How to Reduce Research Time for Long-Tail Keywords

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Hey fellows!

I have a problem with the time I spend in the research process plus content creation

But, first, here's how I do research long-tail keywords

List of keywords:
* Brainstorm general topics related to my niche
* Then I look keywords in the "Searchers Related to" area, when I search one of the general topics
* I use Keyworddit to look for keywords in Reddit
* Also, I check subreddits to look for common topics
* Sometimes, I look for specific topics on other forums

Choose keywords:
* I add all keywords to the Google Keyword Planner
* Then I filter the results with Low Competency
* I add to the plan keywords with 10 - 100 searches/month, to see the real number
* I do a simple search with keywords > 0 searches/month to see if there are sites with no high authority
* Pick that keyword

LSI keywords:
* I just use the Google Keyword Planner with the first three webpages that address the search intent
* Pick related keywords to the main one

Structure of the content:
* Based on the LSI keywords, I make a draft with title and subheadings
* Then I start writing 2,000 words

The total amount of time: 3-hour writing + 1-hour researching.

The problem:
I spend too much time researching long-tail keywords in my way. Sometimes I end up with less than I have at the beginning. And writing 2,000 words knowing that I have to repeat the same research process is overwhelming.

My strategy: writing every day one post targeting a long-tail keyword. So, at the end of the year, I will have a decent number of keywords ranked.
This strategy is good for a new brand site without domain authority like mine.

My question:
How would you do to improve this approach? or, how do you do your research for long-tail keywords?
By the way, I cannot afford tools like ahrefs, semrush, ect.

Additional question:
I don't mind writing 2,000 words every day, but is writing such long posts worth for long-tail keywords?

P.S. Hope this can help some with their process, but I would like to improve mine. Could you please share some of your expertise?
#beginners area #keywords #longtail #reduce #research #time
  • You say you start by brainstorming general topics. I don't get what you're trying to achieve with all your content. Are you creating a generic site or sites?

    If you want to monetize your content, you'll find it easier to select a tightly-focused topic or niche in which people are currently spending money. That will also cut down on your research time.
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    • Yes, I forgot to add "related to my niche".

      It's a website with a tightly-focused topic where people are spending money. And I have a few pages ranked on the first page in the 3-15 position.

      How long is your research process? How do you do it?
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  • Make one keyword search produce enough keywords for 5 articles.


    I just did 1 hour of keyword research. Found dozens of suitable keywords.


    People have questions, your keywords could be based on those questions.


    So, let's take, small business accounting for seed keyword (have never searched it).


    But I am betting you find keywords along the lines"
    how to find a good accountant
    who needs an accountant (which can be morphed, for a later article, into when do you know it's time to hire an accountant)
    what do accountants need to produce an audited report
    what's an .
    un-audited report
    what's an an-audited report
    what's a compilation.


    Your first article would be a comprehensive article about finding a good accountant.
    The second one would be a list-article about finding a good accoutant.


    I think part of your problem has to do with you seeming to be stuck at 2000 words.
    And the other one has to do with you thinking that all your articles have to be widely different.


    Sometimes, I'm in a mood for a complete answer. Sometimes, I'm in the mood for a cheat list. Sometimes, a quick reminder.


    I am not alone.



    Plus, some people are readers, some are scanners. Lists work well for the latter. And Google will show your content over other people's content eve if, God forbid, some of your articles be 1,999 words long.


    Your when to hire an accountant could have several supporting articles:
    accountant vs bookkeeper
    can bookkeepers prepare compilations
    can you have a bookkeeper and an accountant at the same time.


    Don't like my accounting keyword:
    Let's look at dating:
    Lots of how-to questions there
    Lots of where-to questions there.


    Which means you can find keywords for both and end up with one research yielding more than one article. Trick is to be on the look out for more than one topic from the beginning.


    how to dress for your first date keyword research can easily bring you relate keywords, like
    what's a good first date
    what activities are good for a first date
    how to start a conversation
    how to keep a conversation going
    how do you now if she/he is into you
    what topics are a bad idea on a first date.


