The short answer: Keyword research means finding the exact words and phrases your ideal readers or customers type into Google — and then creating content that matches those searches better than anyone else. Start with free tools, target long-tail phrases with low competition, and build topical authority in one specific area before expanding. The entire process takes about two hours the first time and gets faster every time after.
Most people approach keyword research the wrong way. They think of a topic they want to write about, search for it on Google, see that large established websites dominate the results, and give up. Or they pick broad keywords like “marketing tips” or “healthy eating” that have millions of monthly searches — and spend months wondering why their articles never rank.
The right approach is the opposite: start small, specific, and underserved. Build from there.
This guide teaches you the full keyword research process using only free tools — no paid subscriptions required until you are ready to scale.
Replace with: A clean diagram showing a scale with “Search Volume” on one side and “Competition” on the other, balanced to show the sweet spot of medium volume + low competition. Create in Canva using brand navy and gold. 800x450px.
The Story of Meera’s Bakery Blog — Why Broad Keywords Failed and Specific Ones Succeeded
Meera ran a small home bakery in Hyderabad and wanted to attract local customers through her blog. Her first three articles targeted these keywords:
- “baking tips” — approximately 60,000 monthly searches globally
- “chocolate cake recipe” — approximately 450,000 monthly searches globally
- “best cakes” — approximately 90,000 monthly searches globally
After four months and three well-written articles, her site received an average of 11 visitors per month. Every top result for those keywords was dominated by major food media websites — BBC Good Food, Tasty, AllRecipes — with domain authority scores that a new website simply cannot compete with in the short term.
After learning keyword research properly, she switched her approach entirely. Her next three articles targeted:
- “eggless chocolate cake recipe without oven Hyderabad” — approximately 320 monthly searches
- “customised birthday cakes Hyderabad home baker” — approximately 170 monthly searches
- “how to store fondant cake in humid weather India” — approximately 210 monthly searches
Within six weeks, all three articles were ranking on page one of Google. Her monthly organic visitors went from 11 to 840. More importantly, the visitors were local, relevant, and converting — people in Hyderabad who actually wanted to order a cake, not people in another country looking for a recipe they would never make.
“The riches are in the niches.”
— Marketing maxim widely attributed to direct response advertising culture. The principle: a narrowly focused message to a specific audience consistently outperforms a broad message to everyone.
Three Concepts You Must Understand Before Starting
1. Search Volume — How Many People Search for This Each Month
Search volume tells you how many times a keyword is searched per month. Higher is not always better. A keyword with 500 monthly searches and low competition is far more valuable to a new website than a keyword with 50,000 monthly searches dominated by established sites.
As a general guide for new websites:
- Sweet spot for new sites: 100 to 2,000 monthly searches, low competition
- Medium-term targets: 2,000 to 10,000 monthly searches, medium competition
- Long-term ambitions: Above 10,000 monthly searches — once your site has authority
2. Keyword Difficulty — How Hard It Is to Rank
Keyword difficulty (KD) is a score from 0 to 100 used by most SEO tools. It estimates how hard it would be to rank on page one for that keyword based on the strength of currently ranking pages.
| Difficulty score | What it means | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 20 | Easy — few strong competitors | New websites — target these exclusively for the first 6 months |
| 21 to 40 | Medium — some established competitors | Sites with 3 to 6 months of content and some backlinks |
| 41 to 60 | Hard — strong competitors | Established sites with clear topical authority |
| 61 to 100 | Very hard — dominant established players | Only target once your site has significant authority |
Source: Difficulty score methodology from Ahrefs and SEMrush keyword research tools. Scores are relative estimates, not absolute guarantees of ranking difficulty.
3. Search Intent — What the Person Actually Wants
Before targeting any keyword, ask: what does someone who types this actually want? The four types of intent are informational (they want to learn), navigational (they want to find a specific site), commercial (they want to compare options before deciding), and transactional (they want to buy or sign up right now).
Your content format must match the intent. If someone searches “best accounting software for freelancers”, they want a comparison article — not a product page and not a beginner’s guide to accounting. Publishing the wrong content format for the intent is one of the most common reasons well-written articles fail to rank.
The Free Tools You Need
| Tool | What it gives you | Cost | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Keywords you already rank for, click data, impressions | Free — forever | Understanding existing traffic. Essential from day one. |
| Google Keyword Planner | Search volume ranges, CPC data, keyword ideas | Free with Google Ads account | Volume research. Requires a Google Ads account (free to create, no spend needed). |
| Ubersuggest (Neil Patel) | Keyword difficulty, search volume, competitor analysis | 3 free searches per day | Quick keyword difficulty checks. Enough for beginners. |
| AnswerThePublic | Questions people ask about any topic | Limited free searches per day | Finding long-tail question-based keywords. Excellent for blog content ideas. |
| Google autocomplete | Actual searches people are making right now | Free — no account needed | Finding long-tail keywords Google itself suggests. Underused and highly reliable. |
| Ahrefs Webmaster Tools | Your site’s keyword rankings and backlinks | Free for your own site | Monitoring your own rankings. Cannot research competitors on free plan. |
The Step-by-Step Keyword Research Process
Step 1 — Start With a Seed Topic, Not a Keyword
A seed topic is the broad subject your website or article covers. Examples: “home baking”, “Google Ads for small business”, “health insurance India”, “freelancing for Indian professionals”. Do not start by typing these directly into a keyword tool — they are too broad and the results will overwhelm you with unachievable head keywords.
