When I first started my family travel blog, Miro from Cairo, a few years ago I was quite basic in terms of what platforms and tools to use. In fact, my idea of how to conduct keyword research for your blog was to Google a keyword or key phrase and see what results would come up on the first few pages. My search results were skewed based on my location, search history, buying behaviour and profile. Also, there was no way of telling how competitive or viable these keywords were for my post.
Of course, I soon realised this was a ridiculous method after a few months of blogging, networking with other bloggers and learning more about search engine optimisation (SEO) through online tutorials and articles. Almost all of the resources I came across on how to conduct keyword research for your blog seemed to agree on one tool in specific: KeySearch.
Keyword Research
Once you type in that keyword you have in mind and hit search, you immediately get a wealth of information at your fingertips. At a glance, you are able to tell the competitiveness of the keyword and what are the top websites that currently rank for it. Look to your right and you can see related keywords that you can use to replace your main keyword or use as secondary keywords with key information such as their search volume, CPC, PPC and score.
Explorer
This tool can be used to analyse your own website or it can also be used to check out the website of a competitor or a collaborator. It shows data on domain strength, backlinks, referring domains, keywords and anchors. If you want a more in-depth analysis of these metrics and more, you can check the tool next to it called Competitive Analysis.
Content Assistant
Another tool I found fascinating was the content assistant. You can copy and paste your draft or published post and then check if it contains the recommended keywords for your main keyword. One click shows you snippets from content on the Internet using these keywords. And another click shows you what questions are being asked around your keyword and what search results currently appear on Google.
My recommendation
KeySearch is very user-friendly and affordable. Moreover, it shows you how to conduct keyword research for your blog using free SEO resources. For me, it was an absolute game-changer. I have decided to invest in it even though my blog is not making that much money yet. In conclusion, I would wholeheartedly recommend other serious bloggers to do the same.
