Our Favourite Tools for SEO Keyword Research

SEO, otherwise known as search engine optimisation, is the common practice of increasing the relevancy and quality of your website and landing pages to better match users search needs when they are searching. The results of a strong SEO strategy focus primarily on brand awareness and consideration, with visibility of your business in search results tied to keywords and on-site content. This all creates a positive user experience in the end, and search engines like Google reward businesses for taking the time and effort to optimise their SEO.

But how do you know where to start and what keywords you should be focusing on for your website?

There are many excellent SEO tools available that can help you plan your strategy. Doing research to find the right keywords can be time-consuming, but it is worth it to find keywords that will deliver traffic to your website. Once you have the right keywords, you will be able to improve your search engine ranking and attract more visitors to your site.

We’re going to take a look at some of the tips and SEO tools that we use to to help us with our keyword research and planning, but first we want to take a step back and better understand why it’s important to plan ahead.

Planning for SEO Success:

Whether you’re building a new website or updating an existing one, we always find it important to map things out first. This is commonly referred to as a sitemap, and basically lists out what pages your website contains or plans to incorporate from a top level.

From here you can get a nice overview of your sites structure and content, but it also allows you to better plan your keyword development. See SEO works best when there is a focus keyword, or group of keywords, used on every page individually across your site and embedded within the page content, structure and development components. These keywords let search engines know that this is the page associated to those terms, and is additionally optimised in the back-end for maximum reach and contextual relevance.

Think of it like a vending machine. Lots of options presented but the vending machine is coded in the back end to marry up with exactly what you want. So when you are wanting that refreshing bottle of water, you’ll type in the code “D81” and the machine gives it to you. SEO functions the same, except the vending machine is a search engine, and the back end coding is your website. Just program your site to do what you want it to do and let search engines handle the rest.

Picking the Right SEO Keywords:

When selecting keywords to focus on for your website or blog, it is important to choose a word or phrase that is not too competitive. If the keyword you select is too popular, it may be difficult to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPS).

The aim here is to balance short-tail and long-tail keywords to put some quick wins on the board, whilst remaining contextually relevant overall. This is where keyword tools really help you out, highlighting search volumes, competition and trends, however before we start it’s important to understand what short and long tail keywords actually are.

Understanding Short-Tail vs Long-Tail Keywords:

Let’s try  keep this as simple as possible. Short-tail keywords are brief and to the point, while long-tail keywords usually make up a phrase. The shorter the keyword used in a search typically warrants more generic and competitive results to show, resulting in less traffic, where long-tail phrases are very specific but will generate less traffic. This is why it’s important to balance keywords amidst your content, so that you capture both sides of the coin.

Some examples of short-tail and their long-tail keyword counterparts would be;

• ‘Pasta‘ vs ‘Quick and easy pasta recipes‘
• ‘Laptops‘ vs ‘Best laptops for students in 2022‘
• ‘Plumbers’ vs ‘Emergency plumbers in Goulburn‘

Both variations have their place in search optimisation and equally play a key role in how you can drive incremental traffic to your site.

The above example shows how a generic short-tail search for “mechanic” brings in results from all across the web. In this instance the sites showcased are usually directory listings style sites that are optimised for high-traffic throughput but still require the user to search again once they click through. A long-tail keyword can bypass this logic quite easily…

The above example being a more specific long-tail search phrase for “car mechanics in Goulburn,” naturally generates a more contextually relevant search result. Some short-tail sites continue to show however there are now more localised businesses shown in the search results too.

The above examples are why it’s important to play the short & long-tail keyword game, with the #1 rule being that your landing page and it’s content is contextually relevant to your ideal target audience.

Our Top Picks for SEO Keyword Research:

If you’re struggling where to start with your keywords, the best advice is to start generic. By starting with simple keywords for your landing pages you can then discover bigger and better keyword opportunities by using Search Engine Optimisation keyword research tools.

1: Keywordtool.io

KeywordTool.io is a free tool (with some restrictions) that allows you to search for keywords and see their monthly search volume, competition rankings, estimated CPC’s and more. This makes it super simple to identify what keywords you could focus on for your website to gain some quick wins and capture audience interest in search results.

2: Google Ads Keyword Planner

Google Ads Keyword Planner is a great tool for finding keywords that are relevant to your website and that have a high chance of ranking in search results. With keyword trends, search volumes, competition and detailed paid stats you can quickly identify keyword opportunities to add to your SEO ranking strategy.

It goes without saying though that you should take this with a pinch of salt, as Google also runs paid advertising services which can slightly skew these insights, especially when reviewing the paid search metrics.

3: Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a fantastic SEO keyword research tool that not only gives you insight to keyword performance, but also breaks down your competitors strategies and SEO activities too. With a free account option, Ubersuggest provides several insights with an easy UI/ dashboard and the ability to lookup by domain URL as well for suggestions. A great place to start if you’re looking for an all-in-one dashboard.

4: Answer The Public

If you were every curious about what the most common combinations of searches were relative to a specific keyword, this is your go to site. Answerthepublic.com allows you to see search insights attached to keywords, so it’s a perfect way to identify common long-tail keywords to include in your strategy

5: Keywords Everywhere

Keywordseverywhere.com is a freemium extension to Google Chrome or Firefox web browsers, and provides real-time keyword stats right in your search results. Not only does it score important stats such as SEO difficulty, it also provides insights to related search terms and an option for long-tail variations to consider. Some features require payment but it’s great insight regardless.

5: Soovle

Soovle.com is a super powerful tool that basically aggregates search results from across the webs most commonly used search engines, including Amazon and YouTube. This is a great way to identify keyword opportunities using technology, providing you with a list of potential keyword ideas you can then lookup via any of the other keyword research tools listed above. 

Get a Head Start with SEO:

It goes without saying that SEO does require a bit of homework when it comes to developing your keyword ranking strategy, however it’s an essential part of your SEO strategy development process. Without one your website is just a sitting duck in a large ocean of keywords, relying mostly on branded search to gain any sort of momentum.

The best initial strategy you can develop is one that adopts an ‘offensive’ approach to SEO, factoring in page and content relevance, domain authority and traffic. Keyword audits and insights will show you where competitors are failing, allowing you to develop some quick wins with minimal competition, however it’s important to always keep an eye on what others are doing.

1. Monitor your keyword performance and growth over time.
2. Produce high quality content that compliments your keyword research.
3. Continue to adapt where you need to based on developing trends.

Create the Perfect SEO Keyword Strategy:

These are just a mere handful of some SEO keyword research tools that we love to work with that you can use online to help with your search engine keyword research, however it’s important to note that there is no one tool that is best. Finding the right tool is likely to involve a balance of systems and SEO tech that otherwise comes with additional charges or advanced knowledge of SEO overall. This is where Isojam can come in to help.

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