Summary

The article presents a comprehensive keyword research process using Ahrefs, aiming to uncover over 200 keywords for content creation in SEO strategies.

Abstract

The author Will Bowles outlines an in-depth keyword research process that leverages ahrefs, a keyword research tool, to find a substantial number of keyword opportunities. This process involves identifying strong foundation topics for a website's focus areas, such as "Instagram marketing," and then using Ahrefs to generate supporting keywords with significant search volume and a manageable keyword difficulty. The method emphasizes starting with low-difficulty keywords to quickly achieve search engine rankings and traffic. The article provides a step-by-step guide, including the use of a content foundation spreadsheet to organize findings, and encourages readers to start with smaller batches of keywords if overwhelmed. Will Bowles also invites readers to subscribe to his newsletter for more advanced SEO and content marketing tips.

Opinions

The author believes that traditional keyword research processes may not be as effective as the one he provides.
Ahrefs is highly recommended by the author for its utility in the keyword research process, although he notes he is not affiliated with the company.
The article suggests that a balance between broad and narrow topics should be maintained when selecting foundation topics.
Low search volume keywords are considered valuable for niche content and potential product creation.
The author sees high potential in emerging content areas like podcasts, suggesting that early entry can lead to market leadership.
The process of targeting keywords with low difficulty first is seen as a strategic way to build initial traffic and rankings.
The author hints at future content regarding the handling of keywords with higher difficulty, suggesting a multi-part approach to SEO strategy.

The Keyword Research Process SEO Experts Won’t Give You

Master keyword research with this process

Keyword research can be confusing.

Where do you start?

How do you find good keywords?

It’s a never-ending process all marketers interested in SEO go through when starting out.

Today I’m going to share with you the keyword research process SEO experts won’t give you. This is the exact process I used to find over 200+ keywords in one day.

If you follow the process I give you, you’ll be able to find an abundance of keyword opportunities in a matter of minutes allowing you to create an SEO strategy.

Before We Start

You will need a keyword research tool. I use ahrefs and will show you the process using ahrefs but you can use Ubersuggest, kwfinder, SEMRush, almost any keyword research tool will do. Ahrefs has a 7-day $7 trial, you can sign up, follow along and have enough keywords to create content for over a year!

Note: I’m not affiliated with ahrefs in any way and I don’t receive anything. It’s a great tool to have, I consider it one of the best investments I’ve made.

The Last Keyword Research Process You’ll Need

First, make a copy of my content foundation spreadsheet.

Content foundation template made by Will Bowles

Content foundation spreadsheet
File → Make a Copy

After you have the spreadsheet open you’re ready to put your foundation in place.

Creating Strong Foundation Topics

To create a strong foundation topic ask yourself what do you want your site to be known for. Strong foundation topics are not too broad, nor are they too narrow.

A too broad foundation topic would be “social media marketing.”

A too narrow foundation topic would be “build a social media following from scratch.”

A strong foundation topic would be “Instagram marketing.”

If you’re doing keyword research for a service-based business like a law firm, then your foundation topics would be the practice areas the law firm focuses on.

Try your best to come up with at least 3 foundation topics.

Once you have your foundation topics in place it’s time for supporting keywords.

Supporting Keywords

Supporting keywords do exactly what their name implies, they support your foundation topic.

To fill in your list of supporting keywords you’ll want to sign in to ahrefs and head to the keywords explorer tab. Once you’re there type in your foundation keyword.

Ahrefs Keywords Explorer Search for Instagram Marketing by Will Bowles

Instagram marketing has a keyword difficulty of 70! We won’t be able to rank for that right now, so let’s turn our attention to the phrase match tab and start generating content ideas. This page has 1,313 keywords!

I see a couple of great keywords to target.

Ahrefs Phrase Match for Instagram Marketing by Will Bowles

Instagram marketing agency, Instagram marketing tools, restaurant Instagram marketing, Instagram marketing course, Instagram marketing podcast, Instagram marketing books, these keywords are great!

Let’s add them to our supporting keywords page. I’m adding these keywords manually, filling in each column with the keyword, volume, and keyword difficulty.

Content Foundation Template Supporting Keywords by Will Bowles

Instagram marketing course and books have a fairly low search volume but that’s okay because you can make digital products for both and anytime someone searches those words they can see your product and you might make a sale.

Instagram marketing podcast has a search volume of 20 but as podcasts continue to grow this number will increase and become harder to rank for. You have the opportunity to be first in the market if you create an Instagram marketing podcast now.

This was a great warm-up now let’s dive into the real action.

Go to all keywords, then press volume, and set the minimum value to 100. We want to get rid of keywords that have a search volume below 100.

Next under KD (keyword difficulty) set the max between 30–45. We really want to go after keywords with a difficulty of less than 30, but we’re going to want to add some higher difficulty ones because we’re going to have some fun with those later on.

Keyword Difficulty Filter (Ahrefs) by Will Bowles (screenshot)

Filter the list so that the keywords with the lowest difficulty show at the top. These keywords are our low hanging fruit and give us the best opportunity to create content that ranks in Google and gets us traffic to our site right away.

Filter by KD low to high screenshot by Will Bowles

Take your time and go through the list and add relevant keywords to the spreadsheet. Once you’re finished repeat the same process for your other foundation topics. When you finish you should have a list of over 200+ topics!

Start Small and Work Your Way Up

If getting 200+ keywords feels like a lot and it is! Start by finding 25 and then take a break and then find another 25.

Found this process helpful?

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