Keyword research terms

Search volume, keyword difficulty, search intent and how to pick keywords. 30 terms, each with what it means, why it matters for SEO and what to do about it.

Branded keywords

Branded keywords are searches that include a brand or product name, such as "notion templates" or "tesla model 3 range".

Clickstream data

Clickstream data records the pages and clicks of a panel of users. SEO tools use it to estimate search volume, clicks and traffic.

Commercial intent

Commercial intent is when a searcher is researching before buying, comparing products, brands or services with searches like "best" or "vs".

Cost per click (CPC)

Cost per click (CPC) is what advertisers pay for one click on a search ad. In SEO, a keyword’s CPC hints at how commercially valuable it is.

Head terms (short-tail keywords)

Head terms are short, broad, high-volume keywords like "shoes" or "insurance". They bring the most searches but are the hardest to rank for.

Informational intent

Informational intent is when a searcher wants to learn something, such as how to do a task or what a term means, rather than buy or visit a site.

Keyword

A keyword is a word or phrase people type into a search engine. In SEO, it’s the query you want a page to rank for.

Keyword cannibalization

Keyword cannibalization is when several pages on one site target the same keyword and intent, so they compete and none ranks as well as it could.

Keyword clustering

Keyword clustering is grouping keywords that share intent and search results, so each group can be targeted by one page.

Keyword density

Keyword density is how often a keyword appears on a page as a share of total words. It isn’t a ranking target; Google has no ideal density.

Keyword difficulty

Keyword difficulty is an SEO tool’s 0-100 estimate of how hard it is to rank on Google’s first page for a keyword, based on the pages already there.

Keyword gap

A keyword gap is the set of keywords your competitors rank for and you don’t. Keyword gap analysis finds them so you can target them.

Keyword mapping

Keyword mapping is assigning target keywords to specific pages on your site, so every page has a clear focus and no two pages compete.

Keyword research

Keyword research is finding the search terms your audience uses, then judging which ones are worth targeting by demand, difficulty and intent.

Keyword seasonality

Keyword seasonality is the regular rise and fall of searches for a keyword through the year, such as "sunscreen" in summer or "advent calendar" in autumn.

Keyword trend

A keyword trend shows how searches for a keyword change over time, usually month by month, so you can spot growth, decline and seasonal peaks.

Long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are specific, lower-volume search terms. Each brings little traffic, but together they’re easier to rank for and often convert well.

LSI keywords

LSI keywords is an SEO name for related terms. Google says it doesn’t use latent semantic indexing; what matters is covering the topic’s related concepts.

Navigational intent

Navigational intent is when a searcher wants to reach a specific website or page, such as "gmail login" or "ikea returns".

Parent topic

A parent topic is the broader keyword that the top-ranking page for a search gets most of its traffic from. It shows whether one page can cover both.

Primary keyword

A primary keyword is the main search term a page is built to rank for. It guides the page’s title, H1, URL and content.

Question keywords

Question keywords are searches phrased as questions, like "how do solar panels work". They often trigger featured snippets and People Also Ask.

Search intent

Search intent is the reason behind a search: what the person wants to know, find or do. Matching it is one of the most important parts of SEO.

Search volume

Search volume is the estimated number of times a keyword is searched per month in a given location, usually averaged over the past 12 months.

Secondary keywords

Secondary keywords are related terms a page targets alongside its primary keyword: variations, synonyms and subtopics with the same intent.

Seed keyword

A seed keyword is a short starting term, like "coffee" or "CRM", that you expand into a longer list of keyword ideas during keyword research.

Striking distance keywords

Striking distance keywords are queries a page ranks for just off the top spots, roughly positions 5-20, where small improvements can bring big gains.

Traffic potential

Traffic potential estimates the total organic traffic you could get by ranking first for a topic, counting every related query the top page ranks for.

Transactional intent

Transactional intent is when a searcher is ready to act: buy, book, sign up or download, with searches like "buy", "price" or "order".

Zero-volume keywords

Zero-volume keywords are searches that keyword tools report as having no monthly volume, though many still get real searches and clicks.