Keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEO strategy. It’s the process of understanding the language your customers use and then using that knowledge to connect with them. But what does a good example of keyword research actually look like in practice? At its core, it’s about starting with a broad topic like “specialty coffee” and discovering a specific, high-value phrase like “best single origin coffee subscription box” that real customers are searching for.
It’s more than just picking words out of thin air. It’s a systematic process that involves uncovering ideas, analyzing data, and understanding user psychology. Let’s walk through the entire process, step by step, to demystify how it’s done.
The Keyword Research Process: A Step by Step Example
Imagine you run a small business that sells specialty coffee online. Your goal is to attract more organic traffic from people looking for high quality coffee. Here is a practical example of keyword research you might follow.
Step 1: Start with a Seed Keyword
Everything begins with a seed keyword (often called a primary keyword) that describes your core product or topic. It’s the starting point from which all other ideas will grow.
- What is a Seed Keyword? A seed keyword is a short, core search term that forms the basis of your research.
- Our Example: For our coffee business, our seed keywords would be simple terms like “coffee beans”, “espresso”, or “cold brew”.
These seed terms are often very competitive. The real magic happens when we expand on them. Interestingly, More than half of all search queries are at least three words long, and more than a third are four words or longer.
Step 2: Expand Your List with Modifiers and Location Terms
Next, we expand our seed keywords using modifiers. These are words that make the search query more specific and reveal the searcher’s true goal. You can also mine Google’s Related Searches to uncover long‑tail variations you might miss.
- What is a Keyword Modifier? A modifier is a word added to a base keyword to refine its meaning. Common modifiers include words like “best”, “cheap”, “for beginners”, or the current year (like “2026”).
- Our Example: By adding modifiers to “coffee beans”, we can generate new ideas like:
- “best coffee beans for cold brew”
- “organic coffee beans online”
- “coffee beans subscription box”
If our coffee business also had a physical café, we’d use location terms.
- What is a Location Term? A location term specifies a geographic area, such as a city, state, or the phrase “near me”. These are vital for local businesses, as 30% of all mobile searches are related to location.
- Our Example:
- “coffee shop Brooklyn”
- “best espresso near me”
Step 3: Analyze Keyword Metrics to Find Winners
Once you have a big list of potential keywords, it’s time to analyze their metrics. This data driven step helps you separate the valuable opportunities from the dead ends.
- What Does it Mean to Analyze Keyword Metrics? This means evaluating the data associated with each keyword to determine its potential value. Key metrics include search volume, keyword difficulty, and CPC.
Let’s look at the most important metrics in our example of keyword research.
Search Volume
- What is Search Volume? Search volume is the average number of times a keyword is searched for per month. It indicates a term’s popularity and potential traffic. While Google handles about 14 billion searches per day, 92% of keywords get 10 or fewer searches per month, so a “high volume” keyword is rarer than you might think.
- Our Example: “coffee” might have a huge search volume, but “fair trade light roast Ethiopian coffee beans” will have a much lower volume. The lower volume term, however, is far more specific and likely to convert.
Keyword Difficulty
- What is Keyword Difficulty? This metric estimates how hard it will be to rank on the first page of Google for a specific term, usually on a scale of 0 to 100. It’s largely based on the authority and backlinks of the pages already ranking.
- Our Example: The keyword “coffee” has an extremely high difficulty score. A new website has almost no chance of ranking for it. However, a keyword like “how to use a V60 coffee dripper” will likely have a much lower difficulty, making it a more realistic target.
CPC (Cost Per Click)
- What is CPC? CPC is the average amount advertisers pay for a single click in a paid ad campaign. For SEO, it’s a powerful clue about a keyword’s commercial value. A high CPC suggests the traffic is lucrative.
- Our Example: An informational keyword like “where do coffee beans grow” might have a low CPC. A keyword with buying intent, such as “buy coffee beans online”, will have a much higher CPC because businesses know that click can lead directly to a sale.
Step 4: Identify Low Competition Keywords
For most businesses, especially smaller ones, the sweet spot lies with low competition keywords.
- What is Identifying Low Competition Keywords? This is the process of finding search terms that aren’t being heavily targeted by authoritative websites. These are often longer, more specific phrases that give you a realistic chance to rank on the first page.
- Our Example: Instead of targeting “coffee subscription”, a much more attainable keyword might be “best single origin coffee subscription box”. Fewer people search for it, but the competition is lower and the searcher knows exactly what they want.
Step 5: Understand Search Intent
This is arguably the most critical step. You must understand why someone is searching for a particular term.
- What is Search Intent? It’s the underlying goal of a searcher. It generally falls into four categories:
- Informational: Looking for information (e.g., “how to make cold brew”).
- Navigational: Trying to find a specific website (e.g., “Starbucks website”).
- Transactional: Ready to buy something (e.g., “buy Chemex coffee maker”).
- Commercial Investigation: Comparing products before a purchase (e.g., “Breville vs De’Longhi espresso machine”).
- Our Example: If we target “how to grind coffee beans”, our content must be an informational guide or video tutorial. If we target “buy dark roast beans”, our page should be a product or category page where they can make a purchase. Matching your content to the user’s intent is essential for ranking.