Step 2 — Use Google Autocomplete to Find Real Long-Tail Variations
Open Google in a private browser window (so your search history does not influence results). Type your seed topic and stop before pressing Enter. Look at the dropdown suggestions — these are actual searches people are making. Write down the ones relevant to your content.
Then add letters after your seed topic to reveal more suggestions. Type your seed topic followed by “a”, then “b”, then “c” and so on — each letter reveals a different set of autocomplete suggestions. This free technique generates dozens of real keyword ideas in under 15 minutes.
Also scroll to the bottom of any search results page and look at “Related searches” — these are additional long-tail variations Google itself identifies as related to what you searched.
Step 3 — Check Volume and Difficulty on Ubersuggest
Take your list of 20 to 30 potential keywords from Step 2 and check each one in Ubersuggest (ubersuggest.com). For each keyword note:
- Monthly search volume
- SEO difficulty score (aim for under 30 for new sites)
- Whether the intent matches your planned content
Filter your list to keep only keywords with difficulty below 30 and volume above 100. These are your realistic targets.
Step 4 — Analyse What Is Currently Ranking
For your shortlisted keywords, search each one on Google and study the top 5 results. Ask yourself:
- Are these large established websites with huge domain authority? (If yes, this keyword is harder than the tool suggests)
- Is the content on those pages thin, outdated, or incomplete? (If yes, you can outrank it with better content)
- Do the top results match the intent you planned to address? (If not, reconsider your content format)
- Are there forum posts, Reddit threads, or Quora answers in the top results? (This signals low competition — anyone can rank here with a quality article)
Step 5 — Build a Topic Cluster, Not Just Individual Articles
A topic cluster is a group of related articles that collectively cover a subject comprehensively. One “pillar” article covers the broad topic. Multiple “cluster” articles cover specific subtopics and link back to the pillar.
This approach works because Google rewards topical authority — websites that cover a subject thoroughly and consistently. A site with 15 interlinked articles about Google Ads will outrank a site with one Google Ads article and 14 articles on unrelated topics, even if the individual articles are similar quality.
Replace with: A hub-and-spoke diagram with the pillar article in the centre and 6-8 cluster articles surrounding it, connected by lines representing internal links. Use brand navy and gold. Create in Canva. 800x600px.
Real Keyword Research Example — A Freelance Graphic Designer Starting a Blog
Here is a real worked example of keyword research for someone starting a design blog aimed at attracting freelance clients.
Seed topic: freelance graphic design
| Keyword found via autocomplete | Monthly searches (approx) | Difficulty | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| freelance graphic design | 22,000 | 72 | Too competitive — avoid now |
| freelance graphic designer rates India | 880 | 18 | Target this — low competition, specific intent |
| how to get graphic design clients on Fiverr | 1,200 | 22 | Target this — practical guide format, low competition |
| graphic design portfolio website examples | 4,400 | 35 | Target after 3-4 months of content |
| logo design price list India 2025 | 590 | 12 | Target this immediately — very low competition |
| what software do graphic designers use | 2,900 | 28 | Target this — good volume, manageable difficulty |
Source: Keyword data from Ubersuggest and Google Keyword Planner, May 2025. Volumes are approximate and fluctuate monthly.
The pattern is clear: the specific, long-tail keywords are dramatically easier to rank for, while still generating enough traffic to be worthwhile. Starting with “logo design price list India 2025” at difficulty 12 is not settling — it is strategy. Rank for the easy ones first, build domain authority, then go after the competitive ones from a position of strength.
How Many Keywords Should One Article Target?
One primary keyword per article. One secondary keyword (a close variation or related term). Several naturally occurring related terms woven into the content.
Do not write one article trying to rank for ten different keywords on unrelated topics. Google evaluates pages for topical relevance. A focused article about one specific thing consistently outranks an unfocused article covering many loosely related things.
What to Do With Your Keyword List After Research
- Sort keywords into a content calendar — one article per keyword, prioritised by difficulty (easiest first)
- Group related keywords into topic clusters — identify which articles will link to which
- Check each keyword again in 6 months — search volumes and difficulty change over time
- After publishing each article, submit the URL for indexing in Google Search Console
- Monitor rankings weekly via Google Search Console — watch which keywords are gaining impressions and double down on those topics
Free Download: Keyword Research Worksheet
A structured worksheet to organise your keyword research — with columns for search volume, difficulty, intent type, content format, and publishing priority. Fill it in as you work through this process.
Download the free Keyword Research Worksheet
Last updated: May 2025. Keyword volumes and difficulty scores change continuously — treat all data as directional rather than absolute. Corrections: corrections@theopenhandbook.com
