Find SEO Keywords and Develop a Keyword Strategy

Keywords have been an important foundation of search engine optimization from the beginning. But their role has changed, just as the way we use them has, not least due to the increasing dominance of artificial intelligence (AI). We are convinced that keywords are still very important, so this guide will teach you how to find keywords, what to look for when choosing keywords, which tools you can use, and how to optimally use keywords in SEO.

What are keywords?

In search engine optimization, we refer to keywords or key phrases as the terms or phrases that users enter into search engines in order to find answers, information, content, or products. We use these terms on websites in certain elements to increase the probability of achieving good positions in search results. In SEA (e.g., Google Paid as opposed to SEO = Google Organic), we bid on keywords to display ads for those terms in search results.

To make the topic more illustrative, we explain all the points in this blog post using a specific example: a fictional bicycle online shop or bicycle store with a website, namely the topic "bicycle" or "buying a bicycle". The graphic shows a small selection of different relevant related keywords for this topic:

Types of keywords

We differentiate between different types of keywords. This distinction plays a role in the strategic direction of our content and the priority we give to those keywords.

By length: Short Head & Long Tail Keywords

In general, there are two different types of keywords that are defined by their length:

• Short Head Keywords are short, very general terms that generally have a very high search volume but also correspondingly high competition. The intention behind these keywords is not clear. For example: "bicycle" is a Short Head keyword, which can imply a search for information, such as (what types of bicycles are there?), as well as a purchase intention or even a search for images.

• Long Tail Keywords, on the other hand, are longer, specific phrases or questions. Depending on the topic, the search volume and competition behind them are significantly lower, and the intention is generally clearer. For example: "best e-bikes 2025" or "buy cheap used kids’ bicycle" or "how to patch a bicycle tire?"

In addition, you can define "Mid Tail Keywords" that lie between these two types of keywords.

By intention: Information, Navigation, or Transaction?

Another important classification of keywords is the intention behind the search query:

• Informational keywords indicate a search for information. These can be the beginning of the user journey, the first step on the way to a purchase. For example: "trekking bike vs. city bike" or "what to consider when buying a bicycle?"

• Navigation Keywords point to the search for a specific brand, website, or product. For example: "Decathlon bicycles" or "Cube E-bikes".

• Transactional keywords show a purchase intention. Users are looking for an online shop or a local buying opportunity. For example: "buy trekking bike" or "order gravel bikes".

In addition to these classifications, there are other characteristics of keywords, such as search volume (how often is the term searched per month?) or the "Keyword Difficulty" calculated by many SEO tools (the difficulty of ranking in top positions for this keyword in search results).

Why are keywords important in search engine optimization?

Keywords reveal which terms (and topics) are searched frequently. To improve visibility in search results for relevant keywords, we use these terms on the respective pages. This way, we show search engines that a page (URL) is relevant for a specific topic and the associated terms. Therefore, we research and analyze keywords as the basis of content optimization - to know how and what to optimize.

What is the significance of keywords in the age of AI?

Are keywords still important in the age of AI? Let’s take a look back and take a short journey through SEO history. The role and significance of keywords have constantly evolved over the last few decades: While about 20 years ago keywords had to be used in their exact form to rank well, Google's language understanding developed over the following years. Various grammatical forms, singular and plural, were recognized as identical terms. Similarly, the connection between synonyms and related terms was recognized - it became about semantics instead of exact keyword matching.

We have not been thinking in pure keywords in search engine optimization for many years. Instead, we optimize on topic clusters, naturally supported by keywords. Keywords are still used as the basis, but the context behind them has become significantly more important. A sign of this is that Google often displays websites optimized for a synonym for search queries - Google recognizes that terms mean the same thing.

In addition to the clusters, another term has become important: the entity. An entity is a uniquely identifiable object or concept, such as a person, a place, a process. An indication of what Google identifies as an entity includes, among other things, the Knowledge Graph in search results or suggestions for topics or concepts. This can be seen in the example "pedelec":

These connections between topics or terms also play a role in AI SEO. Keywords are far from dead; they still serve an important purpose even in the AI age:

• Keyword analysis helps you understand the terms your (potential) customers use - and to speak the same language as your target audience.

• Keywords, especially “long tail keywords” like questions, help you better understand the intentions and problems of your target audience and offer corresponding content.

• Keywords still underpin entities and topic clusters, only they are not used as strictly as they were years ago. It is more important to cover the topic comprehensively and satisfyingly for customers, to meet the intent, and to present yourself as an authority to users and search engines.

Keyword analysis - Finding keywords in 3 steps

How do we find keywords for our keyword and content strategy? Depending on resources and available time as well as the topic, a keyword analysis can be a complex task. The more general the topic, the more extensive the analysis and the more subtopics and keyword clusters are found. It is easier to research keywords for a single page and a very specific topic.

1. Brainstorming

Ideally, you are well-versed in your topic for which you want to find keywords. The first step is always a rough brainstorming session where you jot down all subtopics, terms, and questions related to your topic. With this, you have the first foundation for your analysis on which you can build.

