than trying to get top spots for keywords searched hundreds of times a day. Instead of competing for highly competitive and generic phrases, find your specific niche. Focusing on less popular phrases gives you a chance to attract customers who often don't find exactly what they are looking for online.
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The task of keyword research is to select phrases that will increase the visibility of the site on the Internet.
When we start working on keywords, we first define a broad search topic. Next, we focus on collecting relevant expressions. For this purpose, we analyze:
As a result, we create a list from which we select those phrases that will best help improve the visibility of our site.
The next step is to analyze the popularity of specific queries and see what Google currently displays when they are entered. We ask ourselves: am I able to create content that is more compelling than what is currently ranking in search results?
The final step is to determine how we intend to use the collected keywords: whether they will be the theme of new pages or enrich the content of existing pages. We keep in mind that effective SEO goes beyond textual content alone and includes comprehensive site optimization and off-page activities.
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