What is a target keyword | How to find target keywords for SEO

Target keywords are “words with search volume that are easy to rank for”——Use tools to check monthly search volume (100-1000 times), competition level (KD<30), then analyze the top 10 content on Google search results page. If you find that the websites ranking high have low authority and mediocre content, these words are your target keywords.

The top 10 results on Google search results page (SERP) determine 75% of user click choices. But over 60% of beginners when selecting keywords, either choose “Yoga for Beginners” shown by Ahrefs with monthly search volume of 120,000 (KD value 78, top 10 are all authoritative big sites), or randomly select “Yoga Mat Recommendations” (actual monthly search only 320 times, but users’ real need is “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mats for Beginners”).

Use the right tools to dig out initial candidate keywords

Doing Google SEO, the first step to solve is “what to write”——and the starting point of “what to write” is finding words users will search for.

But the reality is: Over 80% of beginners when digging for keywords, either only focus on “high search volume big words” (for example, “Yoga” has 500,000 monthly searches, but top 10 are all Wikipedia, fitness brand official websites )

Or randomly copy “words that look relevant” (for example, “Yoga Mat” has 12,000 monthly searches, but users actually search for “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mats for Beginners”)​​.

Why does this happen? Because you haven’t figured out “what problems tools can solve”.

For example, Google Keyword Planner can tell you “how many people search for a certain word per month”, Ubersuggest can complete “what other variant words users will search for”, AnswerThePublic can dig out “the real questions users ask”.

Can you clearly determine: which words are worth keeping? Which words can be directly excluded?

Newcomers only need these 3 tools, no need to pursue completeness

There are dozens of keyword tools on the market, but for newcomers, choosing tools that are “simple to operate, data sufficient, free or low threshold” is more practical.

The following 3 tools cover three core needs: “basic search volume”, “long-tail word supplement”, and “user question words”. You can combine them as needed.

Tool Name	Core Function	Suitable Scenario	Data Characteristics
Google Keyword Planner (GKP)	Google’s official tool, provides keyword monthly average search volume, competition difficulty (low/medium/high)	Input core topic, get basic search volume data	Search volume data is most accurate (based on Google Ads backend), but competition difficulty is only divided into three levels, not detailed enough
Ubersuggest	Free version can check 100 keywords/day, provides search volume, KD value (competition difficulty), long-tail word variants	Supplement long-tail words not covered by GKP, view “what else users search for”	Free quota is enough for newcomers, KD value (0-100) is more detailed than GKP
AnswerThePublic	Visualizes user search question words (like “how/what/where + core word”)	Mine users’ real questions, generate “Q&A type keywords”	Data displayed in “question + phrase” form, suitable for content topic selection

Operation Tips: Newcomers can first use GKP to find “core word search volume”, then use Ubersuggest to supplement long-tail words, finally use AnswerThePublic to dig question words. The combination of the three can cover over 90% of candidate keyword needs.

From input core words to export candidate keywords, complete in 5 steps

Assuming you want to create content related to “2025 Yoga Equipment for Beginners”, select “Yoga Mat for Beginners” as the core word (don’t worry about whether it’s precise yet, we will filter later)

The following are practical steps for using 3 tools to dig candidate keywords.

Step 1: Use Google Keyword Planner to find “basic search volume”

• Operation path: Log in to Google Ads backend → Enter Keyword Planner → Click “Discover new keywords” → Input “Yoga Mat for Beginners” → Select target region (such as USA) → Click “Get results”.
• Output result example:
  • Main word: “Yoga Mat for Beginners” (monthly search volume: 880)
  • Variant words: “Yoga Mat Beginners” (monthly search volume: 320), “Yoga Mat for Newbies” (monthly search volume: 180)
  • Related words: “Yoga Mat Recommendations for Beginners” (monthly search volume: 450), “Yoga Mat Material for Beginners” (monthly search volume: 210)
• Note: GKP results will include three types of data: “broad match”, “phrase match”, “exact match”. Newcomers can directly look at “exact match” search volume (closer to actual search words).

