What is Keyword Research?

When beginners start practicing keyword research, one of the first questions that comes up is: “I’ve been optimizing my own blog and I’m confused — should I add 10–20 keywords to a post, or are 3–4 enough?”

It’s a fair question, and the short answer is: you don’t need to overload your content with keywords. In fact, doing so can harm readability and even affect rankings. For most blog posts, naturally including a primary keyword and a few closely related terms 3–4 times throughout the article is more than enough.

But that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Keyword research isn’t just about how many times a phrase appears on the page — it’s about choosing the right keywords in the first place. To do that effectively, you need to understand several important metrics: search volume, keyword difficulty, competition level, search intent and the actual value a keyword can bring to your website.

In this article, we’ll break down each of these parameters so you can make smarter decisions and choose keywords that actually drive traffic — without resorting to keyword stuffing.

Search Volume — why it matters & how to define mid-frequency phrases

Search volume is one of the most important signals when choosing keywords. It represents the average number of times users search for a given query per month. High search volume can bring a lot of potential traffic — but it usually means stronger competition. Low volume keywords are easier to rank for, yet deliver much smaller traffic. For most bloggers, targeting mid-frequency keywords offers the best balance between achievable rankings and meaningful traffic.

There is no single universal threshold for “mid-frequency” because volumes depend on the niche. The practical way to determine mid-frequency phrases is to calculate the average search volume for a representative set of keywords in your topic, then treat the middle range around that average as your sweet spot.

Simple method to calculate average search volume:
  1. Collect a relevant sample of keywords for the topic (aim for 20–50 phrases).
  2. Fetch each keyword’s monthly search volume using a tool (Ahrefs, SEMrush, DataForSEO, your own analytics, etc.).
  3. Sum the monthly volumes of all sampled keywords.
  4. Divide the sum by the number of keywords — the result is the average search volume for that topic.
Example: If you collect 30 keywords and their total monthly search volume is 45,000, the average is:
45,000 ÷ 30 = 1,500. In this case, keywords with volumes roughly in the ~1,000–3,000 range can be considered mid-frequency for your topic.

Use this approach to set realistic expectations. Mid-frequency keywords typically offer a better trade-off: they provide worthwhile traffic without the fierce competition you face on the highest-volume terms. In the next sections we’ll combine volume with difficulty, intent, and SERP features to choose the best targets for your blog.

Keyword Difficulty — what the KD% score means in practice

Keyword Difficulty (KD%) in our tool shows how hard it is to rank for a keyword based on competition strength. The score ranges from 0% to 100% and is color-coded to help you quickly understand how challenging a keyword is. Lower KD% means the keyword is easier to rank for, while higher values indicate tough competition.

Here is exactly how KD% is categorized in our interface:

0–30%
Easy difficulty — great for new websites and quick-win content.
31–50%
Medium difficulty — achievable with solid on-page SEO and some backlinks.
51–70%
Hard difficulty — requires strong content and competitive domain authority.
70%+
Very hard — dominated by established brands, usually not ideal for beginners.

These KD% categories help you quickly evaluate how realistic it is to rank for a given keyword. However, KD alone shouldn't determine your final choice. It's essential to also consider search volume, intent, SERP features, and the quality of competing pages.

In practice, aim for keywords in the 0–50% KD range if your site is relatively new. As your authority grows, you can gradually target keywords from the higher difficulty bands.

Search Intent — how intent types affect keyword selection

Search Intent describes the purpose behind a user's query — what they are trying to achieve when typing the keyword. Understanding intent is crucial because Google always ranks pages that best match the user's goal. In our interface, every keyword is labeled with a clear intent indicator, represented by a colored square with the first letter of the intent type.

Here’s exactly how intent is displayed and interpreted in our system:

I
Informational — the user wants to learn something. Examples: “what is keyword difficulty”, “how to repair a roof”.
N
Navigational — the user wants to reach a specific website or brand. Examples: “youtube studio”, “ahrefs blog”, “wordpress login”.
C
Commercial / Investigational — the user is comparing options or researching before buying. Examples: “best roof repair tools”, “ahrefs vs semrush”.
T
Transactional — the user is ready to buy or take action. Examples: “buy hosting”, “roof repair service near me”.

Matching your content with the correct intent is one of the strongest ranking factors. Google will almost never rank a transactional page for an informational query, or vice versa. When researching keywords, always check intent first — it tells you what type of content you must create to rank.

For new websites, informational and commercial-intent keywords often provide the best opportunity. Transactional keywords usually come with higher competition but higher conversion value.

Competition Level — what the Ad Competition % means in practice

Competition Level (Ad Competition %) shows how competitive a keyword is in paid search campaigns (Google Ads). The value ranges from 0% to 100% and is color-coded in our interface to quickly indicate the level of advertiser competition. Lower percentages mean fewer advertisers are bidding, while higher percentages indicate more intense competition.

Here is exactly how Ad Competition % is categorized in our interface:

0–40%
Low competition — easy to advertise, lower CPC, fewer competing advertisers.
41–60%
Medium competition — moderate number of advertisers bidding.
61–80%
High competition — many advertisers, higher CPC, more effort required to win bids.
81%+
Very high competition — maximum competition, expensive clicks, dominated by top advertisers.

These categories help you quickly assess the commercial competitiveness of a keyword. However, Competition Level relates to paid search and shouldn’t be confused with organic ranking difficulty. Always consider search volume, intent, and quality of top-ranking pages when planning content or PPC campaigns.

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