Keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEO strategy, but many businesses approach it the wrong way. While it’s common to focus on keyword volume or rankings, the real goal of keyword research should be to align with user intent and business objectives. In this blog, we’ll explore how to shift away from outdated methods and adopt an approach that connects search terms to meaningful outcomes, such as conversions and revenue.
Many companies make the mistake of viewing keyword research as a numbers game. They select search terms based purely on search volume and competition metrics, assuming that high-traffic keywords will automatically translate into success. This approach, however, often leads to wasted effort. Why? Because keywords with high traffic may not align with what your audience actually needs or what your business offers.
The main issue with this method is that it focuses too heavily on visibility over relevance. SEO isn’t just about ranking high—it’s about driving relevant traffic that converts into sales or actions. If a business attracts large amounts of irrelevant traffic, it might see increased site visits, but without meaningful engagement or purchases, the effort yields no return.
Keyword research must go beyond traffic metrics to focus on intent-driven search terms that meet users’ needs at each stage of their journey. This ensures that the keywords selected don’t just generate traffic but also contribute to business growth.
The true purpose of keyword research is not just to increase site traffic but to identify relevant opportunities where your business can meet customer needs. Keywords serve as the bridge between what users search for and what your business offers.
By aligning search terms with user intent, businesses can create content that resonates with their audience, increasing the chances of conversion and retention. The right keywords help:
Keyword research also informs content strategy, helping businesses prioritize efforts based on what users are actively searching for. This ensures that resources are spent effectively, focusing on content that meets user needs and leads to measurable business outcomes.
The primary rule of effective keyword research is simple: Focus on user intent. The reason SEO works isn’t just because of ranking—it’s about matching the right content to the right users at the right time. Brands make money through SEO by understanding what potential buyers are looking for and ensuring their content answers those needs throughout the buyer’s journey.
Intent plays a critical role in determining which keywords to target. For example:
The brands that succeed with SEO don’t just aim to rank—they strategically place their products and services where users are most likely to search for them, converting intent into revenue.
SEO isn’t about advertising—it’s about organic product placement. Unlike paid ads, which push products in front of users, SEO relies on naturally positioning content where it will be found when needed. When done correctly, keyword research ensures that the right content appears at the right time, building trust and authority in the process.
Consider SEO as a form of digital shelf space—your goal is to have your content appear exactly when a user is searching for it. Unlike traditional advertising, which interrupts the customer’s journey, well-placed SEO content integrates seamlessly into the user’s search experience. This approach makes it more likely that users will engage with your brand because they found it organically at the right moment, rather than being interrupted by a paid message.
Modern consumers are inundated with information and have limited time to spare. When performing keyword research, it’s important to recognize that concise, relevant answers will always outperform long-winded or irrelevant content. Users expect instant solutions to their queries, meaning businesses need to anticipate what users are searching for and deliver precise, actionable content.
This is why understanding search intent is crucial. A keyword strategy that reflects the time constraints and cognitive load of the modern user is more likely to succeed. Businesses must focus on clarity and relevance, offering content that gets straight to the point.
Content optimized with the right keywords isn’t just about visibility—it’s about capturing attention quickly and guiding users toward conversion before they lose interest.
Developing a successful keyword strategy involves more than selecting high-traffic terms; it’s about aligning your keywords with user intent, business goals, and the buyer journey. The correct process ensures that keywords serve a purpose beyond visibility, helping businesses generate relevant traffic and meaningful engagement. This requires thoughtful planning, competitor analysis, understanding customer behavior, and verifying the value of each keyword asset. A strategic approach ensures that content meets user expectations at every stage, from discovery to conversion.
The first step in keyword research is recognizing a critical truth: brands are easily forgotten if not actively positioned in front of consumers at the right moments. This is where SEO aligns with the buyer’s journey, a series of steps users take, from learning about a product to deciding to purchase it. Each interaction is an opportunity to build recognition and relevance. Much like discovering new products while browsing store aisles, consumers encounter new brands through search engines—starting with broad, head terms that are general in nature but expensive and competitive to target.
