What Are Keywords and How to Pick Them

What Keywords Actually Are (And Why You Need Them)

Keywords are the search terms people type into Google when they're looking for a solution to a problem. That's it. No mystery, no magic.

When someone types "how to fix a memory leak in Python," that's a keyword. When they search "best CRM for startups," that's a keyword. When they hunt for "serverless database pricing," that's a keyword.

Your job as a founder is simple: figure out which keywords your customers actually search for, create content that answers their question better than anyone else, and let Google send you traffic. Free traffic. Traffic that compounds.

Keywords matter because they're the bridge between what people want and what you offer. Without them, you're invisible. With them, you're discoverable.

The brutal truth: if you don't pick the right keywords, you'll spend months writing content nobody searches for. You'll ship articles into the void. You'll have zero organic visibility while your competitors steal your customers.

So let's fix that.

Prerequisites: What You Need Before You Start

Before you pick a single keyword, you need three things:

1. Clarity on what your product actually does. Not the marketing version. The real version. What problem does it solve? Who has that problem? What words do they use to describe it?

2. Access to a keyword research tool. You don't need an expensive one. Free tools work fine to start. We'll cover those below.

3. Understanding of search intent. This is non-negotiable. A keyword is only valuable if the people searching for it actually want what you're selling. Learn search intent fundamentals in minutes so you understand the difference between informational queries ("what is"), navigational queries ("company name"), and commercial queries ("best tool for").

If you don't have these three things locked in, stop here. Go clarify your product positioning first. Keywords amplify what you already have—they don't create demand from nothing.

Step 1: Brain-Dump Your Core Topics

Start with what you know. Not research. Not tools. Your brain.

Write down every topic related to your product. Every angle. Every problem it solves. Every feature. Every use case.

If you're building a code editor, you might write:

• "code editor"
• "text editor for developers"
• "syntax highlighting"
• "collaborative coding"
• "lightweight code editor"
• "VS Code alternative"
• "remote pair programming"

Don't filter. Don't judge. Just dump everything onto a document.

This is your seed list. It's the foundation for everything that follows. Spend 15 minutes on this. You probably know your space better than you think.

Step 2: Analyze What Your Competitors Are Ranking For

Your competitors have already done research. You might as well learn from it.

Pick three direct competitors—companies solving the same problem for similar customers. Go to their websites. Look at their blog. Look at their main product pages. What topics do they cover? What titles are they using?

Then use Ahrefs' guide on finding keywords for SEO to learn how to extract their keyword rankings. You can use free tools like Ubersuggest's free tier to see what keywords competitors rank for without paying a dime.

Write down the keywords you find. Compare them to your seed list. Are there topics you missed? Are there angles they're covering that you hadn't considered?

This isn't about copying them. It's about understanding the landscape. If they're ranking for a keyword and you're not, that's a signal worth investigating.

Step 3: Use Keyword Research Tools to Validate Search Volume

Now you need data. You need to know if people actually search for these terms.

You have options:

Google Keyword Planner (Free). Built into Google Ads. Shows search volume, trends, and competition level. Sign up for a Google Ads account (you don't need to spend money), go to the Keyword Planner tool, and start searching. It's free and surprisingly useful. The 13 Best Keyword Research Tools to Find the Right Keywords includes this as a top option for good reason.

Ubersuggest (Free tier available). Set up Ubersuggest's free tier and you can run a limited number of searches. Shows search volume, difficulty score, and seasonal trends. Good for quick validation.

Keyword Surfer (Free Chrome extension). Install Keyword Surfer in Chrome and you get search volume data inline in Google Search results. Takes 2 minutes to set up. Shows volume, CPC, and competition data without leaving Google.

Semrush or Ahrefs (Paid, but comprehensive). If you're serious about SEO, these are the gold standard. Both have free trials. Semrush's keyword research guide covers their full feature set. Moz's keyword research guide is also authoritative and covers multiple tools.

For a founder on a budget, start with Google Keyword Planner + Keyword Surfer. That combo is free and gives you 80% of what you need.

Now go through your list and validate each keyword:

• Is anyone searching for it? (Check monthly search volume)
• Are there enough searches to matter? (Generally, 100+ searches per month is worth considering; 1,000+ is solid)
• Is the search volume consistent or is it seasonal? (Use Google Trends to check)

Keywords with zero search volume get deleted. No exceptions.

Step 4: Assess Keyword Difficulty and Competition

Search volume tells you demand. Difficulty tells you if you can actually win.

Keyword difficulty (or competition score) measures how hard it is to rank for a keyword. It's based on the authority of the pages currently ranking for that term.

If you're a new domain with no authority, you can't rank for "best project management software." That keyword has 50,000+ monthly searches, but the top 10 results are all established sites with thousands of backlinks. You'd need 6-12 months of authority building before you could crack that ranking.

But "best project management software for small law firms"? That's more specific. Lower search volume (maybe 500 searches/month), but way fewer competitors. You could rank for that in 2-3 months.

Here's the founder framework: pick keywords where difficulty is low-to-medium and search volume is medium-to-high. That's your sweet spot.

