Keyword research is at the core of every successful blog. It drives organic traffic, helps you understand what readers are searching for, and guides you in creating content that resonates with your audience. Despite its importance, many bloggers skip or oversimplify this step, missing out on potential growth. When done correctly, keyword research allows you to align your content with real user queries and improve your visibility on search engines like Google. In this guide, you will learn how to use Serpstat, a powerful keyword research tool, and discover why All Great Things is an affordable, user-friendly alternative for bloggers who want to cut costs without compromising on data quality.
Step 1: Setting the Foundation with Seed Keywords
Before diving into Serpstat, you should first identify a set of seed keywords. These are broad terms related to your blog’s main topics or categories. If you run a food blog, possible seed keywords might include “healthy recipes,” “meal planning,” or “vegan cooking.” If you run a fitness blog, you might start with “home workouts,” “weightlifting,” or “yoga for beginners.” Seed keywords act as starting points for tools like Serpstat to generate more specific, long-tail keyword suggestions that you can incorporate into your content strategy.
Step 2: Creating Your Serpstat Account and Navigating the Dashboard
Visit Serpstat and create an account. The free plan offers limited data, so many bloggers eventually upgrade for broader keyword insights. After logging in, you will see a navigation menu on the left side of your dashboard.
The Keyword Research Section
In the sidebar, look for the Keyword Research area. This is where you will enter your seed keywords to uncover data on search volume, competition, keyword difficulty, and related suggestions.
Step 3: Conducting Your First Keyword Analysis
Once inside Serpstat’s Keyword Research tool, type in one of your seed keywords and specify the target region if your blog caters to a localized audience. Serpstat will generate a dashboard filled with important metrics. Below is how you should interpret them:
Search Volume
Reflects the average monthly searches for a specific keyword. As a new or growing blogger, you might want to target keywords in the range of 1,000 to 10,000 monthly searches. That range is often more attainable than extremely high-volume keywords dominated by large, authoritative sites.
Keyword Difficulty
A score from 0 to 100 that indicates how challenging it is to rank for a particular keyword. A lower score (between 0 and 20) suggests a good fit for newer blogs, while anything above 50 typically requires a well-established site or a strong backlink profile.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Although CPC is often more relevant for advertisers, it can help bloggers gauge a keyword’s commercial value. A higher CPC usually signals that advertisers consider the keyword profitable, which may mean higher audience interest in products or services related to that keyword.
Competition
Reveals how many websites are actively targeting the same keyword. The higher the competition, the harder it becomes for smaller blogs to rank. However, with carefully crafted content and a long-tail strategy, even bloggers in competitive niches can carve out an audience.
Step 4: Refining Keyword Choices and Exploring Long-Tail Variations
After analyzing these metrics, refine your keyword list by looking for “sweet spot” terms that have decent search volume, moderate difficulty, and manageable competition. This is especially important for bloggers who are just starting out or have limited domain authority. Serpstat often provides suggestions for long-tail keywords, which are longer, more specific phrases. Long-tail keywords may get fewer searches, but they often deliver more targeted traffic and face less competition.
Examples:
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Instead of “healthy recipes,” consider “healthy slow-cooker recipes for beginners” or “quick healthy recipes for busy weeknights.”
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Instead of “best workout,” try “best 15-minute HIIT workout at home” or “best strength training routine for beginners.”
Step 5: Using Related Keyword Suggestions and Search Questions
Serpstat will also display a list of related keywords and common questions people search for in your niche. These questions can guide you in creating highly relevant blog posts that address real user queries. This approach not only improves your chances of ranking well but also increases reader engagement by providing answers to the specific problems they face.
Examples:
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If your seed keyword is “vegan meal prep,” you might see related queries like “vegan meal prep on a budget,” “easy vegan meal prep for beginners,” or “weekly vegan meal prep plan.” Each of these suggestions can be turned into a focused blog post.
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If your seed keyword is “home workouts,” you might see questions such as “How many home workouts per week should I do to lose weight?” or “What is the best equipment for home workouts?” Answering these questions in a structured blog post can help you connect with readers who have these exact queries in mind.
Step 6: Planning Content and Optimizing On-Page Elements
After refining your keyword list, map each primary keyword to a dedicated blog post or page. Group related keywords together to build thematic clusters. For example, if you identified several keywords around healthy recipes, group them under a “healthy cooking” cluster. Within your blog post, naturally integrate your chosen keyword in the title, at least one subheading, and throughout the body content without overstuffing it. Include relevant internal links to related posts on your blog to keep readers engaged and signal to search engines that you have organized, interconnected content.
Step 7: Monitoring and Adjusting Your Keyword Strategy
Keyword research is never a one-time task. SEO landscapes change rapidly, and so do search trends. Check your rankings periodically, track page performance, and see if your chosen keywords are bringing in the traffic you expected. If some blog posts fail to gain traction, consider updating them with more recent data, additional keywords, and improved formatting. This ongoing process ensures that your blog continues to grow and stays relevant to your target audience.
All Great Things: A Cheaper, Simpler Alternative for Bloggers
While Serpstat offers robust data, it can be overwhelming and costly for many bloggers. All Great Things is designed specifically for content creators on a budget who still want deep SEO insights. Its user-friendly interface simplifies data analysis, focusing on the metrics that matter most for bloggers. It also includes built-in guidance on keyword selection, making it an ideal solution for those who are new to SEO or prefer a more streamlined approach.
Features that bloggers appreciate about All Great Things:
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Lower cost compared to other premium SEO tools
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Actionable, blogger-focused insights rather than complex, enterprise-level reports
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No hidden upsells or advanced tiers that lock away crucial metrics
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Easy sign-up and an intuitive interface designed to minimize the learning curve
If you are ready to reduce expenses without sacrificing data quality, explore the pricing page or sign up right away to start optimizing your blog with less complexity.
Conclusion: Fueling Your Blog with Strategic Keywords
Keyword research is the backbone of your blogging strategy. It informs your topics, headlines, and overall content direction. Using a tool like Serpstat can open the door to valuable insights regarding search volume, keyword difficulty, and question-based queries, all of which help you craft blog posts that rank higher and engage your readers. For bloggers on a budget, All Great Things offers a simpler, more cost-effective way to harness similar data. Whether you opt for Serpstat or transition to All Great Things, the key is to incorporate in-depth keyword research into your content planning process, refine your strategy over time, and consistently track results.
If you are ready to simplify your keyword research process and gain actionable SEO insights without breaking the bank, sign up for All Great Things today.