Step 2: Use Ubersuggest to supplement “long-tail words”

• Operation path: Open Ubersuggest official website → Input “Yoga Mat for Beginners” → Click “Keyword Ideas” → Check “Long-tail keywords” (length ≥3 words) → Export top 50 results.
• Output result example:
  • “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners” (monthly search volume: 120)
  • “Size Recommendations for Short People Yoga Mat for Beginners” (monthly search volume: 80)
  • “Which Brand Yoga Mat for Beginners Has Best Value” (monthly search volume: 65)
• Note: Ubersuggest’s “long-tail keywords” filtering function can filter out big words. Focus on words with “search volume >50 times” (too low gets no traffic, too high is hard to compete).

Step 3: Use AnswerThePublic to dig “question words”

• Operation path: Open AnswerThePublic official website → Input “Yoga Mat for Beginners” → Select language (English) → Click “Search” → Screenshot and save visual results.
• Output result example (displayed in question form):
  • “How to choose yoga mat for beginner?”
  • “What size yoga mat do I need as a beginner?”
  • “Where to buy cheap yoga mat for beginner?”
• Note: Question words directly correspond to users’ real needs. You can later convert these question words into “answer-type content titles” (like “How to Choose Yoga Mat for Beginner: 5 Key Factors for New Yogis”).

Step 4: Merge and deduplicate, preliminary filtering

Copy the results from the three tools into Excel, deduplicate according to the following rules:

• Completely duplicate words (such as “Yoga Mat for Beginners” appears in all three tools) → Keep 1 time;
• Words with highly similar meanings (such as “Yoga Mat Beginners” and “Yoga Mat for Newbies”) → Merge into “Yoga Mat for Beginners”;
• Words with extremely low search volume (such as monthly search volume <30) → Mark temporarily as “pending observation”.

Example table (partial data):

Step 5: Mark “priority”, export candidate keyword list

Based on search volume and user need clarity, divide candidate keywords into three categories:

• Category A (focus on): Monthly search volume 100-1000 times, and user need is clear (such as “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners”);
• Category B (secondary focus): Monthly search volume 50-100 times, or question words (such as “Size Recommendations for Short People Yoga Mat for Beginners”);
• Category C (pending verification): Monthly search volume <50 times, or meaning is vague (such as “Yoga Mat Beginners Good”).

Finally output a candidate list of 50-100 words, used for the next step filtering (the next article will discuss how to filter core words using “competition + content match degree”).

3 common mistakes beginners make

1. Over-relying on a single tool: Only using GKP will miss long-tail words, only using AnswerThePublic will lack search volume data, combining them is more efficient.
2. Blindly pursuing “high search volume”: In GKP, “Yoga” has 500,000 monthly searches, but top 10 are all authoritative big sites, beginners simply can’t rank; better to choose “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners” (monthly search 120, low competition).
3. Not marking source and remarks: When merging candidate keywords, if you don’t record the source (such as “from Ubersuggest long-tail words”), you will forget “why this word was kept” during later filtering, leading to decision chaos.

Filter out core keywords with “search volume + can compete”

In the candidate keyword list, there are 50-100 words, but only 10-20 may actually bring traffic.

For example, you may spend a week writing “2025 Complete Guide to Yoga Mat Materials” (monthly search 500), and the result ranks on page 20;

While another article “Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners” (monthly search 200) ranks on page 3.

What’s the difference? The latter is a core keyword with “search volume + can compete”.

How to determine if a word meets these two conditions? Need to look at two sets of data:

• ① Search volume (how many times users actually search)
• ② Competition level (can you rank in top 10)

Search volume ≠ Competition level

Many beginners mistakenly think “high search volume words are definitely good”, but in reality: Search volume is “the size of user needs”, competition level is “the difficulty of you meeting those needs”.

Both need to be satisfied simultaneously to become a core keyword.

For example:

• Word A: “Yoga” (monthly search volume 500,000) → Extremely high competition (top 10 are all Wikipedia, Nike official website);
• Word B: “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners” (monthly search volume 200) → Low competition (top 10 are personal blogs, small team reviews);
• Word C: “Yoga Mat Recommendations for Beginners” (monthly search volume 300) → Medium competition (top 10 have 1-2 authoritative blogs, rest are small websites).

