Keyword research helps you discover the exact words and phrases your target audience types into search engines. When performed properly, keyword research turns the real user language into intent-matched pages that win current SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) with minimal waste.
Keyword work in 2025 rewards clarity and momentum, not vanity volume. Follow our ten keyword research steps to move from topics to shipped pages with clean intent match, competitive coverage, and fast on-page deployment.
1. Brainstorm Your Main Topics
Begin your keyword research by identifying the core topics relevant to your business or website. Think about the primary subjects your target audience wants to learn about or the problems they need to solve.
A good place to start with your keyword research:
- List your main business categories and services
- Review customer support tickets and frequently asked questions
- Analyze your existing content performance to identify successful topics
- Think about seasonal trends and industry-specific themes
- Consider your target audience’s pain points and interests
Customer support tickets provide a goldmine of topic ideas expressed in your audience’s exact language. People contact support when they face specific problems or need clarification on particular features. These interactions reveal both the topics that matter most to your audience and the precise words they use to describe their challenges.
Write down every topic idea without filtering them initially. You refine this list later during the research process. Each topic should represent a broad theme that you can expand into multiple pieces of content.
2. Analyze and Cluster Keyword Groups
Your next keyword research step is analyzing keywords and clustering them, which turns raw topics into pages that target the right intent and task. Analyzing and clustering keywords prevents mixed pages, sets the right format, and defines how supporting queries fit under a single promise.
The Search Atlas Content Planner tool helps you analyze groups of related keywords within your chosen topics. Search Atlas Content Planner primarily focuses on content creation, but it reveals valuable keyword clusters from the same topic area.
Search Atlas Content Planner shows you how keywords relate to each other and identifies content gaps in your current strategy. The tool displays keyword groups that share similar search intent and topical relevance. You discover new content opportunities by examining these keyword clusters.
The great thing is that you can start creating content directly from the Search Atlas Content Planner interface. The Content Planner streamlines the process from keyword research to content creation. You save time by working within a single platform that handles both research and content development.
3. Analyze Your Seed Keywords
Seed keywords form the starting point for deeper keyword research. These are the basic terms that describe your main topics and business offerings.
The Search Atlas Keyword Research tool provides essential metrics for each seed keyword, including search volume, keyword difficulty, search intent, trending data, and cost-per-click (CPC) information. Search volume indicates how many people search for a keyword monthly. Keyword difficulty measures how challenging it is to rank for that term.
[Search Atlas Keyword Research Feature Video Compressed]
Search volume provides the foundation for understanding keyword opportunity, but raw numbers can be misleading. A keyword with 10,000 monthly searches might seem more valuable than one with 1,000 searches, but the smaller keyword could drive more qualified traffic and conversions.
Keyword difficulty scores help you prioritize targets based on your website’s current authority. New websites should focus on keywords with difficulty scores below 30, while established sites can target more competitive terms.
High cost-per-click values indicate that businesses are willing to pay significant amounts to reach searchers using those terms. These keywords often represent high-value opportunities for organic traffic, as they attract users with strong purchase intent.
4. Analyze Search Intent
Search intent represents the reason behind a user’s search query and determines what type of content you need to create. Understanding search intent ensures your content matches what searchers actually want to find.
The 4 main types of search intent are informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional.
Informational intent occurs when users seek knowledge or answers to questions. Navigational intent happens when users look for specific websites or pages.
Commercial intent indicates users research products or services before making purchase decisions. Transactional intent shows users ready to buy or take specific actions.
Informational keywords typically begin with question words like “how,” “what,” “why,” “when,” and “where.” These searches indicate users seeking knowledge, explanations, or step-by-step guidance. Content for informational intent should be comprehensive, educational, and focused on solving problems or answering questions.
Commercial intent keywords include comparison terms like “best,” “top,” “vs,” “review,” and “comparison.” Users with commercial intent are actively evaluating options and considering purchases. Content for these keywords should focus on product comparisons, feature analysis, and buying guidance.
Transactional keywords include action words like “buy,” “purchase,” “order,” “download,” “sign up,” and “get.” These searches indicate users are ready to take immediate action. Content for transactional intent should minimize friction and guide users directly toward conversion.
5. Find Related Secondary Keywords
Secondary keywords support your primary keywords and help you create comprehensive content that covers topics thoroughly. Secondary keywords, as related terms, expand your content’s relevance and improve your chances of ranking for multiple search queries.
Secondary keywords should include synonyms, related concepts, and supporting topics that naturally connect to your primary focus. Look for keywords that represent different aspects of your main topic to strengthen your overall content authority.
The Search Atlas Keyword Magic tool identifies thousands of related secondary keywords based on your seed terms. The Search Atlas Keyword Magic tool groups keywords by topic and shows their relationships to your main keywords.
