In this #100DaysofSEO episode on #keywordresearch, I chat about:
00:00 – Introduction
02:00 – Why the traditional Keyword Research model is broken
02:51 – What SEO keyword research was like in 2009
03:47 – Why your SEO plugin is killing your content (and rankings)
05:46 – Joel Klettke on why seo plugins can be harmful to content
06:47 – How I do topical keyword research for seo without paid tools
10:39 – My best hack for getting deep topical research
14:14 – The genius thing nobody is talking about right now in SEO
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#ahrefs #keywordresearch #topicalresearch
Google is moving more and more toward understand the semantic relationship of words and seeing content as being topic-focused versus “keyword” focused. Each article should seek to focus on one “topic” versus just a “keyword.”
What’s worked extremely well for me and my clients recently has been focusing more on topics during our research versus specific keywords.
99% of the topical research guides I see online require $100 subscriptions to Ahrefs or SEMrush. Because I ❤❤❤ you, what follows is a guide to EXACTLY how I do topical research WITHOUT any paid tools. 😉
–The Topical Research Quickstart Guide–
Remember, topical research is never just about “keywords” but actually solving the problem that the person is searching for. They might type “DIY succulent soil” into Google, but what’s the real problem there?
The best way to do topical research is to simply look at the things you struggled with when you got started and create the guide you wish you had.
For example, if I loved crafting, one thing I’d wonder is not how to make crafts, but where do I store all of this crap when I’m done?
Or if I was a relationship expert, I’d recall how to get a few wins under your belt and get your confidence back after a bad breakup.
This will take time so I often keep track of things in the notes app on my phone (so I have access to it anywhere). Here are a few thought exercises that I like to go through:
What is one thing I wish I knew when I was getting started?
What’s one mistake that cost me a lot of time and/or money?
What’s one thing beginners focus on that’s a total distraction or waste of time?
This sounds foolishly basic, right? Because it is. And it’s really just the starting point.
Once you have a solid list of topical sections based on our own experience, we can start expanding our research.
1. Quora
I love checking Quora for this sort of stuff. If people are asking for it on Quora, they’re Googling it. I promise. For example, here is where I’d start if I was a wedding photographer:
2. Answer the Public
Check out Answer the Public (answerthepublic.com) and type in your topic. Below, I typed in “learn WordPress” and the website used Google’s and Bing’s autofill features to pull 40 questions that people are asking about WordPress:
This is really helpful information because now I know that people want to learn it but may not have money for hosting (they don’t know wordpress.com blogs are free – that’s helpful!). They also want to learn it fast and they want to know if they should learn WordPress or html. That’s incredible insight.
3. YouTube
The reason that I love YouTube is because it’s so democratic. Sure, there’s plenty of clickbait on there, but if they don’t keep most of those viewers watching over 50% of the video and continuing on to another video after that, the video will die. This means when you search something, those videos have great retention.
Now, it’s just a matter of watching them and seeing what main points they cover in them to inform your own research.
4. Google
Yes, good old Google itself. I want to see what Google already favors and what is ranking. Sure, there are a few reasons that the content you find might rank even if it’s terrible (lots of links, authoritative site, etc.). So, don’t feel like you need to copycat what’s there. But again, we’re looking for trends to see what the topic stuff has across the board.
YouTube SEO Resources:
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