Glossary · SEO fundamentals
Keyword research
Definition. Keyword research is the process of finding the queries your audience uses, estimating their volume and difficulty, and deciding which are worth targeting. Volume is the least important of the three inputs for most businesses.
Language models are strong at clustering queries by intent and weak at volume, because they have no search data. The workable pattern is a model for grouping and a data source for the numbers.
Commercial intent usually beats volume. A 90-search keyword with a $40 cost per click frequently outearns a 9,000-search keyword with a $0.20 one.
Difficulty scores are relative to the tool that produced them and to your own site's authority, which is why personalised difficulty is a more useful metric than a generic one.
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Related terms
Search intent
Search intent is what the person actually wants when they type a query: to learn something, to find a…
Keyword difficulty
Keyword difficulty is a tool-generated score estimating how hard it would be to rank on page one for a…
Long-tail keyword
A long-tail keyword is a longer, more specific query with lower search volume and usually clearer…
Search volume
Search volume is the estimated number of monthly searches for a query. Every figure you see is a…
More in SEO fundamentals: Search intent · Keyword difficulty · Search volume · Long-tail keyword · SERP · Featured snippet
Frequently asked questions
What does Keyword research mean?
Keyword research is the process of finding the queries your audience uses, estimating their volume and difficulty, and deciding which are worth targeting. Volume is the least important of the three inputs for most businesses.
Why does Keyword research matter for AI SEO?
Language models are strong at clustering queries by intent and weak at volume, because they have no search data. The workable pattern is a model for grouping and a data source for the numbers.
What is the most common mistake with keyword research?
Difficulty scores are relative to the tool that produced them and to your own site's authority, which is why personalised difficulty is a more useful metric than a generic one.
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