Doing SEO? Keyword Research is never the first step!!

You must be amazed to hear this. Because till date, all the SEO analysts, with whom you ever worked or are planning to work with: the first thing that is just cooked up (or I don't know heated up to their mind) is to ask for the Seed Keywords, so that they can fetch those long lists of automated Keywords out of those paid tools like ahrefs, Moz, Semrush, etc.

But What If I say that Keyword Research is not the first step. In fact, it is NEVER the first step.

You choose KWs on the basis of where you stand. Where are you standing in the competitive landscape? I can't choose to rank for keyword ABC if I am already ranking on that. All my efforts would be lost if I do invest in the Keywords for which either the Competition is very high or if there is no competition at all (that means no traffic). So, what is that midline upon which these particular Keywords are to be chosen?

The start is yours, but the end Isn't

Remember! Starting your website or blog can be based on your idea/mind. But processing and ending it will go as per the market and requirements. If you sincerely want to grow, you have to research the Keywords according to what it is required in the market.

All this comes transparent with a healthy competitive analysis. A competitive analysis will give an insight into which Keywords have more potential or ranking and which Keywords are difficult to be ranked. Even then, you don't go for Keyword research but go for a content strategy. A content Strategy is crafted based on the Competitive analysis and gives a detailed plan about what to choose, how to choose and how to perform in certain parameters. The Game lies where?

The GAME lies in the values that you choose after having your Keyword Research. Low Competition, High CPC, High Volume etc; this typical sort of sorting doesn't matter now. Your filtration of Keywords must be based upon the parameters fetched from the Competitive Analysis. Perfect order:

So the order of steps is Competitive Analysis > Keyword Filteration > Strategy > Implementation. Give your remarks in the comment section. Also if you have any questions, you can ask in the comment section, without any hesitation.

Thank you for reading. I am Anshul Rana, a digital marketer, Content Marketer and SEO Strategist.

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