Obviously, Word B and Word C are more worth investing in than Word A——users have clear needs (non-slip test, recommendations), and you have a chance to rank at the front.

Use tools to check “search volume + competition level”

Here taking Ahrefs (paid tool, newcomers can use free trial version) as example, demonstrating how to analyze two core indicators of candidate keywords.

Step 1: Input candidate keywords, check “monthly average search volume (Search Volume)”

• Operation path: Open Ahrefs → Input candidate keywords (such as “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners”) → View “Search Volume” data on “Overview” page.
• Note: Ahrefs search volume is global or target region (such as USA) monthly average data. Newcomers should prioritize the “target region” value.

Step 2: Check “Keyword Difficulty (KD)”

• Operation path: View “Keyword Difficulty” (KD value, 0-100 score, higher score means harder to compete) on the same page.
• Key conclusion:
  • KD<20: Low competition (top 10 are mostly personal blogs, small websites);
  • 20≤KD≤40: Medium competition (top 10 have small to medium websites, some authoritative content);
  • KD>40: High competition (top 10 are all authoritative big sites, industry leading blogs).

Step 3: Combine with search volume, divide “operable range”

Based on Ahrefs statistics, words beginners can most easily rank in top 10 are “monthly search volume 100-1000 + KD<30”.

The following is specific classification:

Newcomer advice: prioritize words with “100-1000 times + KD<30”: Search volume is sufficient to bring traffic (monthly average 200 searches ≈ 6-7 clicks per day), low competition (top 10 content quality is not high, you have a chance to surpass).

Look at content type of top 10 on SERP

The KD value given by tools is a reference, but more accurate is directly viewing the top 10 content on Google search results page (SERP).

Because KD value is calculated based on “existing backlinks“, while SERP reflects “current content competitiveness“.

Step 1: Search candidate keywords, record content type of top 10

Taking “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners” as example, observe top 10 after searching:

• #1: Personal blog (published November 2024, 12 backlinks);
• #2: Small team review website (published March 2025, 8 backlinks);
• #3: YouTube video (published February 2025, 12,000 views);
• #4-10: Zhihu Q&A, Xiaohongshu notes (all Chinese content, not related to target region).

Step 2: Analyze “content gap”

Compare with your content capability, judge if you can surpass top 10:

• Content length: Top 10 average 1500 words, can your content reach 2000+ words?
• Data support: Top 10 have 3 articles mentioning “friction coefficient test data”, can you get a third-party lab test report?
• Update time: Latest among top 10 is March 2025, can your content be published before August 2025 (more timely)?
• Backlink resources: Top 10 average 10 backlinks, can you accumulate 15+ relevant backlinks through industry forums, social media?

Step 3: Mark “surpassable” words

If top 10 content has the following characteristics, it means you have a chance to surpass:

• Outdated content (publication date >1 year);
• Outdated data (such as citing 2020 test standards);
• Single format (only text, no images/videos/charts);
• Few backlinks (<10).

3 types of words seem to meet conditions, actually difficult to operate

Common mistake beginners make is treating “medium search volume + medium KD” words as core keywords, but the following 3 types of words need special caution:

Time-sensitive but no long-term demand words

For example “2025 Yoga Mat New Product Review” (monthly search volume 300, KD=25):

• Advantage: Stable search volume, low KD;
• Disadvantage: After “2026 Yoga Mat New Product Review” is published in 2026, this word’s search volume will drop by 80%;
• Suggestion: Use only as “short-term traffic supplement”, don’t invest core resources.

Regionally mismatched words

For example “Yoga Mat Recommendations for Europeans” (monthly search volume 400, KD=28):

• Advantage: Low competition;
• Disadvantage: Your website mainly targets US users, 90% of search users for this word are in Europe, cannot convert to effective traffic;
• Suggestion: Prioritize words for “target region” (such as “Yoga Mat Recommendations for Americans”).

Format mismatched words

For example “Yoga Mat Video Tutorial for Beginners” (monthly search volume 250, KD=20):

• Advantage: Moderate search volume;
• Disadvantage: Users need video content, while you’re good at writing text/graphics, forcing text/graphic content will rank lower than video results;
• Suggestion: If resources allow (such as can produce videos), you can do it; otherwise abandon, choose “Yoga Mat Buying Guide for Beginners” (text/graphic type).

