SEO SHORTS: BEST SEO TOOLS FOR KEYWORD RESEARCH FOR BEGINNERS

Ever wonder what SEO pros use for keyword research? We’re answering this burning question today!

We’re also introducing you to our new segment: SEO Shorts 🩳

(Yes, like the summer version of pants. The intro episode is linked above ⬆️)

Originally our private podcast episodes, we’ve decided to roll these super short (~10 min or less) episodes into our regular show—giving you a double dose of SEO info. 🤓

These episodes are intended to be action-oriented bite-sized nuggets that help you build your SEO strategy & get found online—easily once and for all!

You'll see them drop each Friday. We can't wait to hear what you think!

Google Chrome extensions mentioned:

• Ubersuggest
• Keywords Everywhere
• Keyword Surfer

^^ not affiliate links! Just links to make finding our favorite tools super easy.

We'd love it if you help us spread the word about SEO Shorts! Leave a review on your favorite podcast player! (It takes less than 3 minutes & really helps us reach more business owners like you.)

Connect w/ B: YouTube, Website, LinkedIn, Instagram

Transcript

Brittany Herzberg: 0:00

Well hello, and welcome to SEO shirts a private podcast by the very same co host of the simple and smart SEO show, Brittany and Krystal.

Crystal Waddell: 0:09

Here you can experience way more actionable episodes, beat them as many SEO masterminds. Each week, we'll be walking you through a different tasks that support your SEO strategy,

Brittany Herzberg: 0:21

you will learn exactly how to take simple and smart action with step by step walkthroughs. And quick explanations of how your effort will impact your business's search ability.

Crystal Waddell: 0:31

And now, it's time for this week's SEO short.

Brittany Herzberg: 0:36

And we're back with SEO tools. I can't make a jig all the same. You know,

Crystal Waddell: 0:44

I love SEO tools. I mean, once I found out there were SEO tools, you know, I was like, Oh my gosh, this is so easy. Just like where do you start? But once you have an SEO tool, like, Oh, that's a lot of it's already been done. It's just a matter of finding it.

Brittany Herzberg: 0:59

Right. And then we realized, right before we recorded this, that we kind of have some favorites. And we don't really deviate too much from the favorites. It's like, I'm sticking with you, kid.

Crystal Waddell: 1:10

Yeah. And you know, I realized after talking to you that I don't even fully utilize my favorite tools as much as I could, you know, because I have some very specific things like when I'm doing keyword research, the only thing I want to know is you know what words are related to this that have the greatest search volume? That's my first question. That's what I'm looking for. And then I want to know, okay, how difficult would it be for me to rank for that keyword. So, you know, as long as I have a tool that can do those two things for me, I don't really need all the other bells and whistles.

Brittany Herzberg: 1:41

Totally. And then I will say one more thing that you actually talk about a little bit more than me, although I've started to talk about it more that you want to think about when you're doing your keyword research is search intent. So as you are using these tools, and as you're finding the answers, just sit with it for a minute and say, okay, is the person who I really want to find and attract? Are they going to be searching for this? Or is it going to be someone slightly not the best fit. And just as a quick example, Chris and I both have two businesses, you know, I have the massage practice, where I do have a course for massage therapists. And then I work on massage clients. And I could say one phrase, but a massage therapist appear, would think one thing or be searching for that in a specific instance, and a massage client would be searching for that in a different situation entirely. So just really be mindful of the words and the phrases and who is going to want to search for those things and what they're going to want to find.

Crystal Waddell: 2:40

That's a really good point. And I think it was stuff that we had on our other podcasts that talked about meeting people like in their journey, like closer to the point where they're actually going to buy. And I really liked that because I have an e commerce Store. And so, you know, it's all fun and well to provide informational blogs and that type of stuff. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, I do that as well. But really thinking about, Okay, what's the type of word that's going to get someone to spend money in my store, you know, like finding those keywords, those transactional keywords. And so that's been a focus of our own keyword strategy. And then also what I try to pass along to clients, because, hey, we want to get in front of these people when they're about to pull out their credit card, right? So finding those words that you know, are right before the transaction happens are so important. Very, very

Brittany Herzberg: 3:37

important. Okay. What we want to do is tell you about our top three favorite tools, which we just realized are our top three favorite tools. We're like, should we have five? And then we were looking to expand the list? And we're kind of like, nope, these are the ones that we use.

Crystal Waddell: 3:50

Yep. When I search, I have these tools stacked up on the side of my browser. And so we talked about Keywords Everywhere. And then we have Uber Suggest, and then keyword surfers. Those are the top three tools that we like, and mine are actually stacked on top of each other. So I was just kind of curious, like, Okay, how do you use each of the tools, and you know, which one is your favorite,

Brittany Herzberg: 4:16

I really fall back on Uber Suggest a ton, I have a paid account with them. All of these extensions are free, with the exception of Keywords Everywhere, I think there's like a maximum that you can do for free. But if you pay for, I can't even remember how many searches it is I think it's like wouldn't be like 10,000 or something, it's like 10 bucks, and gets 100,000 Nevermind, it's even better 100,000 And I think it's $10 and that will last you for such a long time. And you're essentially paying for when you do the searches like the results that are showing up. It's like 10 bucks and it lasts you a very very long time.

Crystal Waddell: 4:53

Okay, so one reason why this is just so important because if you've never done keyword research before You know, what I like to do is I like to just put in a term in the search bar. And so let's say football gift ideas. Okay? So if I put in the term football gift ideas, the search volume of that term is 590 per month, that's how many searches on average are happening for that particular keyword combination. So what's really neat about a keyword tool, like Uber suggests is that they give you the information about people also searched for.dot.so, then you get to look through those other options and just take a look and say, Hmm, I wonder if what people also search for would work as a keyword combination. For what I'm selling? Would it be a better keyword combination? Is there something that gives me a new idea, or a new angle that I hadn't thought of before, you know, so that's one of the most powerful ways I feel like the Uber suggests extension is helped our business.

Brittany Herzberg: 6:01

So the other thing that I would encourage people to look at as well is, you know, once you install Uber Suggest and even the other two tools, scroll to the bottom, and you'll see related searches. And you'll notice that it shows you the search volume, the cost per click, and the search difficulty and all of that stuff, too, that's provided by Uber suggests you'll see the little you at the bottom. So that again, same thing like crystal was saying it just kind of can help you expand or niche, your search so that you're making sure you're finding the right people. And then the other thing, keyword surfer will show you related keywords, and like it'll say a similarity percentage, and it'll also show you the search volume as well. These tools

Crystal Waddell: 6:42

are so cool. And it's crazy, because with keyword surfer, a lot of times I get completely different keyword ideas than I do from Uber Suggest. And so that's why I feel like it's so important to have both because they're different. And one might function better for one search versus the other for a different one, you know, so having them there to compare, also kind of gives that reassurance that you're covering all your bases.

Brittany Herzberg: 7:07

Exactly. Alright, so we want you to go check these out. We're going to link them in the show notes below. And then your homework challenge situation for today is going to be to share your favorite SEO tool. Is there a Chrome extension that we didn't mention that you love using or that you've heard about? Or is there one that you heard from us today and you download it and you're like, super excited to us? Let us know. Put it in the conversation thread.

Crystal Waddell: 7:32

Awesome. You've got your marching orders. So go do it and we'll see you in the next one. Bye