Keyword Research
The process of identifying what your target audience searches for: search volume, competition, and search intent (informational/transactional/navigational). The foundation of all SEO and paid advertising.
In practice
Keyword research means learning your customer's language. You sell 'orthopedic running shoes' — the customer searches for 'shoes for knee pain.' Without research, you're talking to yourself.
Common misconception
'Higher volume is always better.' 'Shoes' gets 2M searches with massive competition. 'Running shoes for knee pain' gets 800 searches, low competition, and high purchase intent. Long-tail keywords convert 3-5x better.
How to fix it
No organic ranking on your keywords? (1) Are the terms navigational rather than commercial? (2) Is domain authority below 20? (3) Shift to long-tail keywords with lower competition.
Example
A computer store tried to rank for 'laptop' (competition 95/100). They switched to 'gaming laptop under $1,500' (competition 38/100). First page on Google within 4 months — 1,200 visits/month.
Priority
Do keyword research in week 1. Free tools: Keyword Planner, GSC, AnswerThePublic. Minimal process: 2 hours → 50 keywords → prioritize.
Related terms
Keep learning. Metrics that touch the same area:
- SEO – Search Engine OptimizationSEOThe process of optimizing for high rankings in organic search results. Includes: technical SEO (speed, structure), on-page (content, keywords), off-page (inbound links).
- Google Search Console (GSC)SEOA free Google tool: keywords, clicks, impressions, CTR, ranking, crawl errors, and indexing issues.
- On-Page SEOSEOImprovements made directly on a page: H1-H3 headings, meta descriptions, URLs, content, alt text, internal links, schema markup. Fully within your control.
- BacklinksSEOLinks from external sites — a 'vote of confidence' in Google's eyes. Quality links (from authoritative sites) impact ranking. Quantity matters less than quality.
- Core Web VitalsSEOThree site performance metrics: LCP (main content load < 2.5s), INP (interaction responsiveness < 200ms), CLS (visual stability < 0.1). Google factors these into rankings.
- Product FeedSEOA structured file (XML/CSV) with details for every product, sent to Google Shopping, Facebook Catalog, and Amazon. Feed quality directly impacts ROAS.
Jimmy tracks your Keyword Research, automatically
WhatsApp alerts when something important changes. No dashboards, no hassle.