The Digital Marketing Podcast: Complete Guide to Keyword Research

Episode Release Date: June 6, 2025
Hosts: Kieran Rogers, Daniel Rowles, and Louise Crossley

1. Introduction to Keyword Research

In this episode, the hosts delve deep into the intricacies of keyword research, emphasizing its pivotal role in shaping effective digital marketing strategies. The conversation underscores that while keyword research might seem straightforward initially, its complexity grows as one delves deeper into the nuances of audience behavior, intent, and competitive landscape.

2. Identifying Target Audience and Personas

Daniel Rolls initiates the discussion by highlighting the foundational step of identifying target personas:

"[02:00] Daniel Rolls: ...we go, okay, who is my target audience? And go back to that Persona piece and identify each of your Personas."

Understanding different personas is crucial as each group may search for information differently. Aligning keyword strategies with these personas ensures that the content resonates with the intended audience at various stages of their journey.

3. Balancing Traffic and Conversion

Kieran Rogers brings attention to the common pitfall of focusing solely on increasing traffic without considering conversions:

"[05:49] Kieran Rogers: ...there's no right and wrong answer, which is why it's quite an interesting question...but almost there's no real-good concrete statistics on things like conversion rate."

He shares personal insights:

"[07:27] Kieran Rogers: ...the question is like what's the point of all this traffic if none of it converts."

Daniel reinforces this by citing an example of ranking for a high-traffic keyword that doesn’t translate into meaningful conversions:

"[07:36] Daniel Rolls: ...we ranked number one for the term highest paid YouTubers. ... drives tens of thousands of visits every month... it's as close to zero [conversions]."

This highlights the importance of prioritizing keywords that not only attract visitors but also encourage them to take desired actions.

4. Case Studies and Real-World Examples

Daniel shares a real-world scenario to illustrate the impact of keyword strategy:

"[14:09] Daniel Rolls: ...if there's one mistake I've made...was doing too much top of funnel stuff and not doing up mid funnel stuff."

Kieran adds another example involving a beauty cosmetics company:

"[14:09] Kieran Rogers: ...they had a blog about how you can use banana peel as an alternative for Botox... responsible for like 50% of their traffic... none of it converted anyway."

These examples underscore the necessity of aligning content with both audience intent and business objectives.

5. Avoiding Non-Effective Keywords

Louise Crossley stresses the importance of knowing which keywords to avoid:

"[09:13] Louise Crossley: One because this is just as much about knowing what keywords to avoid as it is about knowing what keywords to use."

She points out challenges with certain keywords that are dominated by authoritative sources like Wikipedia or Google itself, making it difficult for new content to rank effectively.

6. Steps in the Keyword Research Process

Daniel outlines a step-by-step approach to keyword research:

"[18:18] Daniel Rolls: ...look at those stages, the user journey, and then you go through and say, okay, what are these phrases at the right stage of the journey that are going to resonate with my target audience..."

Key steps include:

• Aligning Keywords with User Intent: Ensuring that the chosen keywords match what the audience is searching for at different stages of their journey.

• Clustering Related Keywords: Using tools to identify related phrases that can be grouped together to capture broader search intent.

• Gap Analysis: Identifying areas in the user journey where content is lacking and optimizing accordingly.

• Phrase and Hook Strategy: Crafting titles and content that not only include the target phrase but also provide a compelling reason for users to engage, such as adding timely elements ("best SEO tools for 2025").

7. Tools and Resources for Keyword Research

The hosts discuss various tools that can enhance the keyword research process:

• Content Raptor: Assists in identifying additional traffic opportunities by analyzing current rankings and suggesting related phrases.

• Keywords Everywhere: Now offering advanced SEO reports for a nominal fee, integrating with generative AI tools to provide detailed analysis.

• Ubersuggest: Provides suggested keywords and content ideas based on existing successful strategies.

• Competitors App: Offers competitor analysis to uncover high-performing keywords and content strategies.

Kieran advises leveraging competitor research to find successful keywords without reinventing the wheel:

"[20:25] Kieran Rogers: ...you can pick up quite a few of these especially if you're doing three or four different competitors because remember you don't have to reinvent the wheel."

8. Content Optimization and Pruning

Louise emphasizes the necessity of content pruning—removing or updating underperforming content to maintain a high-quality website:

"[23:15] Louise Crossley: ...content pruning or like trying to focus on some of maybe the dead weight that you've got on your website."

Kieran adds that sometimes it’s better to discard pages that don’t contribute to conversions:

"[12:19] Kieran Rogers: ...I should just get rid of that page. It's pointless."

This strategy ensures that the website remains focused on content that drives meaningful engagement and results.

9. Final Thoughts and Takeaways

The episode culminates with actionable takeaways for listeners:

• Focus on Middle Funnel Keywords: These are more likely to convert as they align closely with user intent.

• Balance Volume with Intent and Competition: Strive for keywords that have reasonable search volume, high intent, and manageable competition.

• Update Existing Content: Allocate significant time to refreshing and optimizing current content to improve performance.

• Avoid Vanity Metrics: Prioritize metrics that directly impact business outcomes over simplistic traffic numbers.

Daniel concludes by reiterating the importance of aligning keyword strategies with overall business goals and user needs:

"[15:14] Daniel Rolls: ...have you actually done something that's really driving the business outcome?"

Additional Resources and Tools Mentioned

• Competitors App: competitorsapp.com
  Special Offer: 50% off for three months.

• Ubersuggest: ubersuggest.com
  Provides keyword suggestions and content ideas.

• Keywords Everywhere: keywordseverywhere.com
  Advanced SEO reports starting at $2.25/month.

• Content Raptor: contentraptor.com
  Helps in clustering and identifying additional traffic opportunities.

For more insights, resources, and to join upcoming free update sessions, visit TargetInternet.com and subscribe to their newsletter.

Quote Highlights:

• "[07:36] Daniel Rolls: ...tens of thousands of visits every month... it's as close to zero [conversions]."

• "[16:50] Kieran Rogers: ...It should be aligned with what they want. Hands down."

• "[17:58] Louise Crossley: ...that's sort of the filter, isn't it, that you're working out. What do we keep and what don't we keep?"

This comprehensive discussion equips digital marketers with the knowledge to perform effective keyword research, balancing traffic acquisition with meaningful conversions, and ensuring that their content strategy aligns with both audience intent and business objectives.