The document outlines an approach to keyword research for 2019, emphasizing the importance of understanding search intent and analyzing competitor traffic in order to maximize website rankings and traffic. Key points include that search volume is often misleading and that targeting long-tail keywords can generate substantial search demand. A structured 9-step keyword research process is provided to help identify and fulfill user intent effectively.

1. How to Do Keyword Research in 2019
for Maximum Traffic
Sam Oh
#SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

2. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Sam Oh
Director of Product Education at Ahrefs
10-years experience in SEO and digital
marketing
Ex-agency owner, ex-professional gamer
Consulting, niche sites & YouTube

3. How to Do Keyword Research in 2019
for Maximum Traffic
Sam Oh
#SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

4. Fundamentals first… tactics later
#SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

5. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
2009 Keyword Targeting

6. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
lose weight How to lose weight fast How to lose weight
2009 Keyword Targeting

7. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

8. But today…things are
VERY different
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@samsgoh

9. #SEJThinkTank
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10. #SEJThinkTank
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11. #SEJThinkTank
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12. #SEJThinkTank
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13. #SEJThinkTank
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14. #SEJThinkTank
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15. #SEJThinkTank
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16. Key Takeaways?
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17. There’s no “fixed limit” on the # of
keywords a page can rank for
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@samsgoh

18. Search volume is NOT a good
indicator for search traffic
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@samsgoh

19. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
What best describes your keyword targeting strategy?
a.) Low competition, low volume keywords
b.) Try and rank for high volume head terms
c.) Go after highly commercial keywords
d.) Go after competitor keywords
e.) No keyword targeting strategy
Poll

20. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Search Volumes are Misleading

21. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Search Volumes are Misleading

22. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Advertisements > Reality

23. #SEJThinkTank
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The “advertisement”

24. #SEJThinkTank
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The “reality”

25. ~14% of searches get clicks
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26. #SEJThinkTank
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27. #SEJThinkTank
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The “advertisement”

28. #SEJThinkTank
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The “reality”

29. #SEJThinkTank
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30. Search intent is unclear.
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31. SV/Traffic vs. Search intent
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32. SV/Traffic vs. Search intent
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33. What is the searcher looking for
and can I fulfill that intent?
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34. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Information
Navigational
Commercial investigation
Transactional
Search Intent Categories

35. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Information - how tos, whats (how to make slime)
Navigational - branded queries (facebook, BOA login)
Commercial investigation – “vs”, “best”, specific attributes
(ie. brown shoes for men size 11)
Transactional – buy, download etc.
Search Intent Categories

36. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Source: ftf.agency/keyword-research-now/

37. How do you
identify search intent?
#SEJThinkTank
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38. Learn from Google
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39. How to make a website
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Guides
Informational intent

40. Best headphones
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Comparisons
Commercial investigation

41. buy bose quietcomfort headphones
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Product pages
Transactional intent

42. In general, the best way to
compete for a keyword is…
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43. to follow suit (content type)
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44. But search intent isn’t always
this clear.
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45. Football
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46. Football
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47. Football
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48. Football
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49. In general, volatile SERPs
may not require as many links.
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50. But retaining rankings is
unpredictable.
#SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

51. Stable SERPs will likely require more
quality links than the competition.
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52. Retaining position is
often more predictable.
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53. #SEJThinkTank
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54. Mini Case Study
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55. #SEJThinkTank
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56. #SEJThinkTank
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We got links!

57. #SEJThinkTank
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We ranked…then dropped

58. #SEJThinkTank
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Mostly guides

59. #SEJThinkTank
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60. #SEJThinkTank
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61. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Search volume ≠ traffic
Search intent comes first
What we’ve discussed

62. How do you find keywords that
drive TONS of traffic AND…
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63. know you can rank for?
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64. Enter long tail topics
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65. Long tail keywords aren’t about
“word length”
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66. #SEJThinkTank
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67. #SEJThinkTank
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68. Long tail keywords are search queries with
low individual search volume, but usually have
a huge total search demand as a group.
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69. Search demand curve
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70. Example: “cute cats”
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71. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

72. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
1. How much search traffic does a page get.
2. Which keywords contribute to #1 and how many?
Two things you need to know:

73. Easiest way to find
“long-tail topics”
#SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

74. is to look at your competitors’
traffic generating pages.
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75. #SEJThinkTank
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76. #SEJThinkTank
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77. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Which topic do you think generates the most search traffic
for bodybuilding.com?
a.) chest workouts (48,000)
b.) back exercises (50,000)
c.) shoulder workouts (61,000)
d.) ab workouts (74,000)
Poll

