What are Seed Keywords?
Seed keywords are short-tail, usually one or two-word keywords that lie at the basis of keyword research. They are high-volume and, most often, highly competitive search terms.
For example, if you run an online store selling laptops, your seed keywords could be “laptop,” “ultrabook,” and “notebook.” Using a tool like Ranktracker’s Keywords Explorer, you can generate millions of keyword suggestions containing these seed keywords for different markets.
Why are Seed Keywords Important?
Seed keywords are crucial because they form the foundation of keyword research. One seed keyword can generate millions of other keyword ideas of varying types. Based on our “laptop” seed keyword example, we could find:
- Questions: “what is the best laptop”
- Long-tail keywords: “best laptop for freelance writers”
- Matching phrases: “i7 Windows laptop”
We could also find related keywords that don’t even contain the seed keyword, such as “Dell computers” or “computers near me.”
By building and researching a list of multiple relevant seed keywords for your website or project, you can identify subtopics and start creating topic clusters.
How to Find Seed Keywords?
You can build an initial list of seed keywords using common sense. Think of terms related to your brand and your core offerings. What answers or solutions do you provide that people might be searching for?
Once you’ve exhausted your list, use the following techniques to uncover additional opportunities.
1. Study Your Competitors
Using Ranktracker, you can find seed keywords among the keywords your competitors are ranking for:
- In Ranktracker, go to Site Explorer and enter your competitor’s URL.
- Click on the “Organic Keywords” in the left menu. You’ll get a list of all the keywords your competitor is ranking for.
Larger and more successful competitors will typically rank for a wider range of keywords. Ranktracker’s filtering options allow you to narrow down this list and easily find your competitor’s seed keywords:
- Filter for word count: Most seed keywords consist of one or two words, so set the word count to a minimum of one and a maximum of two.
- Filter for volume: Seed keywords often have the highest search volume in your competitor’s list of keywords. Filter to keep only the highest-volume keywords.
- Sort for volume: Sorting by volume prevents filtering out keywords that may have lower volumes but are highly relevant to your offer.
- Filter for keywords: Exclude any keywords that contain your main seed keyword to find alternative seed keywords.
2. Find Them on Your Own Website
If your website is already ranking for some seed keywords, you can use Google Search Console to identify them. Click “Performance” > “Search Results” in the left sidebar and sort the list of keywords by “Impressions.” Even if you’re not getting good traffic from these keywords, you can use them as seed keywords to find more keyword ideas.
3. Check Google’s Related Searches and People Also Ask Box
Use Google for your seed keyword research. Search for one of your seed keywords and pay attention to two sections: the “People Also Ask” box and the “related searches.”
- People Also Ask: This box usually appears near the top of the first page of Google search results and lists questions related to your search. Clicking on a question reveals an answer pulled from a website, along with a link to the source.
- Related Searches: At the bottom of the SERPs, Google shows searches related to yours. These can also provide ideas for alternative seed keywords.
4. Browse Communities, Forums, and Q&A Websites
Industry or interest-specific communities, forums, and Q&A websites are great places to discover how people talk about certain topics and what questions they have.
Make a note of:
- The language people use: How do they phrase things? Do they use abbreviations or slang? Which words keep coming back?
- The questions people ask: Do these contain potential seed keywords? Could your answer to these questions contain a seed keyword?
By utilizing these methods, you can build a comprehensive list of seed keywords that will lay a strong foundation for your keyword research and SEO strategy.
