While working on your firm’s search engine optimization (SEO), you’ve probably read many different articles that mention you will need to do keyword research. Through keyword research, you can find different keywords and queries to target in your marketing efforts. The keywords you select will be words or phrases you want your firm to rank higher for on search results. These keywords can help you better your firm’s site through the content posted and on-page optimizations. So, how do you do keyword research?

Step 1: Find Topics

First, you’ll have to establish a list of topics that your ideal client may be interested in. If you are personal injury attorney, this may be things like car accident, auto accident lawyer, slip and fall, etc. Think of what your target client may be searching for. From this list of topics, you’ll be able to grow an extensive list of keywords.

Step 2: Finding Keywords

From the list of topics you created, you can begin the hunt for your specific keywords. There are many different ways to do this. Here are a few easy (and free!) ways your firm can look for these keywords:

• Google’s “Searches Related to”: When you search for one of your topics in Google, at the bottom of the result page are searches related to the topic you searched. Here, you can find keywords that should be relevant for your firm’s ideal clients. You can even click on these related searches, to continue to find relevant keywords for your original topic.
• Google’s “People Also Ask”: Similarly to the related searches, you may also find “People also ask” on your search results. These are questions other people have searched that are related to your topic. You can find keywords here as well as potential topics for content.
• Google Suggest: When you type your topic into the search bar on Google, look at the keywords suggested for you by Google. You may quickly be able to find relevant keywords for your firm here.

You can also use a variety of keyword research tools. These include Google’s tools like Search Console, Analytics, and/or Google Trends. These can help pinpoint keywords your firm is already ranking for as well as show search volume for these keywords. Many paid search marketing tools also have keyword generators. These can help you identify keyword opportunities through competitors or through search volume.

Step 3: Using the Keywords

Once you have a list of keywords you would like your firm to rank for, you can begin implementing them in your marketing plans and throughout your site. This can be done by creating new content based on your keyword findings. You can also update old pages that are not performing well with these new keywords. Add these keywords to your meta descriptions, alt text and title tags. But, as you begin to implement your newfound keywords, make sure you do not overdo it. You do not want to accidentally begin keyword stuffing, which is a Black Hat Tactic and can end up penalizing your site. Using your keyword research properly can help your firm’s site rise up in the ranks and may help generate or desirable cases.