If you want to research keywords for an entire website, think of these terms, for example:

• Your brand name (depending on its popularity, there may be a relevant search volume behind a brand name)

• Your industry (e.g. bicycle online shop)

• Categories (e.g. e-bikes, city bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, kids' bikes, bikes for seniors, accessories, etc.)

• Brands (e.g. Cube Ebike, Bergamont Bicycle)

• Products or services (specific product names of bestsellers, e.g. cube kathmandu hybrid pro 750)

• Frequently asked questions about products or categories (e.g. which bike for commuting)

2. Analyzing keywords on the website

If you already have a website or an online shop, you should establish a status quo: for which terms are you already (well) found, and through which terms do you get clicks and impressions?

To do this, analyze the terms you find in the performance report in Google Search Console, and for which you get many impressions or clicks and add them to your brainstorming list.

If you have access to a professional SEO tool, you will find all keywords for which your domain has a position in the top 100 here. You can filter these keywords by search volume or positions and export this list. This way, you find out where there is already potential on which you can build optimization. Particularly interesting here are the so-called "threshold keywords" - keywords that are "on the verge" of a certain area. Usually, this refers to - depending on the definition - keywords between 11 and 20, which are just before the top 10, or keywords starting from position 4 or 6, which are on the verge of the top 5 or top 3.

3. Keyword research

After you probably already have a long list of keywords, it's time to research additional terms. A wide variety of sources and tools are available for this. If you want to conduct particularly comprehensive research, you can use all tools, but you can also focus on just a few if you have identified a sufficient number of keywords through these.

Tools for keyword research

The bad news first: Good keyword tools that you can work with effectively are always chargeable. Free versions generally limit the number of results or queries per day. You have to enter each keyword individually, instead of analyzing a list of terms, and the filter and export options are mostly restricted or unavailable.

Professional SEO tools usually come with a keyword tool where you get important information for your entered terms, such as monthly search volume, as well as related terms that you can cluster and further analyze.

Some of the most well-known tools include: Semrush, Ahrefs, Sistrix, Surfer SEO, or the KWfinder from Mangools.

Free, limited options are available, for example, through Ubersuggest or Answerthepublic. Both tools offer a paid version as well as free research options. A unique feature of answerthepublic is the focus on long tail keywords.

If you run ads on Google Ads, you can use the Google Keyword Planner, which gives you search volume, CPC, and competition for each keyword.

Further sources to find keywords

Besides the classic keyword tools, there are a whole series of other sources available to find keywords. These include:

• Google Suggest: Terms suggested by Google when entering terms in the search box

• Google related terms under search results

• Google Trends: Development of interest over time, but only for frequently searched terms

• Questions in Google search results

• Social Media Hashtags on relevant platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, etc.

• YouTube Autosuggest: Suggested terms when entering a word in the search

• Topics on platforms with user-generated content such as Reddit

• Thesaurus like Woxikon

All these screenshots are included, check if you want to use all of them or just a few and how you want to present them:

Google Suggest:

Google Trends:

YouTube Suggest:

Woxikon:

Google Questions:

People also search for in Google:

Keyword Gaps

A very valuable analysis is the so-called "Keyword Gap Analysis", where you compare your website or online shop with one or more relevant competitors. Here, not only direct competitors are relevant (in our example other bicycle online shops), but all websites that are present for your topic in the search results (for example, an online magazine about bicycles).

Using a professional keyword tool, the domains can be compared, and you receive a list of keywords for which your competitors are already ranking in the search results, but your domain is not yet. From this, opportunities arise to expand the website or shop, for example, to include new subcategories or new blog posts.

Create a keyword strategy

What do you do now with the many keywords you have found through the various sources? The first step is always to cluster these keywords thematically to get a better overview. These clusters can, for example, be oriented along the structure in your online shop and the type of page:

• Homepage Keywords (most general terms and brand, e.g. bicycle online shop)

• Categories (e.g. mountain bikes, road bikes, kids' bikes, etc.)

• Subcategories (e.g. 16-inch bikes, dirt bikes, folding bikes, etc.)

• Product keywords (e.g. Cube Agree c62, Bergamot Sponsor Tour S, etc.)

• Guide keywords (e.g. what to consider when buying a bike, what is a trekking bike, adjusting hub gears, etc.)

• FAQ-Keywords (e.g. what frame size for a bike, how long does an e-bike battery last, etc.)

What makes a good keyword?

Out of the large number of keywords you have researched and clustered, you will not be able to use all of them. Therefore, it is important to evaluate and prioritize these keywords. Various criteria are important for this, and prioritization also depends on your strategic goals and your industry:

Relevance: all keywords must be relevant to your business (if you don’t sell road bikes, the keyword "buy road bike" is irrelevant)

Search Volume: a higher search volume means a higher probability of generating traffic. However, for niche industries, search volume is not the decisive factor. A more suitable keyword with a lower search volume can be more valuable than a more general one with high search volume. The goal is to find the optimal balance.