A keyword strategy needs to be realistic and aligned with the client’s budget and capabilities. There is no value in pursuing high-traffic, high-cost keywords if the resources aren’t in place to compete for them effectively. The goal is to design a strategy that matches both business goals and SEO feasibility, which is where the SMART framework becomes essential:
Many of these insights can be gathered with a quick client consultation paired with an initial data review, including basic competitor research. This early step isn’t meant to be exhaustive but serves as a practical guide to steer the strategy in the right direction and align everyone involved on key priorities.
With a solid framework in place, the next step is to move deeper into competitor and customer keyword research, which provides the insights needed to refine and sharpen your strategy.
To effectively conduct keyword research, gathering as much data as possible about customer behavior and competitors is essential. Valuable sources for this data include:
In-house teams typically have greater access to these resources, while agencies or freelancers may need to focus on targeted tools. The goal isn’t to compile an endless list of keywords but to gain clarity on how customers search when they enter the market.
A critical part of this phase is understanding search intent—what your potential customers are thinking when they use specific keywords. For example, someone interested in buying a fish tank may search in a variety of ways:
ChatGPT is a useful starting point to brainstorm keyword categories and formulas that reflect common search patterns. This tool can offer structured insights, revealing opportunities to analyze competitors and market segments, all without relying on a specific paid tool.
The focus of this phase is not to collect every possible keyword but to gather actionable insights to build a data-driven SEO strategy. This research helps create a detailed understanding of how consumers interact with your market, allowing you to align content with user behavior. With this information in hand, you can now map your buyer’s keyword journey, ensuring your SEO strategy meets users at every stage of the decision-making process.
To build an effective keyword strategy, you need to understand who your customers are and how they search at different stages of their buying process. This involves mapping the search journey from the first interaction with a product or service through to the final decision. Each stage reflects the different intent behind search terms, requiring businesses to meet customers where they are at every step.
For example, imagine you’re looking for car insurance for your new driver. Initially, you might search for broad, general terms like “cheap car insurance” or “insurance for new drivers.” These searches represent the early exploration phase—the first touchpoints where buyers evaluate options. But a few days or weeks later, after reading more online and encountering additional questions through Google's People Also Ask (PAA) section, your search terms might evolve into “how to lower insurance costs for new drivers”.
This scenario reflects what Google calls the “messy middle”—a phase where users move back and forth between exploration and evaluation, considering multiple brands or products. Brands need to appear at these touchpoints to enter the user’s consideration set—the list of potential providers they are willing to purchase from.
The buyer’s keyword journey can vary by industry and product. For some sectors, this journey takes minutes; for others, it can extend over months or even years. Mapping this journey helps predict how customers search and shows where your brand needs to position itself to capture buyer intent effectively.
As you gather keyword data, sorting terms into these three categories—head, body, and long-tail—will help structure your strategy. Using a simple spreadsheet with three columns for these categories allows for easy management of the keywords as your plan takes shape.
Even if your budget limits your ability to rank for competitive head terms, a focus on body and long-tail keywords can still position you to capture users with buyer intent. Alternatively, narrowing your strategy to specific, niche audiences may be more practical for your business.
Once you’ve collected data from keyword research tools and analytics platforms, the next step is to align keywords with the specific needs of your customers. These needs represent the motivations behind search queries—what prospects are looking to achieve or solve when they engage with a search engine. Google, in partnership with Kantar, identified six primary needs that drive search behavior:
This need reflects early-stage searches, where users seek inspiration and ideas. These searches are short and exploratory, often serving as a brief adventure to discover new trends or success stories. Social platforms, such as TikTok, thrive in this space, capturing users with entertaining content.
Similarly to "thrill me," these searches are broad and curiosity-driven, aiming to spark new ideas or offer unexpected inspiration. Consumers engaging in these searches are often in the exploratory phase, playing with various search iterations and enjoying the process without a specific goal in mind.
