In my previous SEO article, we spoke about SEO fundamentals and, how SEO functions, the first actions in SEO strategy, and the process of planning. Once we’ve considered the personas of our website and the challenges they face, now is the time to start creating your keyword list.

I’m a genuine fan of an SEO that is based on data. The mix of psychology, data, and empathy is the secret to SEO’s results and site conversions.

In the digital marketing world, a lot of data is available. Paid and free tools are abundant, and there are numerous sources of information to guide us on our SEO journey. Today, we’ll look at my top programs and databases to build an extensive keyword database.

Before we dive into my top sources of data, let’s talk about the idea that is keyword research. Or the keyword universe and the reason we require it.

What is Keyword Research?

In simpler terms, Keyword research can be described as the primary SEO job that focuses on finding the words and phrases people use to search online.

What is a Keyword Universe?

Keyword universe or Keyword universe refers to the number of phrases or keywords used to bring organic search visitors to your site and your blog. Keywords can include words you’d like to be ranked for and phrases you already rank for on search engines.

Keywords can be as tiny as fifty or as hefty as one million. It depends on the site’s dimensions and the business it serves.

Keyword Research & Universe examples

Let’s look at an actual-world instance.

Based on SEMrush, Siteground.com has a keyword pool of 98,700 phrases. While it may appear like many words, SEMrush also estimates that only around 10,500 keywords bring in web traffic. The variation in the number of keywords and those that result in real website traffic is quite common.

While many keywords don’t generate traffic, it does not mean that the other 88,200 keywords aren’t crucial. The inactive keywords could be an essential element of our keyword list and general SEO strategy.

While conducting search engine optimization, we’ll need to go through all keywords before starting, then narrow our list to the phrases that are most important to our customers and the products we offer. We’ll review the terms we already rank for and those we’d like to achieve in the future.

The last two data points are significant since they demonstrate an evolution in the search.

Ten years ago, users used one or two-word phrases. They did this because Google could not give high-quality results for extended terms. However, that’s changed, resulting in many changes in keyword research and search.

AI and Voice Search have taught humans to look up complex queries, and Google can provide the correct answer. This is a significant shift to SEO as well as keyword analysis. This means that we must be thinking about short and long-term searches, as well as searches that are based on questions.

The most important aspect of building an appropriate search engine is the need to conduct studies, keep your brain open, and consider the personas of your website and what your intended audience’s preferences are for search results in Google and Bing.

You may think you need to figure out how your market is viewed by the people you want to reach. You’re right! There’s no need to worry!

We all are experiencing the same dilemma since it’s challenging to think beyond our perception. This is the reason why software tools and other third-party data sources are crucial in the process of constructing a solid keyword universe.