The intention behind the keyword: The intent behind the search query must always match what users find on the page. Keywords indicating purchase intent (e.g., "buy mountain bike") are less important for a pure online magazine than informational keywords.

Conversion probability: For an online shop, keywords with a relation to purchases are particularly valuable, as they are more likely to lead to a conversion than informational keywords. The more specific the term (for example, a product name), the higher the chance that someone will buy. Keywords for blog posts usually do not detract from this point.

The competitive situation: Keywords with high competition (for which many large domains rank that have been on the market for a long time and have built up trust and authority) can be too big a challenge for new domains or smaller websites at first. It can take years to rank well for highly competitive keywords. Instead, keywords with less competition can achieve quicker results.

Possible existing rankings: It is generally easier to improve keywords for which there is already a ranking, than to be found for brand new keywords. This is particularly true for keywords in threshold positions.

Summary: a good keyword

• Has high relevance for your business

• Has relevant search volume

• Covers the appropriate intention

• Has a high conversion probability

• Has low to medium competition

• May already have existing rankings that can be improved.

There is no blueprint for assessing and prioritizing keywords and creating a keyword strategy that can be applied to every industry and company. It requires both experience and a general company and marketing strategy to which the keyword strategy is adapted. We can therefore only give you suggestions at this point but are happy to support you in creating a professional keyword strategy!

Keyword Mapping

The most important step in the keyword strategy is creating a so-called keyword mapping. This involves assigning keywords to target pages (either existing pages or newly planned pages). It’s important:

• For each important keyword, exactly one page is defined that should rank for it

• Each important page is assigned a keyword set of 1-2 main keywords and several secondary keywords

This setup prevents multiple pages from competing for the same keyword (the result can be that neither page ranks if Google is unsure which is the more relevant page - the so-called “cannibalization”). You can also identify which important keywords still lack a suitable target page.

Based on this keyword mapping, you can then plan and optimize your content.

Content Strategy

Once we have assigned the keywords to the appropriate, existing, or new pages, we can create an editorial plan from them, in which all topics are included, for which we need to optimize pages or create new texts.

For example, with bicycles, this could include these texts and pages:

• Children’s bicycles: the category page for children is supplemented with a guide, a product comparison, and buying advice.

• Buy bicycle under 500 dollars: either a category page or a filter page with the appropriate criteria or a blog post with a product comparison

• Best bike for beginners: blog post with a product comparison and buying advice

• Buy a bike with hub gears: the appropriate category page is supplemented with relevant content (comparison of hub gears and derailleur gears, advantages of hub gears, most popular bikes with hub gears, etc.)

• What to consider when buying a bicycle: guide article for the blog with an overview of different types of bicycles, criteria for purchase (usage, size, features, etc.), online purchase vs. local purchase, etc.

• Buy bicycle in #city: landing page of the own local shop with an overview of the assortment, address, maps, opening hours, etc.

Using keywords

The use of keywords could fill another long article, so we would like to give you an overview of the most important elements on a website or in an online shop where you should use keywords:

• In the metadata (page title/title tag and meta description/page description)

• In the headlines

• In the text

• In filenames of images and image descriptions

• In internal links

Caution: Avoid keyword stuffing!

One of the biggest mistakes in using your researched keywords is repeating the same keywords too often. If your text sounds unnatural because you've stuffed it with too many identical or similar terms, no one will want to read it, and search engines will likely evaluate it as "keyword stuffing."

Make sure you always write content for users. Use synonyms and related terms and avoid pure lists of keywords or even grammatically incorrect use of terms just to cover a keyword exactly. The focus is on providing relevant, helpful content for your target audience, using relevant keywords naturally!

SEO vs. SEA Keywords

Effective SEO keyword strategies also benefit paid channels. Many synergies can be created between SEO and SEA (especially Google Ads), for example, by using the same keywords for organic optimization and paid ads and occupying two positions in search results with your website: one paid and one unpaid.

A keyword and content strategy for search engine optimization can also be used in the SEA area

SEA can also be used nicely for A/B testing ad texts and CTAs (call-to-actions) that can be used in the metadata (page title and meta description).

Also, optimizing page content and using the most searched keywords helps for SEA - for example, to improve the quality score and pay low click prices.

To gain the greatest benefit, the insights of both channels can be combined - which is why a company greatly benefits when SEO and SEA are in one hand. Incidentally, at internetwarriors, we have both long-standing SEO and SEA expertise in the team!

A tailor-made keyword & content strategy for you

Finding the right keywords and deriving an effective strategy that matches your business goals can be a challenge. The SEO experts at internetwarriors are happy to assist you. We analyze your website, your industry, and your potentials, research the appropriate keywords, and create an individual content strategy for you. We are also happy to help you optimize the content or create new content or train you and your team on how to use keywords effectively - even in the age of AI.