Keyword research starts with the offer, the audience and the words customers use. This guide helps you create a focused list of starting topics, distinguish keyword types and expand relevant ideas without producing a page for every wording variation.
Understand the Main Types of Keywords
These categories help organise research. They are planning labels, not instructions to create a separate page for every variation.
| Keyword type | What it describes | Example | Possible destination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | A starting subject | SEO | Research input; often too broad to target alone |
| Specific or long-tail | A narrower customer need | technical SEO audit for Shopify | Specialist service page or guide |
| Branded | A named business or product | Highbav SEO services | Relevant brand or service page |
| Non-branded | A need without a brand name | ecommerce SEO agency | Service page |
| Local | Geographic or nearby intent | SEO consultant in Mohali | Genuine location/service information |
| Question | An explicit request for an answer | how long does an SEO audit take | A relevant section or article |
| Comparison | An evaluation between options | Shopify vs WordPress for ecommerce | Balanced comparison resource |
| Problem-led | A symptom or challenge | product pages not indexed | Troubleshooting guide |
| Related terminology | Concepts needed to explain the topic | crawlability, canonicals, internal links | Supporting content within the relevant page |
What are long-tail keywords?
Long-tail keywords describe narrower demand within the broader search landscape. In practice, they are often specific phrases, but word count alone does not define them. A lengthy query can still be competitive, and a short specialist term can have limited demand.
Specificity can make the searcher’s need clearer. It does not automatically make a keyword easy to rank for.
How should you use related or “LSI” keywords?
Use related terms when they help explain the subject accurately. For a keyword research guide, that may include search volume, intent, SERP analysis, topic clusters and keyword mapping.
Treat “LSI keywords” as an informal label people sometimes use for related language, not a checklist that requires inserting a set number of synonyms. Google explains that its language systems can connect pages with relevant searches even when every exact wording variation is absent. Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide
Start With the Business and the Customer
Before opening a keyword tool, write down what the website is meant to achieve.
Define the commercial goal
Choose a meaningful outcome: qualified enquiries, product purchases, demo requests, bookings, trial signups or customer retention. Then identify the services or products that support it.
A marketing agency may want more SEO enquiries, but “SEO” alone is not a complete targeting strategy. The priority might be ecommerce SEO, local business support or enterprise technical work, depending on its capabilities and customers.
Describe the audience
Record:
- Who needs the offer and what problem triggers the search.
- Which countries, languages and service areas matter.
- What the audience already understands.
- Which objections or constraints affect the decision.
- Whether someone is researching, comparing or ready to act.
Collect the language customers already use
Review sales calls, enquiry forms, support tickets, approved customer interviews, site-search logs and product questions. Remove personal information before using customer material in research documents.
A customer who says “Google cannot find my products” may be describing an indexing issue without knowing the technical term. Both forms of language can inform useful content.
Build a Useful Seed Keyword List
A seed list turns the business brief into research starting points.
Start with the offer
List the main products, services, categories and use cases. For an SEO agency, useful starting themes could include:
- SEO services.
- Technical SEO audits.
- Local SEO.
- Ecommerce SEO.
- Shopify SEO.
- Website migration SEO.
- AI search visibility.
Add problems, audiences and modifiers
Expand each theme with meaningful combinations:
Service + audience: SEO for online stores.
Problem + platform: Shopify product pages not indexed.
Service + evaluation: technical SEO audit deliverables.
Service + geography: SEO services in USA.
Service + constraints: ecommerce SEO with an in-house developer.
Use combinations to generate ideas, then validate them. Do not assume every grammatically possible phrase has search demand or needs its own URL.
Validate Your Starting Ideas
Your seed list is a research input. Use the research tools and search intent guide to check the evidence and decide what the audience wants before choosing a page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a new website prioritise?
Start with a clear explanation of the core offer and focused topics where the business has relevant expertise. Assess the current results and the evidence you can contribute. “Low difficulty” alone is not a strategy if the resulting audience is unrelated to the business.
Should I ignore keywords with zero reported search volume?
No. An estimate of zero may reflect limited or unreported demand rather than no customer need. Validate the question through sales conversations and search observations. It may belong as a useful section within a larger page instead of requiring a standalone article.
Continue Your Keyword Research
Next: Keyword Research Tools and Search Intent: Validate Ideas
Related: Keyword Clustering and Mapping: Plan the Right Pages
Return to the keyword research starting guide
Sources and Further Reading
- Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide — search terminology and natural language matching.