Filter secondary keywords by search volume, difficulty, and intent to find the most valuable opportunities. Focus on keywords that complement your primary terms without creating keyword cannibalization issues.
Secondary keywords often reveal opportunities for supporting content that can link back to your primary pages. These supporting pieces build topical authority and create internal linking opportunities that strengthen your overall SEO performance.
Analyze the search volume and competition levels of secondary keywords to identify quick wins that can rank faster than primary terms.
6. Find Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that typically have lower search volume but higher conversion rates. Long-tail keywords face less competition and attract users with clear search intent.
The Search Atlas Keyword Magic tool excels at discovering long-tail keyword opportunities within your topic areas. Long-tail keywords often contain 3 or more words and target specific user needs or questions. These keywords help you capture traffic from users who know exactly what they want.
Target long-tail keywords to build topical authority and attract qualified traffic. Users searching for specific long-tail terms are often closer to making decisions or taking actions. Create dedicated content pieces that thoroughly address long-tail keyword topics.
Question-based long-tail keywords provide excellent content opportunities. Users frequently search for specific questions that reveal exact content topics that can attract targeted traffic. Problem-specific long-tail keywords address particular challenges or use cases, targeting users with specific problems who are likely to engage deeply with relevant content.
7. Spy on Competitor Keywords
Competitor keyword analysis reveals opportunities you might miss through traditional keyword research methods. Understanding which keywords drive traffic to competitor websites helps you identify content gaps and new targeting opportunities.
Start by identifying your true SEO competitors, which may differ from your business competitors. SEO competitors are websites that rank for keywords you want to target, regardless of whether they offer similar products or services. Analyze competitor pages that rank in the top 10 for your target keywords to understand what search engines consider relevant for those terms.
The Search Atlas Keyword Gap tool compares your keyword profile with up to 6 competitors simultaneously. The tool shows keywords that competitors rank for, but you don't target. You discover high-value keywords that successful competitors use to attract your shared target audience.
The Search Atlas Keyword Gap Tool lets you check Keyword Gap, Keywords in Common, Keyword Opportunities, Unique Keywords, and All Keywords.
Pay attention to keywords where multiple competitors rank, but you have no presence. These represent clear opportunities where the market has validated demand, but you're missing potential traffic. Prioritize these gaps based on search volume, relevance to your business, and your ability to create superior content.
8. Automate Keyword Optimization
Set up automations like Search Atlas OTTO SEO to monitor your content performance and provide keyword adjustments based on ranking changes. The automation helps you maintain consistent optimization across your website and all your content pieces. Regular optimization updates keep your content competitive in search results.
OTTO ensures proper keyword placement without over-optimization or keyword stuffing.
Search Atlas OTTO SEO analyzes your content, suggests missing keywords, and finds optimal keyword placement in titles, headings, meta descriptions, and body text. You can send out the changes in bulk and save time on manual keyword optimization tasks.
Automated keyword optimization becomes essential as your content library grows. Manual optimization across hundreds of pages is time-intensive and prone to inconsistencies. Search Atlas OTTO ensures every piece of content follows optimization best practices while maintaining the natural language flow that both users and search engines prefer.
9. Find Trending Keywords
Trending keywords help you capitalize on current events, seasonal trends, and emerging topics in your industry. Top trending keywords offer opportunities to create timely content that attracts immediate attention.
Trending data reveals whether keywords are gaining or losing popularity over time. Rising keywords present opportunities to establish early authority before competition intensifies. Declining keywords might still be valuable for your business, but require different content strategies.
Google Trends reveals which keywords gain popularity over specific time periods. The tool shows regional interest levels and related trending topics. You identify rising keywords before they become highly competitive.
Monitor trending keywords related to your industry on a weekly basis. Create content around trending topics that align with your expertise and audience interests. Time your content publication to coincide with peak interest periods for maximum impact.
Industry events, product launches, and news cycles create temporary spikes in keyword interest. Monitoring these patterns helps you capitalize on trending topics while they're hot and avoid investing heavily in keywords that are losing relevance. Seasonal patterns affect many industries and should influence your content calendar to maximize impact during peak search periods.
Put This Keyword Research Checklist Into Action
To implement this keyword research checklist with 100% efficiency, start with monthly keyword discovery sessions for each major topic area you're targeting. Research what people in your industry actually search for using real search behavior data, not assumptions about what they might want.
Fix keyword cannibalization issues immediately. Multiple pages competing for the same keywords directly impact your search visibility. Same with outdated keyword targeting. Your 2020 keyword strategy won't work in 2025 markets.
Success in keyword research requires patience, data-driven decision-making, and continuous optimization. With proper implementation of these keyword research best practices and the power of Search Atlas tools, you can effectively compete in search results while delivering exceptional value to your target audience across all stages of their customer journey.