    I know people say pluck into the keyword tool a seed keyword that's broad, like
    lose weight or make money online

    but, and maybe it's just my imagination, but I get better results when I type in some kind of what or how or when question, or a can-I/could I

    could I make money online
    how do you lose weight without exercising.
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    • Yes, I agree that you can find different keywords along the research process.

      The concern I have:

      Sometimes, these keywords have high competition, and I cannot compete against them with a new brand site.

      So, I look for long-tail keywords with low competition and a few searches per month that will rank higher.

      And, that additional step is what slows my process.

      The goal I have in mind is to tighten the process, so I can find keywords with such traits faster.

      I'm having good numbers in "session time" and "bounce rate". The content I write does a great job.

      Do you know a way I can tighten the research process and still keeping the odds I have to rank in the front?

      What is your proportion of ranked content on the first page doing what you do?

      For example, in my case, several are on first page.

      Thanks for your time!
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  • Dont spend so much time in researching so much ,remember most important its the work .Just find a way to write the content and not loose so much time searching for keywords
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    • How am I supposed to do that?

      Wouldn't it be better to be sure that your content will rank higher with the right research?

      Do you mind sharing what you do?

      Thanks for your time!
  • I am a big fan of your strategy ( sort of ) Like the targeting etc. even like the writing. however you have to keeping mind all of the data you are using with the exception of "Searches Related to" isn't really "valid" data.

    Starting out there is simply no way around using Keyword tool, but it is simply flawed - I would suggest by design. I personally do the best I can for like 10 articles or so using something similar to your method and after that I use HARD data that comes out of Google Analytics. You simply are looking at a pages rank, the term used to find it, and how many impressions it has.

    An example would be an article you wrote about topic X and it ranks on the 8th page but it is getting 90 impressions. THIS more than suggest that the content on the prior 7 pages of SERP's is probably not answering the question at hand. You would write content towards that keyword to gain traction.

    I would suggest to remove the whole LSI research step. LSI will more often than not hurt you more than help you. ( https://www.searchenginejournal.com/...lp-seo/240705/ ) I personally write based on a single keyword term. and from that how other terms enter into the equation I can find in the Google Analytics concept I mentioned above.

    IF you have content ranking on page 1 of the SERPS double down on the exact same topic. There is no rule that a site can only have 1 page in the top 10. 2 or 3 on that low end of competition is my personal goal.

    So how my work flow works... I look at a topic and I pay attention to the "About X results" in the upper left of the google search results. anything under 1 million and I then MAY ( I generally don't ) go look at Keyword planner. I personally shoot for terms that are 500,000 or less if I am starting a new site. From this single step I begin to write. 5 minutes maybe? and in the process have written down other terms to target that meet my criteria.

    The whole looking for a term and then supporting terms and then LSI and then writing and trying to inject terms is not needed and Like the article above indicates is probably hurting you. Simply find a single term that should have low competition and write.
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    • That is an interesting article!

      [B] Structure, context, and phrases that coexist for that meaning. [/ B]

      After reading it, I will delete the step.

      Instead, I will look at the top ranked pages and choose phrases that add context to the meaning of the main keyword.

      It makes sense to write focused on 1 keyword, and then use GA to write content with a different and relevant keyword that that first article produced.

      Would you link to that article with an LSI keyword to that new article?

      Yes, I always try to look for keywords with low search results in the SERPS but always in combination with Google Trends.

      Thanks for your time!
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    • I thought the OP was looking for keywords to to write articles for, not to use as additional LSI keywords. Their answer to you makes me think that's what they're doing.


      I never understood the LSI thing, never did it. I do not know how to write an article without using related terms. Often, I use synonyms without trying. But to use synonyms just for the sake of using synonyms seems absurd. And can jar the reader.



      I think you're leaving money on the table with the 500,000 results in the top left corner.


      I published two weeks ago for a keyword with 34,100,000 pages found. As of today, I'm 11 (12, if you count the ad) without having done nothing but onpage.



      The keywords has 60-80 searches a month.


      And looking at what I'm being found with in the console has been immensely helpful. The best thing I do for my SEO, really.



      The article I mentioned above, I wrote it because the console told me I was #64 for it from content not targeting it.


