Video summary

Keyword Research for 2026: 3-Step Tutorial To Research Like A Pro

Main summary

Key takeaways

Educational

Main ideas, concepts, and lessons

Goal of the process (SEO)

  • Proper keyword research helps get your content in front of the right customers.
  • The video’s promise: a simple, 3-step workflow that saves time while finding high-potential website topics.

3-Step Keyword Research Tutorial (detailed methodology)

Step 1: Gather keyword ideas (build a large candidate pool)

Use “proven ways” to uncover keyword opportunities, either singly or combined:

  1. Brainstorm keyword ideas

    • Open Ahrefs Keywords Explorer.
    • Start with a seed keyword (broad term your customers type into Google).
      • Example: a hypothetical coffee equipment supplier using the seed term “coffee.”
    • Optional: use AI to suggest additional seed keywords related to the niche.
    • Expand the list using Matching terms to generate thousands of keyword ideas.
    • Narrow later by:
      • Selecting promising keywords manually, or
      • Batch selecting keywords and adding them to a new keyword list.

  2. Check keywords your site already ranks for

    • Open Ahrefs Site Explorer for your domain.
    • Go to the Organic keywords report.
    • Look for keywords that recently dropped in rankings (example: “best coffee maker with grinder”).
    • Open the keyword to the Keyword overview.
    • Use:
      • Questions to find additional related questions
      • Also rank for and Also talk about to find related terms that top pages cover
    • Add promising keywords to your list to regain or improve rankings.

  3. Spy on competitor keyword opportunities (content gap)

    • Use Ahrefs competitive analysis tool (content gap analysis).
    • Paste:
      • Your site at the top
      • Competitors below
    • Result: keywords where competitors rank in the top 10, but you’re not in the top 100.
    • Suggested tactic:
      • Sort by Traffic to prioritize keywords that actually drive visitors.
    • Example: “niche zero grinder” ranking consistently (position ~6) → added to the list.

  4. Look at competitor Google Ads (paid keywords)

    • In Ahrefs Explorer, go to the Paid keywords report for a competitor domain.
    • Logic: if competitors pay for keywords, they’re likely profitable.
    • How to choose:
      • Sort by CPC (Cost Per Click) to find high-value keywords (higher CPC = more valuable)
      • Check paid/organic ratio to gauge competition between ads vs. organic results
    • Example: Beanbox Coffee
      • Pays for ads
      • Ranks organically on position 1 with a knowledge panel
      • → interpreted as strong conversion potential → add keyword to list.

Step 2: Filter keywords using keyword metrics (find what you can win)

Once you have many keywords, narrow down based on metrics—especially those that fit early/mid buying stages.

  1. Use Search Intent

    • Search intent = the reason behind a search query.
    • Four categories:
      • Informational
      • Navigational
      • Commercial
      • Transactional
    • Funnel mapping:
      • Top funnel: informational (e.g., “how to make coffee at home”)
      • Mid funnel: commercial (e.g., “Breville espresso machine” vs “Delonghi”)
      • Bottom funnel: transactional (e.g., “buy Breville espresso machine”)
    • Recommendation:
      • Target top and middle of the funnel first using informational and navigational filters.
    • Example workflow in SERP/intents:
      • Search for a keyword (e.g., “cold brew coffee”)
      • Review top results and identify intents to see intent types and traffic percentages
      • Use the intent mix to decide whether to write:
        • A focused article, or
        • A comprehensive article covering multiple angles so one page can rank for multiple related queries

  2. Use Search Volume + Keyword Difficulty (KD) together

    • Search volume: monthly searches
    • Keyword difficulty (KD): how hard it is to rank
    • Target “low-hanging fruit”:
      • decent volume
      • lower competition
    • Example preset approach in the tool:
      • Choose preset: “high volume, low competition”
      • Applies thresholds such as:
        • search volume ≥ 500
        • KD up to 10
    • Outcome example: hundreds of keywords that are easier to rank and still bring steady traffic.

  3. Use Growth rate (and forecast) to catch emerging demand

    • Search volume is an annual average, which may hide trending changes.
    • Better approach:
      • Sort by growth rate (past 12 months) to find trending keywords now.
    • Metrics described:
      • Growth A: change in search volume over past 12 months
      • Growth forecast: predicted popularity in the next 12 months
    • Strategy:
      • Target emerging models/queries before they become mainstream.

  4. Add a competitiveness filter based on domain authority (DR)

    • Key lesson: “choosing your battles”
    • Avoid keywords dominated by sites with much higher authority than you.
    • Use DR (domain rating) as the authority measure.
    • Example filtering tactic:
      • Filter for lowest DR
      • Target keywords where sites with DR around ~30 rank in the top five
    • Example provided: “Espresso versus Americano”
      • multiple top-10 results include websites with DR below 30
      • → interpreted as feasible for similar sites.

Step 3: Cluster keywords by topics (turn many keywords into fewer pages)

  1. Keyword clustering definition

    • Group keywords with similar search intent.
    • Advantage: you can target multiple related keywords with one page rather than many.

  2. Why clustering matters

    • Helps deepen topical authority
    • Positions your brand as a subject matter expert
    • Can improve rankings and visibility for related keywords.

  3. Clustering tools and approaches (as described)

    • In Ahrefs:
      • Use clusters by parent topic to group keywords based on SER similarity
      • Review a tree map:
        • larger rectangles = higher search volume
        • includes ROI-related metrics:
          • global search volume
          • traffic potential (traffic if ranking #1)
        • Note: traffic potential is presented as better than raw search volume because it reflects visit value from ranking.
    • To inspect a cluster:
      • Click the carrot to view the keywords within.

  4. SER similarity test to decide one page vs separate pages

    • If unsure whether two keywords should be on one page:
      • Search one keyword (example: “whipped coffee”)
      • Open SER overview
      • Use compare with and enter the other keyword (example: “Dalona coffee”)
      • Apply SER similarity comparison:
        • Low similarity score → target separately
        • High similarity score → cluster together
        • Medium similarity → make an educated guess

Key takeaways / workflow mindset

  • Collect many keyword ideas first, then narrow them aggressively using intent, volume, difficulty, growth, and authority fit.
  • Cluster keywords by intent/topic to reduce the number of pages and strengthen topical authority.
  • Recommendation: repeat this keyword research workflow every 3 to 6 months.
  • Next step mentioned (but not detailed in subtitles): turn keyword clusters into high-ranking content (watch the next video).

Speakers / sources featured

Speaker

  • The video creator / narrator (unnamed speaker; referenced with “I’ll show,” “we’ll,” “I’d recommend”)

Tools / platforms referenced

  • Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
  • Ahrefs Site Explorer
  • Ahrefs competitive analysis tool (content gap analysis)
  • Ahrefs Explorer (paid keywords report)
  • Google Search results / SERPs (implied via examples and intent checking)
  • ATFs / DR (domain rating concept within Ahrefs; no separate source named)

Example brands / entities mentioned

  • Beanbox Coffee
  • Niche Zero (grinder example)
  • Breville (brand comparison referenced; subtitle text suggests a minor error)
  • Delonghi (subtitle indicates a minor formatting/reading error)
  • Espresso versus Americano (keyword example)

Named human experts

  • No other named human experts are introduced in the subtitles.

Original video