Free Keyword Research Template [Sheets / XLSX]

Looking for a free keyword research template to organize and analyze keywords for your clients? Download our free keyword research template to optimize your SEO workflow. 

Your keyword research process starts with compiling seed keywords. You then use keyword research tools to find their organic traffic, keyword difficulty level, cost per click, and other data to know how competitive it is to rank for those keywords. 

It's easy to do these analyses via spreadsheets. 

If you haven't done keyword research before or need a free keyword research template to build a spreadsheet of keywords for your clients, I can help. 

In this short article, I will share a free template and explain how you can use a keyword research tool to populate your spreadsheet. I'll also point out important metrics to track.  

What is a Keyword Research Template?

A keyword research template is a pre-built spreadsheet for organizing, analyzing, and tracking potential keywords for your SEO campaigns. 

The template simplifies the research process by breaking down large amounts of keyword data to categorize keywords and analyze metrics like search volume and competition in one place.

Steps To Do Keyword Research 

If you're trying to improve your client's website visibility, optimizing their page for SEO is your best bet. This is why you need a keyword research template, but to get the most out of any keyword research template, you must understand how to approach keyword research. Here's a simple guide:

• Understand their target audience: Know who they are creating content for. What are their pain points, needs, and interests? You should also look into what they search for, and how your client's business (product or service) can solve their pain points or meet  their search intent. This will guide you to a list of seed topics you should create content on. 
• Choose a topic: For every content upload, choose a specific topic related to your client's product or service. The best topic ideas should address their audience's needs and questions. 

For example, if your client sells cat food, find a common problem for cat owners and create content that solves it. However, ensure that the content you're creating is relevant to the product or service you're offering. 

You could choose “high-protein cat food for active cats" or "best cat food for weight management.” and use keywords that will attract users looking for these solutions. 

• Create an initial list of possible keywords related to your topic. You can use keyword research tools, like Ahrefs and SEMRush, to create a list of keywords with a search intent that aligns with your topic. You can also get keyword ideas from other alternatives, like Google’s People Also Ask, Reddit, and Google Related Searches. 
• Match your keywords with user search intent. Is the user looking for information or a product? Search intent will direct the kind of content you create. If the user needs information, you can create how-to articles or guides; if they need a product, you can create product reviews, comparisons, and other types of product-led content.
• Analyze your keywords' search volume and difficulty: Use keyword research tools to check each keyword's monthly search volume (MSV) and competition level. Cut down the keyword list by removing high-difficulty keywords, especially if the website you publish the article on has lower domain authority. Go for keywords where you have a real chance of winning. 

🔥 Pro Tip: Target low-competition keywords, preferably long-tail keywords. These have decent search volumes and target specific audiences. 

• Check your competitor’s content related to your topic. It’ll show you their approach to content—visual experience, quality content, possible keywords, etc…. 
• Create content. Use your prioritized keywords to optimize the content you create so it meets search intent and ranks on SERPs. 

Metrics to Track in Keyword Research 

Choosing the right keywords to optimize your page is important— you don't want to rank for a keyword that nobody searches for or that too many people search for. 

This is why it's important to run it through specific metrics to sieve the keywords you don't need out. Here's the metrics you should check: 

• Keyword difficulty: It tells you how hard it is to rank for a particular keyword. If the difficulty is high, many higher domain authority strong websites already rank for it, which makes it harder for you to compete.

🔥 Tip: You can easily rank for high-difficulty keywords if the client site has a high domain authority. 

• Search Intent: This is the “why” behind the user's search. Intent shows what direction your content should go. A keyword basically has 4 intent categories, including;some text
  • Informational intent: Users are looking for information. They may need a how-to guide or a post that explains “what something” is. For example, “how to do keyword research” or “What is keyword research?”.
  • Commercial intent: Users typing the keyword into search engines are looking for options before they make a purchase. These users may need comparison articles to know the best product or services to purchase. 
  • Navigational intent: Here, users are looking for a particular website or page. They may enter “Cat food Amazon seller.”
  • Transaction intent: This is for users ready to purchase a product. They'll usually add keywords like “order,” “buy,” or “best price” to their search.
• CPC (cost per click): CPC is the average amount advertisers pay when someone clicks on an ad for a keyword. If the CPC for a keyword is high, it means it's valuable and can potentially convert readers. 
• Monthly Search Volume: It shows how often users search for a particular keyword in a month. A high search volume means more people are searching for that keyword.
• Trend: It shows how popular a keyword has been over time. A growing trend means users are still particularly interested in the keyword, and a declining trend means the keyword has become less relevant over time.

How To Use Our Keyword Research Template 

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use our free keyword research template effectively:

• Download the template from our website.  
• Decide on your seed keywords.
• Expand your seed list with tools like Google Keyword Planner
• Fill in the metrics of the keywords you choose.
• Optimize your content with your keywords. 

Wrap up

Choosing the right keywords is an important part of SEO. And because search engine optimization is a long-term game, you need somewhere to document all the keywords you're tracking, especially if you manage multiple clients. 

If you need to do these processes with many clients, ManyRequests is a project management and client portal that lets you access your clients through one platform. You can easily share files with your clients and run through corrections without long emails. 

You can also work with your team members on this platform—you can assign tasks, exchange messages through task boxes, and track the status progress of all active tasks in one dashboard. Sign up for a free 14-day trial to see how ManyRequests eases your processes firsthand.