      I have to tell you, though, if you have clients, you should be a bit skeptical about what the console says about their content.


      Most extreme case I came across, a car repair shop. According to the console (and Google keyword tool search by domain) their site was about warranties and guarantees.


      The owner was very proud of the guarantees and warranties they made... Too proud for Google.


      More common:
      A site about wedding dresses... short sleeved, long sleeved, low back, high back, mermaid style, etc. The most relevant keywords according to Google are
      lace and bead related keywords (that don't even use the word bride or wedding).


      Wedding dress and bride dress related keywords start coming in after 300 lace and bead ones.


      OP, there's nothing wrong with ranking 2 pages on your site for the same keyword, Savidge is right about that one too.


      For that matter, having 2 pages on 2 sites in the top 4 spots is sweet too. So, is having two pages at 1 and 2, a youtube video at 3, a dailymotion one at 4, and other such variations.


      With having your stuff in all the spots on page 1 being the best... and achieavable. And, sometimes, worth doing too, fiscally speaking.



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    • Yours is the answer to: How to do keyword research. That was not what the OP was asking. The OP is interested in reducing the time it takes them to do the research. Have any ideas on that?


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  • Now that you have saved some time in the initial research - perhaps you might look at it from the 'other side'.




    That is the 'key' to drastically reducing 'research time' - I may do one hr of research - but from that one hr I may have the keywords and keyword phrases to write 10-20 articles.


    Don't think 'research per article' but 'research per SET of articles'. You can also get very detailed with the 'set' - for example:


    Use 2-3 of the keyword phrases you identified in each article. Rotate which is 'primary', 'secondary', 'tertiary' keyword for each article. It's a simple way to organize the results of your research hours to produce maximum results in the articles.


    EX: You have an article built around Keyword phrase #1 - and in that article you mention keywords #2 and #3 once or twice in the body of the article.



    In the next article Keyword #3 is the primary focus and #1 and #2 are 'mentions'. hope that makes sense. It's a process I used to write hundreds of articles in the same few niches where I wanted to tightly 'focus' but not be too repetitive.
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    • Oh man, that's a great idea to automate idea generation with keywords in mind.

      Indeed, that will increase my content production.

      Thanks for your time!
  • Clearly you know how to do your homework before starting, but problem with keywords or copy writers in general is that they often select keywords with high volume not intent. Intent plays major role when it comes to ranking now a days. here is how I proceed with my research. First, I make a listed of intent based targeted keywords that have decent search volume not so high. then I look for keyword profitability, relevance, popularity and competition and check out for the scope of LSI and long tail keywords.

    I have completely shifted to Keyword Country for keyword research, after getting disappointed from the all other tools. KC not just helps me to research geographically active keywords but also lets me to reverse engineer 96% of competitor keywords.

    If you want to see the difference just search "alexa" on keyword tools and I bet you'll find Alexanda diddario in top volume keyword and do it on KC, you'll see the difference.

    Once I have my keyword then I head to answerthepublic.com and make long tail keywords that fits my copy. Hope it helps.
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    • Yes, AnswerThePublic is a good starter to get several broad queries and some long-tail keywords. I use it to find informational keywords because they're the easiest ones to write about. Advertorials are great to teach and sell at the same time

      These results, most of the time, have a high competence. Though, I still use them to dig deeper until to find a less competitive alternative or a long-tail keyword.

      But I have to say it has its limits in long-tail keywords with low competence. At least, it's that the case in my niche.

      By the way, thanks for your time!
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  • Depending on my business type I choose some keywords myself with the help of Google search. Then took mostly high search volume keywords.
  • when choosing ltkw just a noob advice from me, Id always use commonsense like: how, why, how, when, what, where, related to your main keywords, you could also use free tools like answerthepublic, cheers
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  • You can go keyword recherche tools and get the solution
  • Dear fellows,
    To create a long tail keyword, I first think about my selected niche and sort the niche related keywords.
    I just keep my main keyword and then add some niche related interesting keywords.
    Then do Google research. I try to match some of the keywords suggested by Google. I don't have much time. I do not use any tools. Thank you very much.
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