Searches under this need focus on gaining knowledge and control. Users look for reviews, comparisons, and detailed explanations to make informed decisions. At this stage, they are often evaluating brands and gathering evidence for their purchase, which means content that demonstrates E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) plays a crucial role.
When users search with this intent, they are looking for status, exclusivity, or prestige. These queries tend to be specific and targeted, such as searches for luxury products or high-end services. Brands that cater to this need can position premium offerings to appeal to consumers seeking quality and uniqueness.
These queries indicate users have a problem to solve or are looking for practical solutions. They often include terms related to advice, tools, or answers (e.g., “plumber near me”). Local businesses, SaaS tools, or service providers can capture this intent by providing helpful content or offering immediate solutions for urgent needs.
Searchers in this category seek support and peace of mind. These queries are often post-purchase, focusing on aftercare, FAQs, or troubleshooting (e.g., “how to return a product”). Businesses that offer clear, trust-building content can reduce complaints, support tickets, and improve customer satisfaction.
Once you’ve identified these needs, the next step is to assign keywords to the appropriate search intent category. Use a spreadsheet to organize your head, medium-tail, and long-tail keywords under each need. For example, a company selling garden furniture might find more “thrill me” searches for design inspiration, while a beauty business may focus on cost-related or location-based searches under the "help me" category.
This exercise helps structure your content strategy around real customer needs, ensuring that your keywords serve not just for rankings but also for addressing consumer motivations at each stage of their search journey. With your keyword categories in place, the next step is to develop content assets that meet these needs effectively.
To effectively select your keyword assets, you’ll need to create two keyword lists:
These are used at the start of the search journey, helping users explore options and gather information. They align with needs such as:
These keywords reflect a more focused intent, where users compare options and decide whether your products or services meet their needs. They align with needs such as:
There may be overlaps between exploration and evaluation keywords depending on your business, and you’ll need to categorize them based on your data. For example, if your research shows that customers need educational content, you might create guides or knowledge hubs to address that intent. Alternatively, if your audience seeks reassurance, a review section or testimonials could be valuable.
Here are a few content assets you can create based on keyword intent:
Each keyword should align with a specific content asset to ensure that your website effectively meets user needs. With your keywords organized and assets identified, you're ready to move on to the final stage of refining your SEO strategy.
This final step is about refining keywords by assessing their commercial viability. While many guides start with tools, the focus here is on developing a tool-agnostic approach that ensures consistent results, regardless of which platform you use.
You should now have two keyword lists—exploration and evaluation—with corresponding content assets (e.g., calculators, how-to guides). The goal is to determine if each keyword is worth pursuing by reviewing:
For example, if your research identifies high search intent around “how much X costs,” you could build a cost calculator. However, it’s essential to assess whether the keyword's competitive landscape makes it feasible to pursue, especially considering time and budget constraints.
By the end of this process, you’ll have a prioritized list of actionable assets and keywords, fully aligned with consumer needs and business goals. This structured, deliberate approach makes it easier to get stakeholder buy-in and ensure every keyword you target delivers measurable value.
Effective keyword research is not just about gathering data but about aligning keywords with user intent, business goals, and consumer needs. By following a structured process—building exploration and evaluation keyword lists, mapping the buyer’s journey, and selecting viable assets—your SEO strategy becomes more focused and actionable. This approach ensures that every keyword serves a purpose, drives meaningful engagement, and offers real business value. With stakeholder support and clearly defined priorities, your strategy will be better positioned to deliver measurable results over time.
At ITM, we focus on creating dynamic websites that are optimized for SEO performance, helping businesses in South Africa stand out online. Our expertise lies in designing responsive websites that provide excellent user experiences and SEO strategies that increase visibility and drive traffic. We ensure that each solution is tailored to meet specific business goals, focusing on measurable outcomes such as higher engagement and conversions. With a deep understanding of modern web design and search engine algorithms, ITM delivers solutions that grow your online presence effectively.
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