How do you choose keywords using competition data?

When choosing keywords using competition data, first establish your goal: do you want to attract relevant organic search traffic or reach potential customers who may need your services? Then compare search volume, search intent, and the quality of ranking pages. Prioritize terms that match your audience’s needs and give you an opportunity to provide better answers. Advertising competition is not the same as organic ranking difficulty; a high cost per click alone does not make a keyword worth targeting, nor does low competition alone justify choosing it.

First, understand where competition data comes from

You can examine the pages in search results and consult keyword difficulty estimates from SEO tools. awoo’s overview recommends considering the number and quality of competing websites, their authority, and how thoroughly their content covers the topic. It also advises choosing keywords suited to your ability to compete. Beyond checking tool metrics, you still need to read the pages in search results to see which questions competitors actually answer.

Advertising data is another source. An older Stack Exchange discussion suggested using estimated cost per click from the tool then known as AdWords to assess “economic competition.” Another reply cautioned that this reflects only competition for that keyword in AdWords, which may or may not relate to the keyword’s actual value for an individual website. This advice therefore cannot be used directly to decide which organic search keywords to target, nor is it a guide to using current tools.

Examine ranking pages, not just scores

The checks Michael Rock proposed in a forum can serve as a manual review checklist, but they are not official search engine rules:

• Do the titles, URLs, and body text of the top-ranking pages address this keyword?
• Are these websites authoritative on the topic? Do the pages provide sufficient information?
• Can your website offer a higher-quality resource, rather than merely rewrite existing answers?

These questions help identify keywords worth targeting. awoo also recommends looking for topics where search results do not yet offer the best answers. However, a content gap is only a reason to consider a topic; you still need to confirm that the topic meets your target audience’s needs.

Use search intent to narrow your shortlist

Broad keywords often cover different needs. An article by Da Vinci uses “design” as an example: users might want to find a design company, learn design, or explore a particular type of design. If you want your website to reach customers who need your company’s services, first define which service-related needs your content should address. Do not treat all design-related traffic as your target.

As part of our services at Procrustes, we turn the questions customers genuinely care about into articles, with ongoing content planning, writing, and updates.

When reviewing candidate keywords, check three things:

• Do they match your audience’s needs? Is the topic useful to customers, and does it meet searchers’ expectations?
• Is there search demand? Do not focus solely on avoiding competition while overlooking insufficient search volume.
• Can you compete? After comparing existing content, can you offer a more comprehensive, relevant answer?

Long-tail keywords are worth including in your comparison, but they are not necessarily free of competition. Keyword selection should balance traffic, search intent, and your ability to produce useful content, rather than simply chasing popular terms or choosing those with the lowest difficulty scores.