78. #SEJThinkTank
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79. “Business value” aside…
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80. #SEJThinkTank
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“top keywords” may not produce results you’d expect

81. #SEJThinkTank
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But they may produce better results than you’d think

82. Key takeaway:
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83. Analyze your competitors’ top pages
and create content around these top keywords.
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84. Two more hacks
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85. #SEJThinkTank
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These filters work well on “authority sites”

86. #SEJThinkTank
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87. #SEJThinkTank
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88. #SEJThinkTank
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89. #SEJThinkTank
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90. There’s no shortage of topics…
#SEJThinkTank
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91. But can you rank?
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92. Keyword Research Process
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93. #SEJThinkTank
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94. #SEJThinkTank
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#1. Check that the SV, Clicks, Traffic Potential

95. #SEJThinkTank
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#2. Glance at Keyword Difficult

96. #SEJThinkTank
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#2. Glance at Keyword Difficult

97. #SEJThinkTank
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#3. Assess Search Intent

98. #SEJThinkTank
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#3. Assess Search Intent
Guides

99. #SEJThinkTank
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#3. Assess Search Intent
Guides
- Mostly list posts

100. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
#3. Assess Search Intent
Guides
- Mostly list posts
Informational intent

101. Can you serve search intent?
[yes] [no]
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102. [no] = Move on
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103. [yes] = Assess Ranking Difficulty
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104. Keyword difficulty should be
assessed manually.
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105. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Keyword Difficult:
A weighted average of the
number of linking domains to
the current top‐10 ranking
pages plotted on a
logarithmic scale from 0 to
100.

106. Translation: Links
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107. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
#4. Assess Keyword Difficulty

108. #SEJThinkTank
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#4. Assess Keyword Difficulty

109. #SEJThinkTank
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#4. Assess Keyword Difficulty

110. #SEJThinkTank
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But why is this page ranking lower?

111. #SEJThinkTank
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Link quality? On-page factors?

112. #SEJThinkTank
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RD For Top Ranking Page

113. Can you build better/more links?
[yes] [no]
#SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

114. But links aren’t everything…
#SEJThinkTank
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115. We want to rank high for just as many
keywords (or more) to maximize
search traffic.
#SEJThinkTank
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116. This boils down to content.
#SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

117. This is NOT a call to make your
content unnecessarily long.
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118. #SEJThinkTank
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Long tail targeting (w/o link building)

119. What do you write about?
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120. Whatever Google deems is
“rank-worthy” for that topic.
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121. #SEJThinkTank
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122. Google’s job is to
serve search intent best.
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123. So that too becomes your job.
#SEJThinkTank
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124. #SEJThinkTank
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125. #SEJThinkTank
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Set positions filter for only
relevant queries

126. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Set positions filter for only
relevant queries
Look to language and
sprinkle in long tail queries…

127. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh
Set positions filter for only
relevant queries
Look to language for long-tail
and sprinkle in long tail
queries…
WHEN IT MAKES SENSE.

128. #SEJThinkTank
@samsgoh

129. But there’s an even better way…
#SEJThinkTank
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130. Content Gap analysis at the
page level
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131. Common Usage
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132. Common Usage
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133. CG at the Page level
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134. CG at the Page level
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135. These searchers want…
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136. Last Example: “Best Watch Brands
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137. #SEJThinkTank
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138. Rather than looking at these as a
“list of keywords”…
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139. Use these to form an “outline”
Based on how Google sees intent
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140. #SEJThinkTank
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141. Summary:
9-Step Keyword Research Process
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142. #SEJThinkTank
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1. Traffic potential > Search Volume

143. #SEJThinkTank
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2. Look at your competitor’s “traffic generating pages”

144. #SEJThinkTank
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3. Identify search intent for your keyword (via. Google)

145. #SEJThinkTank
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4. Determine if you can fulfill search intent
[yes] [no]

146. #SEJThinkTank
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5. Manually assess ranking difficulty (link profile + on-page)

147. #SEJThinkTank
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6. See which common keywords the top 3 pages rank for
(content gap analysis @ page level)

148. #SEJThinkTank
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7. Outline/content around these keyword rankings

149. #SEJThinkTank
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8. Build links

150. #SEJThinkTank
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9. Rinse and repeat
∞