• High volume + High difficulty = Skip it (for now). Come back in 6 months.
• High volume + Low difficulty = Attack it immediately. These are gold.
• Medium volume + Low difficulty = Good. Solid ranking potential.
• Low volume + High difficulty = Skip it.
• Low volume + Low difficulty = Only if it's highly relevant to your business. Volume matters.

Most keyword research tools give you a difficulty score. Use it. Don't fight it.

Step 5: Understand Search Intent and Match It

This is where most founders fail.

You can pick a keyword with 10,000 monthly searches and zero difficulty, but if you don't understand what people searching for that keyword actually want, your content won't rank.

Search intent is the "why" behind the search. Why is someone typing this into Google? What do they expect to find?

There are four main types:

Informational intent. The searcher wants to learn something. "What is Docker?" "How to set up a CI/CD pipeline." "Difference between SQL and NoSQL." They're not ready to buy. They're gathering information.

Navigational intent. The searcher is looking for a specific website or brand. "GitHub login." "Stripe documentation." "Figma pricing." They know what they want; they just need to find it.

Commercial intent. The searcher is evaluating options before buying. "Best project management tools." "Slack vs. Teams." "How much does Datadog cost?" They're in the research phase, comparing solutions.

Transactional intent. The searcher is ready to buy. "Buy MacBook Pro." "Sign up for Notion." "Download VS Code." They've made a decision; they're taking action.

Your content needs to match the intent. If someone searches "how to use Docker," they want a tutorial, not a sales page. If someone searches "Docker pricing," they want pricing information, not a beginner's guide.

Master the boring SEO habits that compound in year two by getting search intent right from the start. It's one of the highest-leverage skills you can develop.

To identify intent:

1. Search the keyword in Google.
2. Look at the top 5 results. What type of content are they?
3. Are they blog posts, product pages, comparison articles, tutorials?
4. Match your content type to what's already ranking.

If Google is showing blog posts, create a blog post. If Google is showing product pages, create a product page. Simple.

Step 6: Build Your Keyword Roadmap

Now you have a validated list of keywords. You know the search volume, difficulty, and intent for each one.

Time to organize them into a roadmap.

Group keywords by topic cluster. A topic cluster is a group of related keywords that you'll cover with a pillar page (main article) and supporting pages (detailed articles).

Example:

• Pillar page: "What is Docker?"
• Supporting pages: "Docker vs. Kubernetes," "How to install Docker," "Docker for beginners," "Docker best practices."

This structure helps Google understand that you're an authority on the topic. It also helps users navigate your content.

Rank your keyword clusters by priority:

1. Difficulty (easiest first). Start with low-difficulty keywords. Get wins. Build authority. Then tackle harder keywords.
2. Relevance to your business. Pick keywords that directly relate to what you're selling.
3. Search volume (highest first). Within each difficulty tier, prioritize higher-volume keywords.

You should end up with something like:

• Month 1: 5-10 low-difficulty keywords (200-1,000 searches/month)
• Month 2-3: 10-15 medium-difficulty keywords (500-5,000 searches/month)
• Month 4+: Harder, higher-volume keywords (5,000+ searches/month)

This is your content calendar. This is your SEO roadmap.

From Busy to Cited: A Founder's Roadmap From Day 0 to Day 100 walks you through building a 100-day SEO roadmap. Keywords are just the first piece. You also need a content strategy, a technical audit, and a distribution plan.

Step 7: Validate Your Keywords With Real Customer Research

Tools are helpful. Data is useful. But nothing beats talking to your customers.

Ask them:

• "How did you find us?"
• "What did you search for before landing on our site?"
• "What terms do you use to describe this problem?"

You might discover that customers don't search for what you thought they did. They might use different terminology. They might have pain points you didn't anticipate.

This is gold. This is the gap between what tools tell you and what's actually true.

If your customers say they search for "headless CMS" but your keyword research tool says nobody searches for that, trust your customers. They're your target market.

Integrate these insights back into your keyword roadmap. Adjust. Rebalance.

Pro Tip: Use Google Trends to Spot Emerging Keywords

Set up Google Trends alerts for your category and you can monitor search demand shifts in real-time.

Sometimes a keyword explodes overnight. Maybe a major publication covered your space. Maybe a new trend emerged. Maybe a competitor launched something big.

Google Trends shows you the trajectory. Is a keyword growing? Declining? Stable?

Growing keywords are opportunities. Declining keywords are warning signs. Stable keywords are reliable.

Set up 10-15 alerts for your core topics. Check them monthly. You'll spot opportunities weeks before your competitors do.

Pro Tip: Long-Tail Keywords Are Your Secret Weapon

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases. "Project management software" is short-tail. "Best project management software for small law firms" is long-tail.

Long-tail keywords have lower search volume, but they have several advantages:

1. Lower difficulty. Fewer competitors targeting them.
2. Higher intent. The searcher is more specific about what they want.
3. Better conversion rates. Someone searching for a very specific solution is closer to buying.

For a founder with a new domain, long-tail keywords are your entry point. You can't rank for "project management" overnight. But you can rank for "project management for freelancers" in 2-3 months.

