How do I do keyword research?

Keyword research identifies the exact phrases your potential customers type into search engines, then prioritizes them by volume, competition, and commercial intent.

Step 1 — Seed keywords: list 10-20 broad terms related to your business. "custom web development", "SEO services", "CRM integration". These are starting points, not targets.

Step 2 — Expand: plug seed keywords into Ahrefs, Semrush, or free alternatives (Google Keyword Planner, AnswerThePublic, AlsoAsked.com). Extract hundreds of related keywords with search volume and difficulty scores.

Step 3 — Classify by intent: Informational ("what is headless CMS" — blog content), Commercial ("best headless CMS platforms" — comparison content), Transactional ("headless CMS development agency" — service pages). Prioritize commercial and transactional keywords for pages that convert.

Step 4 — Assess competition: check the top 5 results for each keyword. If they're all DR 70+ domains with 3,000-word articles, you need strong content and backlinks to compete. If page 1 has weak content, short articles, or forums — you can rank faster.

Step 5 — Map to pages: each keyword (or cluster of related keywords) maps to one page. Don't target the same keyword on multiple pages — that causes cannibalization where your pages compete against each other.

Update keyword research quarterly. Search behavior shifts, new competitors appear, and your domain authority changes what's achievable.