At the core of any effectively search engine optimization strategy is a need for ample keyword research. Keyword research allows brands and businesses to more adeptly focus their efforts in a variety of channels and categories that are likely to yield the most results. For many, researching keywords and phrases can feel tedious and boring. While it may not be possible to make the process fun, it is possible to make the process more efficient while spending less time doing it. Today, we’ll review some options you have when performing keyword research that can help you find plenty of potential keyword choices in virtually no time at all.

Analyze the Competition’s Categories

Many people conducting keyword research first head to sources such as Google Keyword Planner in order to find potential targets. Seeing as how you want to conduct keyword research as quickly and effectively as possible, we recommend first scoping out the competition instead. You should already know who your competition is by now: head over to their websites. Take a look at their blogs and business page menus, analyzing which particular topics and themes they’re pinging links to and targeting. In most cases, the topics and top-level links are relevant niche keywords in their own right. This can help you quickly find new ideas for keywords and phrases that might otherwise take much longer to uncover.

Mine Google Suggest

When looking for new keyword opportunities, you’re likely starting from a base set of keywords that’ll expand to create new possibilities. This makes Google Suggest the perfect solution, and it doesn’t require any complex knowledge or function to use. Simply head to Google and begin typing in your base keywords. The search engine will then begin recommending keyword suggestions based on common search terms that can be used for broader keyword ideas and pairings. In just a few minutes, you can come up with a plethora of new keywords and phrases. Some repeat the process, taking the output from Google Suggest and then entering in variations once again – this can be great for generating more nuanced and less targeted keywords.

Open Google Keyword Planner

Last but not least, efficient keyword planning wouldn’t be complete without opening Google’s Keyword Planner. This tool can easily be used to uncover the best keywords and phrases that can be used in pinging links to search engines. You can take the information you’ve already collected from the two sources above, enter that along with your website or landing page and instantly generate a wide variety of top-tier keyword possibilities. Further filtering is possible based on region, language and other select options. You’ll then be able to evaluate each possibility based on the amount of traffic and competition it currently has.

It can be all too easy to give up on keyword research, considering that it is boring and repetitive. Nevertheless, your brand’s visibility and success depend on it. By using the three mentioned strategies above, you can drum up dozens of potential keywords and phrases with just a few minutes of work each day. If you’re already conducted keyword research, tell us below how much time you usually spend researching keywords and what level of success you’ve generated thus far.