Use table to lock in 3-5 core keywords

After completing the above analysis, organize a “core keyword filtering table”, including the following fields:

Final principle: Select 3-5 words with “monthly search volume 100-1000 + KD<30 + can surpass SERP top 10”, as core for the next step content optimization.

Evaluate if you can produce content that “users need”

70% of beginners doing SEO encounter the awkward situation of “correct keywords, but content nobody reads”——They clearly spent time writing “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners”, a word with 200 monthly searches, yet the result ranks on page 15, with clicks less than 10.

Where is the problem? When users search this word, they don’t want to see vague talk about “non-slip is important”, but want to know “specifically how to test, which one is non-slip, what are the actual test data”.

Content that can rank in top 10 often “understands user needs better than users themselves”

Can you clearly explain the details of user problems?

When users search keywords, the implicit need is “solving specific problems”. If your knowledge only stays on the “surface”, content will be vague, unable to meet needs.

Judgment method: Use “problem decomposition method” to test——Decompose keywords into 3-5 specific questions, see if you can answer each one.

Taking “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners” as example, implicit questions users may have include:

1. What is the test environment? (wet slippery ground/dry ground? Temperature and humidity?)
2. What is the test standard? (what instrument to use? what industry specification to reference?)
3. Is there significant difference in test results for different materials? (TPE/PVC/EVA scores respectively?)
4. When beginners choose non-slip mats, which parameters should they focus on? (friction coefficient ≥ how much?)

Case comparison:

• Low-match content: Only writes “choose non-slip yoga mats, beginners should pay attention” (doesn’t answer specific questions);
• High-match content: Writes “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners: Tested on wet slippery ground at 25℃ using friction coefficient instrument, TPE material scores 0.6 (qualified), PVC scores 0.4 (unqualified), beginners should prioritize TPE” (covers all implicit questions).

Google Search Console statistics show that content containing “specific test methods/parameters/comparison results” has user dwell time 2.3 times longer than vague content, and bounce rate 40% lower.

Do you have materials to prove content credibility?

Users trust more “content with evidence”. If your content only has text descriptions, without real photos, test reports, user feedback and other materials, even if the information is correct, credibility will be discounted.

Judgment method: Make a “material checklist”, check if the following 3 types of resources are covered:

Case comparison:

• Low-match content: Writes “Yoga Mat Recommendations for Beginners, this one has good non-slip” (no real photos/test reports);
• High-match content: Writes “Yoga Mat Recommendations for Beginners: This TPE mat tested by SGS, friction coefficient 0.6 on wet slippery ground (with test report screenshot), 10 test users feedback ‘no slipping after 3 months’ (with user chat records)”.

HubSpot research shows that content containing 2+ credible materials has conversion rate (click → inquiry/purchase) 58% higher than text-only content.

Have you solved “needs users didn’t say out loud”?

When searching, users often, due to limited expression ability, only say “surface needs”, with real needs hidden in comment sections, forum Q&As. If your content doesn’t cover these “hidden needs”, even with keyword match, users won’t be satisfied.

Judgment method:

1. Comment sections: On Google search results page for the keyword, check comment sections of top 10 content (like “Can the yoga mat recommended in this article be used for sensitive skin?”);
2. Q&A platforms: Search the keyword on Quora, Zhihu, see user questions (like “Can yoga mat material cause allergies?”);
3. Communities/forums: Join yoga enthusiast groups, Xiaohongshu topic pages, see user discussions (like “When beginners buy yoga mats, should they choose 6mm or 8mm thickness?”).

Case comparison:

• Low-match content: Writes “Yoga Mat Buying Guide for Beginners, talking about material, size, price” (covers surface needs);
• High-match content: On the above content basis, adds “Sensitive skin suitable materials: TPE>EVA>PVC (with ingredient test table)” “6mm thick mat suitable for beginners weighing <60kg (with pressure test chart)” (covers hidden needs).

Data support: Ahrefs statistics show that content covering hidden needs ranks on average 3.2 positions higher than content covering only surface needs.

