Semrush keyword research guide for beginners

Executive overview

Most new websites target keywords that are impossible to rank for. Match keywords to your site's actual authority, not just search volume.

The right keyword balances relevance, search volume, difficulty, and intent — prioritise low difficulty when starting out.

The four keyword criteria

• Relevance: only you know which keywords match your business
• Search volume: how many monthly searches a keyword gets
• Keyword difficulty (KD): scored 1–100; avoid high scores as a new site
• Search intent: what the searcher is trying to do (navigate, research, or buy)

The four intent types

1. Navigational — user is going to a specific site (e.g. "amazon.com")
2. Informational — user wants knowledge (e.g. "how to train a puppy")
3. Commercial — user is researching a purchase (e.g. "dog food reviews")
4. Transactional — user is ready to buy (e.g. "buy organic dog food")

Using Keyword Overview

• Enter a seed keyword to see volume, difficulty, and intent at a glance
• "Pet supplies" has 49,500 US monthly searches but KD of 99 — skip it as a new site
• Try longer, more specific variants (e.g. "organic pet supplies") for lower competition

Spying on competitors with Domain Overview

• Enter a competitor's domain to see total organic traffic and traffic trends
• Drill into their ranking keywords via the Organic Research report
• Filter by KD (e.g. 0–49) to surface keywords a new site can realistically target
• Add keyword filters (e.g. "organic" + "dog") to cut irrelevant branded terms fast

Expanding ideas with Keyword Magic Tool

• Built on a database of 25 billion+ keywords, updated continuously
• Enter one keyword and get a broad list of related targets
• Use the left-panel word clusters to branch into new keyword families
• Filter results by KD, intent, and volume; add keepers to a saved list in Keyword Manager

Finding gaps with the Keyword Gap Tool

• Compare your domain against one or more competitors simultaneously
• The Venn diagram shows keyword overlap at a glance
• The Missing tab reveals keywords competitors rank for that you do not
• Useful for established sites targeting harder keywords with stronger authority

Proving SEO value to stakeholders

• The Organic Research report shows an "organic traffic cost" estimate
• This figure represents what equivalent traffic would cost in Google Ads
• A strong number here makes SEO ROI tangible for clients or managers