Build your keyword roadmap with long-tail keywords first. As your authority grows, expand to shorter, more competitive keywords.

Pro Tip: Monitor Your Rankings and Adjust

You pick keywords. You create content. You publish. Then what?

You wait. And you watch.

Set up rank tracking on a bootstrapper's budget using free and low-cost tools. Track your keywords. Monitor your rankings. See what's working.

After 4-8 weeks, you'll have data. Some keywords will rank. Some won't. Some will rank, but traffic will be lower than expected.

Use that data to adjust. If a keyword isn't ranking, improve the content. If a keyword is ranking but not converting, maybe the intent was wrong. If a keyword is ranking and converting, create more content like it.

SEO is iterative. You don't get it right the first time. You get it right by testing, measuring, and adjusting.

The Quarterly SEO Review: A Founder's Repeatable Process gives you a 90-minute template to audit your rankings, validate keywords, and ship content every quarter.

Pro Tip: Build Content Around Topic Clusters, Not Individual Keywords

Don't think in terms of single keywords. Think in terms of topics.

A topic cluster is a pillar page (comprehensive guide on a broad topic) surrounded by cluster content (detailed articles on related subtopics).

Example:

• Pillar page: "Guide to Docker" (2,000+ words covering everything)
• Cluster content: "Docker for beginners," "Docker vs. Kubernetes," "Docker best practices," "How to install Docker," "Docker security," etc.

Each cluster article links back to the pillar page. The pillar page links to each cluster article. This creates a web of topical relevance that Google loves.

You rank for multiple keywords with a single topic cluster. More efficient. More effective.

The Busy Founder's Brief Template for AI-Generated Content shows you how to create briefs for AI that produce ranking content in minutes. Use this to scale your topic clusters without burning out.

Pro Tip: Don't Ignore Branded Keywords

Branded keywords are searches for your company name. "Seoable," "Seoable pricing," "Seoable review."

They have lower search volume, but they're incredibly important. People searching for your brand are warm leads. They're close to buying.

Always rank for your branded keywords. Always.

Create pages for:

• Your product overview
• Your pricing
• Your reviews/testimonials
• Your FAQ

Make sure these pages rank #1 for your brand name. Don't let competitors or review sites push you down.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake #1: Picking keywords with zero search volume. Tools show zero searches. You think, "I'll rank for this easily." But if nobody searches for it, you get zero traffic. Don't waste time on vanity keywords.

Mistake #2: Ignoring search intent. You rank #1 for a keyword, but nobody clicks your result because your content doesn't match what they're looking for. Intent matters more than rankings.

Mistake #3: Targeting only high-difficulty keywords. You're a new domain. You can't rank for "best software." You'll spend 6 months and get nothing. Start with low-difficulty keywords. Build authority. Then attack the hard stuff.

Mistake #4: Not validating keywords with customers. Tools are wrong sometimes. Your customers know better. Talk to them.

Mistake #5: Picking keywords with no commercial intent. You rank for "how to use Docker," but your product is a Docker alternative. The searcher isn't looking for what you're selling. Pick keywords where people are actually in the market for your solution.

Mistake #6: Creating content without a keyword. Don't write blog posts and hope they rank. Start with a keyword. Build content around that keyword. Be intentional.

How Seoable Accelerates Keyword Research

Keyword research takes time. Validation takes time. Building a roadmap takes time.

If you're a founder without that time, Seoable delivers a complete keyword roadmap in under 60 seconds. You get a domain audit, brand positioning, a validated keyword roadmap, and 100 AI-generated blog posts for a one-time $99 fee.

No monthly subscriptions. No agency retainers. No 6-month commitments.

You pick the keywords. Seoable validates them, organizes them, and generates content around them. You ship. You rank. You get organic visibility.

For technical founders who've shipped but lack organic visibility, for Kickstarter creators needing launch-time SEO, for indie hackers and bootstrappers without agency budgets—Seoable is built for you.

Summary: Your Keyword Selection Framework

Here's what you actually need to do:

1. Brain-dump your core topics. Write down everything related to your product.

2. Analyze your competitors. See what they're ranking for. Learn from their research.

3. Use free keyword tools. Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest's free tier, or Keyword Surfer. Validate search volume.

4. Assess difficulty. Pick keywords where difficulty is low-to-medium. Skip the impossible stuff.

5. Understand search intent. Match your content to what searchers actually want.

6. Build a roadmap. Organize keywords by topic cluster and priority.

7. Validate with customers. Talk to your target market. Confirm your assumptions.

8. Monitor and adjust. Track rankings. Measure traffic. Iterate based on data.

9. Think in topic clusters. Build pillar pages and cluster content, not single articles.

10. Rank for your brand. Don't let competitors own your branded keywords.

Start here. Pick 10-20 low-difficulty keywords with medium search volume. Create content around them. Publish. Wait 4-8 weeks. Measure. Adjust.

That's it. That's the process.

Keywords are the foundation of organic visibility. Get them right, and everything else becomes easier. Get them wrong, and you'll be invisible forever.

Pick wisely. Ship fast. Rank higher.