2 common mistakes beginners make that reduce content match

“I think users need” ≠ “Users really need”:

• For example, you think “beginners need ‘yoga mat brand rankings'”, but actually when users search “Yoga Mat Recommendations for Beginners”, they care more about “cost-performance” and “non-slip test” (through Search Console, found “cost-performance” search volume is 4x that of “rankings”).

“Long content” ≠ “Useful content”:

• A 5000-word “yoga mat encyclopedia”, if it only talks about “yoga mat history”, “material origins”, without covering “2025 new product test data”, “sensitive skin suitable materials”, users will scroll away immediately (Google Analytics data shows such content has average bounce rate of 78%).

Focus on long-tail keywords

In Google searches, 70% of users input “3+ words, search volume below 1000 times/month” long-tail keywords——such as “2025 Non-Slip Test for Yoga Mat for Beginners”, “Size Recommendations for Short People Yoga Mat”.

These words seem “unpopular”, but can bring more precise traffic: average conversion rate (click → inquiry/purchase) of long-tail keywords is 2-3x higher than core keywords (Source: Moz 2024 SEO Report).

But common mistakes beginners make:

• Either think “long-tail keywords have low search volume, not worth writing”
• Or blindly pile up “words that look long” (like “yoga mat beginners which material good non-slip”), resulting in awkward content.

Essence of long-tail keywords

Many people have misconceptions about long-tail keywords, thinking “the longer the word, the better”, but the core is “the more specific the word, the clearer the user need”.

Definition: Long-tail keywords refer to keywords with “low search volume (usually <1000 times/month), word length ≥3 words, that precisely match user-specific needs”.

Typical characteristics:

• Low search volume: monthly search volume 10-1000 (core keywords usually >1000/month);
• High precision: contains limiting words like “time/target group/scenario/function” (such as “2025”, “for beginners”, “for short people”, “non-slip test”);
• Low competition: top 10 are mostly personal blogs, small team content, easy for beginners to rank.

Data comparison (using “yoga mat” related words as example):

Although long-tail keywords have low search volume, user needs are clear, competition is low, conversion is high – they are the key for beginners to “win big with small efforts”.

Sources of long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are not made up out of thin air, but reflect users’ real search habits.

Time/version limiting words

Users often search “2025”, “latest”, “upgraded version” and other words, reflecting the need for “timeliness”.

Mining method:

• In Ahrefs “Keyword Explorer”, input core word (such as “yoga mat”), check “include time words”;
• Or use Ubersuggest’s “Trending Keywords” function, filter words with “search volume rising in past 3 months”.

Example (yoga mat related):

• “2025 New Material Standards for Yoga Mat for Beginners” (monthly search volume: 60);
• “2024 Model Yoga Mat Non-Slip Test Update” (monthly search volume: 45).

Target group/identity limiting words

Users often search “beginners”, “short people”, “pregnant women”, “sensitive skin” and other words, reflecting the need for “identity matching”.

Mining method:

• Input core word in AnswerThePublic, filter “how/what + target group” question words (such as “how to choose yoga mat for short person”);
• Or search core word on Quora, Zhihu, collect user questions (such as “What length yoga mat should short people choose?”).

Example (yoga mat related):

• “Size Recommendations for Short People Yoga Mat for Beginners” (monthly search volume: 120);
• “How Thick Yoga Mat Is Safe for Pregnant Women” (monthly search volume: 90).

Scenario/function limiting words

Users often search “non-slip test”, “foldable storage”, “waterproof”, “cost-performance” and other words, reflecting the need for “usage scenarios”.

Mining method:

• Input core word in Google Keyword Planner, check “related variant words”;
• Or search core word on Amazon, Taobao, see “user review keywords” on product detail pages (such as “good non-slip”, “easy to fold”).

Example (yoga mat related):

• “2025 Non-Slip Test Methods for Yoga Mat for Beginners” (monthly search volume: 150);
• “Office Yoga Mat Folding Storage Tips” (monthly search volume: 70).

Filter effective long-tail keywords

Not all long-tail keywords are worth writing. Some long-tail keywords seem precise, but search volume is too low (<50 times/month) or user needs are outdated, writing them will get no traffic.

Filtering criteria (combined Ahrefs and SERP analysis):

Case comparison (yoga mat related):