Understanding what your potential customers are searching for online is key to crafting a successful digital marketing strategy. Keyword research allows you to discover the specific phrases and questions people are typing into search engines and this is where Ahrefs comes into play.
What is Ahrefs?
Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO tool that offers deep and precise keyword research data. One of its core features is providing detailed information on what keywords your competitors are ranking for and how much traffic these keywords are generating. Now, let’s dive into how you can use Ahrefs for keyword research.
Using Ahrefs for Keyword Research
Step 1: Start with Keywords Explorer
After logging into your Ahrefs account, navigate to the ‘Keywords Explorer’ tool. Here, you can input the keyword you’re interested in researching. For instance, if you run a fitness blog, you might want to enter ‘weight loss tips’.
Step 2: Analyze the Keyword Report
After you’ve entered your keyword, Ahrefs will generate a report that gives you a wealth of information. This includes Keyword Difficulty, Search Volume, Clicks data, and more. Keyword Difficulty (KD) is particularly important because it tells you how hard it would be to rank for that keyword.
Step 3: Explore Keyword Ideas
Besides the main keywords report, Ahrefs gives you a ‘Keyword Ideas’ report. This report shows different variations of your keyword, questions related to your keyword, and other phrases that people searching for your keyword are likely to use.
Step 4: Check out the SERP Overview
The ‘SERP Overview’ section gives you a glimpse into the top-ranking pages for your chosen keyword. It’s a good idea to look at these pages to understand what kind of content is currently performing well for your keyword.
Advanced Tactics
Once you’ve mastered the basics, there are a few advanced tactics you can use with Ahrefs to deepen your keyword research. These include:
Competitor Keyword Research
This involves using Ahrefs to see what keywords your competitors are ranking for. To do this, go to the ‘Site Explorer’ tool, input a competitor’s URL, and navigate to the ‘Organic Keywords’ report.
Content Gap Analysis
This involves using Ahrefs to find keywords that your competitors are ranking for, but you are not. To do this, go to ‘Site Explorer’, input your domain, and then navigate to the ‘Content Gap’ tool.
To conclude, Ahrefs is a powerful tool for keyword research. It can provide deep insights into the type of content that resonates with your audience, and the keywords that can drive traffic to your site. With a little practice, you can use Ahrefs to take your digital marketing strategy to the next level.