Organizing Your Findings for a Real Strategy
A raw list of keywords isn’t a strategy. The next step in our example of keyword research is to organize this data into an actionable plan.
Organize Your Keyword List into Clusters
Instead of targeting one keyword per page, the modern approach is to group related keywords into clusters.
- What is Organizing a Keyword List? This means structuring your keywords logically, often by topic, to create a content plan.
- What is a Keyword Cluster? A keyword cluster is a group of semantically related keywords that can be targeted with a single, comprehensive piece of content. For example, “how to make pour over coffee”, “pour over coffee tutorial”, and “best coffee for pour over” can all be part of one cluster, targeted by a single, in depth guide.
This approach helps you build topical authority, which Google rewards. A page that ranks #1 often ranks for hundreds or even thousands of related keywords.
Use Competitor Analysis to Find Gaps
Why reinvent the wheel? A huge part of keyword research, and a critical part of any complete example of keyword research, is analyzing what already works for your competitors.
- What is Competitor Analysis in SEO? It is the process of studying your competitors’ SEO strategies, including the keywords they rank for, to find opportunities for your own site.
- Our Example: We could use an SEO tool to see all the keywords a rival coffee brand ranks for. We might discover they get a lot of traffic from an article on “the best coffee grinders for French press”, a topic we haven’t covered yet. This is a content gap we can fill.
This entire process, from finding seed keywords to analyzing competitors, requires expertise and the right tools. For many businesses, outsourcing to a service that can handle this whole workflow is a more efficient path. A dedicated team at Rankai, for example, vets keywords and plans content topics every month to find these hidden opportunities.
Putting Your Research into Action
With an organized list of keywords, you’re ready to execute.
Selecting the Right Keyword Research Tool
You can’t do this work effectively without some help.
- What is Involved in Selecting a Keyword Research Tool? This means choosing the software that will provide the data you need. There are free options like Google Keyword Planner and paid, more powerful platforms like Ahrefs or Semrush. When choosing, you should consider data accuracy, features, and cost.
Keyword Tracking: Did Your Work Pay Off?
Keyword research isn’t a one time task. You need to track your performance to see if your efforts are succeeding.
- What is Keyword Tracking? This is the practice of monitoring your website’s ranking positions for your target keywords over time. If you see a keyword dropping, you may need to update your content. If it’s climbing, you know your strategy is working. Almost 75% of users never go past the first page of search results, so tracking your position is critical. For a deeper framework, see our guide to SEO results: how to tell if your SEO strategy is working.
Tailored Approaches to Keyword Research
The general process works for everyone, but certain businesses need to apply a specific lens to their research.
An Example of Keyword Research for a Local Business
For a business with a physical location, like our coffee shop, the local keyword research process is paramount. The focus shifts to including location terms in almost every search. The goal is to appear in Google’s “Map Pack”. Mobile searches for “___ near me today/tonight” grew by over 900% in the U.S. between July–Dec 2015 and July–Dec 2017., showing just how important local visibility has become.
A Smart Approach for Small Businesses
The small business keyword research process is about being strategic and realistic. A small business can’t compete with Amazon for broad terms. Instead, the focus should be on finding low competition, long tail keywords with high purchase intent. This is the most efficient way to gain traction without a massive budget. For many small businesses, this entire process can feel overwhelming. That’s why flat rate services that handle the full example of keyword research and content creation have become a popular alternative.
Your Keyword Research Questions Answered (FAQ)
What is the first step in an example of keyword research?
The very first step is brainstorming seed keywords. These are the broad, one or two word terms that describe your main topics or products. From there, you can expand your list with more specific phrases.
How do I find out what keywords my competitors are using?
You can use SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz. These platforms allow you to enter a competitor’s domain and see a list of the keywords they rank for, along with estimated traffic and ranking positions. This provides a great starting point for your own research.
Can I do keyword research for free?
Yes, you can get started for free. Tools like Google Keyword Planner (with an ads account), Google Trends, and the “People Also Ask” section in Google search results can provide valuable keyword ideas and insights without any cost. However, paid tools offer more detailed data on difficulty and competition.
Why is search intent more important than search volume?
Search volume tells you how many people are searching, but search intent tells you why they are searching. A keyword with 10,000 monthly searches is useless if you can’t create content that matches the searcher’s goal. A lower volume keyword where you perfectly match the intent will almost always lead to better business results.
What is the biggest mistake people make with keyword research?
A common mistake is choosing keywords that are too broad or competitive. New or small websites have little chance of ranking for very general terms. A much better strategy is to focus on more specific, lower competition keywords where you have a realistic chance of reaching the first page.
How often should I do keyword research?
Keyword research should be an ongoing process. A deep dive is needed when starting a new website or launching a major content initiative. However, you should also conduct lighter research monthly or quarterly to discover new trends, check on competitors, and find fresh content ideas.
This example of keyword research shows that a successful strategy is a journey from a simple idea to a data driven content plan. It requires a mix of creativity, analysis, and strategic thinking. If you’d rather have experts handle this entire workflow, from keyword selection to publishing and even rewriting content until it ranks, check out how Rankai does it.
