Keyword research in 2025: here's how to do it

Introduction

What is your customer's problem and the potential of your solution? A keyword research will answer these questions. It can be the basis of your website structure, content strategy or to scale up your Google Ads campaigns. Yet the importance of keyword research is often underestimated. Many business owners create content from their own perspective, rather than from the search behavior of their target audience. The result? Well-intentioned pages that are never found. With smart keyword research, you get inside your customer's head: you discover what terms they use, what they are looking for, and how far along their customer journey they are. Whether you offer a blog, webshop or service - those who know what people are searching for have the edge.

What is keyword research?

A keyword research is the process of researching what words and phrases people use in search engines such as Google to find information, products or services. The goal is to understand your target audience's search behavior so you can create content that is better found and matches their intent.

Why conduct a keyword research study?

Conducting a keyword research will give you insight into the searches your target audience uses in search engines and how often they are used approximately monthly. Furthermore, we can see what is paid in Google Ads for a click, a good indication of how far along the searcher is in their decision process.

• You focus on what people are actually looking for, not what you think they are looking for.
• You save time and effort by creating content that has a chance of scoring.
• You discover new opportunities, niches or topics on which there is little competition.

You can then use this information for the following:

• Create targeted content that answers the question of your potential customers. This allows you to become organically findable on it (SEO).
• Better match the content on your website to the stage of the buying process the potential customer is in.
• Advertise in Google and Dutch Microsoft Ads Agency on these search terms so that you become directly visible on them.

How do you do keyword research?

You can roughly divide doing keyword research into 5 stages:

1. Collect ideas - What would your target audience type in to find your offering? Start at your own website (Google Search Console), competitors' websites.
2. Find keywords - Use tools such as Google' s keyword planner or Ahrefs to discover how often they are searched for and related terms.
3. Setting Intention - Understanding what someone really wants to find behind a search term.
4. Selecting - Choosing keywords based on relevance, competition and feasibility.
5. Grouping - Classify keywords into themes to build content strategies.

The search intent of your ideal visitor

Analyzing search intent is all about understanding the reason behind a search query: what exactly does the user want to accomplish? There are roughly four types of intentions:

1. Informational (someone seeks knowledge, such as "how does solar energy work"),
2. Navigating (someone searches for a specific website, such as "login Bol.com")
3. Commercial (someone compares options, such as "best noise-canceling headphones")
4. Transactional (someone is about to do or buy something, such as "buy Nike Air Max size 42").

By looking closely at the SERP (search results page), you can often infer intent. Is the page full of buying guides, product pages or comparison sites? Then the intent is probably commercial or transactional. If, instead, it's blogs, explainer videos or Wikipedia pages, then it's more likely to be informational. By aligning your content with the dominant intent behind a keyword, you increase your chances of better rankings as well as conversions. A tools like Ahrefs gives their own estimate of what they think the search intent of a keyword is.

Types of keywords: short-tail, long-tail, branded

Keywords can be broadly divided into three main categories: short-tail, long-tail and branded keywords.

1. Short-tail keywords consist of one or two general words with high search volume, such as "laptop" or "insurance," but are often extremely competitive and vague in intent.
2. Long-tail keywords are more specific and usually consist of three or more words, such as "best laptop for video editing 2025." These have less search volume, but often convert better because they show clear intent.
3. Then there are branded keywords, which use the name of a brand or company, such as "IKEA closet" or "Booking.com deals" - ideal if you want to be found at the brand level. In addition, you can also group keywords based on intent: informational ("how does it work"), transactional ("buy"), navigational ("contact page [company]") or commercially inquisitive ("best vs cheapest").

By properly distinguishing these types of search terms as well, you can create more targeted content that matches the stage your target audience is in.

Tools for keyword research

1. Google Keyword Planner

• Free tool from Google (via an Ads account)
• Provides search volumes, competition and bid data
• Especially useful for basic keywords and paid campaigns

2. Ahrefs Keywords Explorer

• Powerful paid tool with comprehensive data
• Provides keyword difficulty, click potential, SERP analysis and trends
• Ideal for in-depth SEO research

3. SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool.

• Largest keyword database in the world
• Categorizes keywords by intent
• Includes queries, semantic variations and competitive analysis

4. Ubersuggest

• Freemium tool by Neil Patel
• Shows search volume, SEO score, backlinks and content ideas
• User-friendly for beginners

5. AnswerThePublic

• Visualizes questions and phrases that people type around a topic
• Great for content ideas and long-tail keywords
• Free limited use, premium for intensive use

6. Google Trends

• Shows search interest over time and by region
• Perfect for seasonal content or trending topics
• Combine with Keyword Planner for actual search intent

7. Keywordtool.io

• Generates hundreds of keyword ideas based on Google Autocomplete
• Also works for YouTube, Amazon, Instagram and more
• Freemium model, with limited data in the free version

Clustering and structuring data

After collecting keywords, it is essential to cluster and structure them logically so that it is not just a list of lots of keywords, but a document that you use continuously.

Clustering means that you group keywords by theme or topic, for example all terms around "sustainable water bottles" together, and all variants of "BPA-free drinking bottles" in another group. Within such a cluster, you choose one main keyword (called the "pillar") and combine it with supporting keywords (subtopics or "supporting content"). This approach forms the basis for a content strategy or campaign structure.

Common mistakes in keyword research

• Staring blindly at search volume→High numbers seem attractive, but say nothing about intent or conversion.
• Ignore search intent→Using an informative keyword on a sales page results in low relevance as well as poor performance.
• Keyword stuffing→Using keywords unnaturally often harms readability as well as your ranking.
• Do not apply clustering→Loose, disjointed content pages lead to overlap and internal competition.
• Targeting too broadly→General keywords are often too competitive, especially for smaller websites.
• Ignoring long-tail keywords→Low volumes are underestimated even though they are often much more targeted and conversion-oriented.
• Use outdated data→Search behavior changes rapidly; keyword data from years ago can be misleading.
• Only use tools without analyzing SERP→Tools provide data, but you can't see the real intent until you see what scores in Google.
• Target competitors' branded keywords without strategy → Without authority or relevance, you lose the battle, or worse: you get punished.
• Linking no action to the research → Collecting keywords without translating them into concrete content = wasted effort.

Conclusion

A good keyword research is not a one-time task, but the foundation of your online marketing strategy that constantly evolves with your target audience, market and competition. It provides direction, prevents waste of time and resources, and lays the foundation for content that is truly found and read. Whether you are just starting out or have been at it for years: if you speak the language of your target audience, you win the trust and the click.

Would you like to have a comprehensive keyword research done by experienced SEO professionals? Then contact us with no obligation.