First, let’s cover the basics. Keyword research is the process of finding certain words and phrases that people commonly use in search engines.
The ultimate goal behind keyword research should be to optimize content around these terms. Think about it, why would you spend 10 – 20 hours creating a piece of high-quality content if there is no demand for the topic you’re writing about?
Let’s take this into the realm of eCommerce and start with tool number 1. Please note these are in no particular order; I recommend them all equally as they are vital for eCommerce success.
Google Keyword Planner
Here’s the thing. Google is a platform; they create the playground that you’re about to play in – so why not take advantage of their very own keyword planner tool. If you are new to digital marketing and SEO, then this is a great jumping-off point.
Using this free tool, you can enter your topic or “seed keyword” to discover new keywords. Alternatively, you can retrieve search volume and forecasts for how certain keywords will perform in the future. This could be useful for eCommerce, giving a team the
ability to detect seasonal trends.
Google Search Console
Another vital tool developed by Google is around for a long time and just got a major update. It’s super user-friendly, and I would encourage anyone involved in eCommerce to jump on this. What does it do?
Google Search Console you data that the big industry SEO tools can give you for free in a nutshell. The most powerful is the “performance” area for data on clicks, impressions, average CTR (clickthrough rate), and average position.
You can view these metrics by queries (keywords and keyword phrases), pages, countries, devices, search appearance, and now dates. With this sort of dataset and marketing intelligence, it is easy to determine your best ranking keywords to laser focus your SEO efforts.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is, without a doubt, the most popular analytics software in the world. It allows web admins to view information about how users navigate on pages of their website, how they interact and use the functionality in your store.
The most common reports that people tend to take advantage of our popular landing pages, bounce rate, traffic sources (acquisition), conversion rate, and page views.
But taking this back to keyword research and tools – Google Analytics can be used to find keywords in the “Behaviour > Search Terms” report, and if you go to “All Traffic > Source/Medium > Keyword,” you can view the actual keywords that people used to reach certain pages.
Please note that most of the time, you will find Google Analytics has “(not set)” keywords. This is very common, and I would recommend using it coupled with Google Search Console to get a better idea of how individuals reach your site by keywords.
Answer The Public
Answer the Public fetches all Google’s autocomplete search queries and sorts them into lists. This is very powerful for revealing questions people are asking on Google. The best part? It’s free to use.
Essentially, if you are doing some basic keyword research for a starter eCommerce site or blog posts for a more established site, this will lay the foundations for your keyword strategy. When you’re ready to take it to the next level, I recommend upgrading to some sort of paid
tools (Ahrefs or SEMRush).
Conclusion
Here I have included 4 free tools to kickstart your keyword research and start bringing together your SEO strategy. This should be more than enough to lead you into different aspects of SEO where keyword research will be crucial – on-page SEO, link building, and content strategy. Beware, the rabbit hole gets deeper, but if you have specific questions,s I’m happy to answer these personally; get in touch.
Jamie is the eCommerce Executive at Midshires Electrical. He lives, eats, and breathes eCommerce and has a passion for SEO. When not quenching his marketing thirst, he loves long walks on the beach with his best friend Thor and learning how to cook (badly).
