Keyword Research for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Imagine if you were able to know beforehand what people are looking for on Google before writing your next blog post. This is the benefit of keyword research. Rather than guessing the topics that could possibly draw people in, you can base your content writing on actual search results and be sure that there is a chance of gaining organic traffic through them.

This guide will show you how to do keyword research and discover some valuable keywords yourself using free tools and even a platform such as [Semrush].

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research refers to the identification and analysis of the terms used by users to search for information, products, services, and other solutions through various search engines. The aim of keyword research is to help the owner of a website learn what his or her potential users want to know and choose the topics for discussion on their sites.

Thus, if one is going to make a website, he or she will most probably make some research on such queries as best web hosting for beginners, how to start a WordPress website, and best SEO tools for small businesses. These queries show what users are interested in and help to generate ideas of what one can write about.

Nevertheless, keyword research implies more than just finding frequently used searches. The search volume, keyword difficulty, and search intent should be also taken into account. The search volume shows how often the specific query was searched by users, the keyword difficulty shows how competitive the keyword may be, and the search intent shows the intentions of users.

To know more about the tool used in keyword research and SEO, please visit our Semrush review to get acquainted with its features and benefits.

Commonly used key terms defined in simple language

• Keyword: a word or phrase that someone will type into a search engine.
• Search volume: the approximate number of searches for it per month.
• Keyword difficulty: an estimation of how difficult it is to show up on page one.
• Search intent: what he or she really wants – to be informed, compare options, purchase something, or find a particular website.
• Long-tail keyword: a longer and more specific phrase (such as “best web hosting for a small bakery website”). The lower search volume, but easier to rank for.

Guide on How to Perform Keyword Research

Step 1: Determine Primary Topics

First, think about primary topics of your website. Try to come up with five to ten topics in general terms based on your audience interest and the services/companies you review.

Let’s assume that it is a website devoted to technologies s. In this case, web hosting, AI writing,VPN services, website design, and digital marketing platforms might be among your primary topics.

Step 2: Look for Keyword Opportunities

Having determined your primary topics, now it is time to look for search terms related to them. It is possible to start with free tools and continue working with SEO tools that require payment.

Free ways to discover keywords:

• Autocomplete from Google: Type in a topic and see what suggestions will appear while you are typing.
• People Also Ask: Look through questions provided by Google and try to understand what issues you may cover in your article.
• Searches related: See the recommendations provided by Google at the bottom of search results.
• Google Search Console: If your website already has some impressions, see the queries leading to your page in search results.

Using Semrush: Use the Semrush Keyword Magic Tool to enter any of your key topics. The Semrush tool will provide a list of related keywords and give information like search volume, keyword difficulty, and the search intent behind that keyword. You can even filter out question based keywords or low competition keywords from the results.

Step 3: Identify the Search Intent

Before deciding which keyword to use, search for it using Google and analyze the pages that come up high in the search results. This will give you an insight into what people are expecting to get from their search.
For instance, when someone searches for “how to choose web hosting,” they need a step-by-step guide, whereas the person searching for “Hostinger review” expects an analysis of that particular firm.
The page you write must fulfill this requirement. It would not be effective if most of the top results were comparison pages that list various firms.

Step 4: Analyze the Keyword Competition

A keyword might seem promising in terms of searches, but just because there is plenty of search traffic doesn’t guarantee ranking for this keyword. Make sure to analyze competition before making a decision about the relevance of the target.

It is possible to find a number of opportunities, including:

• Forum discussion or old articles within the top search results.
• Small websites capable of outranking big brands.
• Existing web pages that offer incomplete information or forget to answer important questions.

Using Semrush, one can get an idea about the difficulty of ranking by analyzing the Keyword Difficulty rating. The value between 30-40 seems to be acceptable for the newly built site. Still, do not consider it as the ultimate guide for choosing keywords.

Step 5: Choose the Appropriate Keywords

a few keywords that will supplement the theme of your article.

When selecting keywords, consider those which:

• Have relevance to your website’s theme and targeted audience.
• Are intents that your content could fulfill.
• Are realistic in the context of your website’s current standing in SEO.
• Are relevant in the context of your business objectives (such as making affiliate clicks, or allowing people to compare the services). 

For instance, a comparison of web hosting companies should consider the primary keyword “WP Engine vs Hostinger,” along with other keywords that cover performance, prices, and user appropriateness.

Step 6: Analyzing Your Competitors

Competitor analysis can provide insight into potential keywords that might not be easily discovered by regular search queries. Check websites that cover related topics and see what pages get search traffic.

There is some Semrush functionality that can assist in completing such an analysis. The Domain Overview and Organic Research features can be used to analyze the competitiveness of keywords that appear on the competitors’ website. In addition, there is the Keyword Gap feature that will help compare the keyword profiles and find keywords that your competitors rank for but you don’t.

Step 7: Create Content Based on Your Keywords

After selecting your keyword, you will use it to help you in organizing and creating the structure of the article. The purpose is to produce a piece of content that is both useful for answering the user’s query, without the need to repeat the keyword.

These are tips to follow:

• Naturally place your main keyword in the SEO title, opening and URL slug when applicable.
• Utilize search terms to organize sections/subheads.
• Analyze the core of the user’s question and provide an answer and explanations/examples.
• Provide additional value using comparisons, personal experience, screenshots or strong recommendations.
• Link other articles from your site that could be helpful for the user.

Step 8: Performance Monitoring & Updating of Content

Keyword analysis doesn’t stop after publishing your material. It’s important for you to see what kind of topics are visible and what areas in your content should be improved.

Using Google Search Console, you can track the number of impressions, clicks, click-through rate, and the search queries that relate to your pages. You can use the Position Tracking tool from Semrush if you need to conduct a more detailed monitoring of particular keywords.

After a certain period of time when your articles start working for you, you can analyze the pages that show good numbers of impressions but get no clicks or just miss out of top search results. You should consider optimizing their titles, answering all unasked questions, providing some additional information, and updating their features or prices, if needed.

Keyword Research Tools That Are Worth Checking Out

There are options that allow you to conduct keyword research without having to purchase an SEO subscription plan. Some of these include Google Autocomplete, Google People Also Ask, and Google Search Console.

However, there are more advanced tools for conducting keyword research and analyzing competitors, which include Semrush and Ahrefs. The former is a popular SEO research tool, but it also differs from the latter in terms of plans, restrictions, and pricing.

Learn more about the pros and cons of Semrush by reading our Semrush review. Additionally, check out our Semrush vs. Ahrefs article to get a clearer picture of how these two SEO research tools compare against each other.