Plain-English guides to finding, judging, and using the search terms that matter.
How to do keyword research (step by step)
A practical, step-by-step guide to keyword research in 2026: find seed terms, expand them, judge difficulty and intent, and turn them into a content plan.
How to find the exact search terms your customers use
Five reliable ways to uncover the real phrases customers type — from Search Console and the Ads search-terms report to keyword tools and autocomplete.
Long-tail keywords: how to find and use them
What long-tail keywords are, why they convert, and how to find low-competition long-tail search terms you can actually rank for.
Keyword difficulty, explained
How keyword difficulty scores are calculated, why they differ between tools, and how to use them to pick winnable search terms.
Search intent: the four types and how to use them
Informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional intent — what each means, how to tell them apart from the SERP, and how to match your content.
Keyword research for YouTube
How to find the search terms people type into YouTube — using autocomplete, question tools, and volume data — and turn them into videos that get found.
Keyword research for Amazon
How Amazon search differs from Google, and how to find the buyer-intent product search terms shoppers use — for listings and PPC.
Free ways to do keyword research
You don’t always need a paid tool. Seven free sources of real search-term data — from Search Console and autocomplete to the Google Keyword Planner.