Keyword research is not just about finding popular search terms; it’s the foundation for building a successful SEO strategy. It goes beyond merely collecting keywords – it’s about defining the direction and approach for all future SEO efforts. A solid keyword research process sets the stage for everything that follows, ensuring that your content, targeting, and optimization efforts are aligned with real search behaviour and market demand.
For me, keyword research involves two crucial phases that anyone familiar with the Design Thinking process will recognize: the Divergent Phase and the Convergent Phase. Both are equally important. Without the Convergent Phase, you’re left with just a list of keywords. And without the Divergent Phase, you’re stuck with only what’s already known, lacking a true strategy.
The Diamond: Divergent vs. Convergent – What Is It?
This principle is about first opening up to explore all options. After this initial phase, we narrow down and start making decisions. This is better understood with a diagram that I’ve drawn:
Starting with a problem, we look for all possible keywords and ideas. Then, we narrow them down, filter, and group them until a solution emerges.
A solution that will be your new SEO strategy, based on real search data.
The Problem
The start of our keyword research is always a problem and the client’s situation. It’s important to narrow down the problem, as “I want to rank better” is not enough.
A problem could be, for example:
- I want to be found for my services on Google, but currently, few clients come through the website.
- I want to generate more brand awareness; currently, no one knows us.
- I want to expand my customer base, not just reach people who already know me.
- I want to specialize in a sector; what options do I have?
- I want to find out where my website still has gaps compared to competitors.
- I want to redefine my offering but don’t know exactly what the market needs in my sector.
All these problems open up worlds for analysis and possibilities for an SEO strategy that brings success.
Once we have the problem, we move into the “Divergent Thinking Phase.”
Divergent Thinking Phase
In this phase, the goal is to gather all keywords and ideas that come our way. We don’t say, “Oh, that doesn’t make any sense.” This phase is about diving deeper into a niche and absorbing everything you find like a sponge.
Some things we do in this phase:
- Brainstorming
- Export and save all keywords on a topic
- Analyze competitors
- Find synonyms
- Understand search personas
- Search for entities
- Identify keyword opportunities from current positions
The result of this phase is a sheet full of possible keywords and a complete overview of the niche.
After gathering all possible keywords, we move on to the second phase: the Convergent Thinking Phase.
Convergent Thinking Phase
This is the strategic part of keyword research. After collecting all possibilities, we need to develop the final strategy. This includes deleting and grouping keywords, prioritizing, and deciding which pages need to be created to meet the demand.
Some tasks we do in this step:
- Sort and group keywords
- Delete keywords
- Check SERP overlap
- Review SERPs
- Assign URLs
- Define to-do’s: write new content, revise, or keep as is
- Prioritize
- Define page types
- Choose main & secondary keywords
- Develop the whole strategy
The result is an SEO strategy for the website’s content based on search data.
The Solution
The SEO strategy we have at the end of the keyword research is the solution to our initial problem. With this Design Thinking approach, we can be sure that we’ve explored all possible options and found the best solution.
For me, there is no keyword research without this process. Anything else is just a list of keywords that you could also find on your own. The work of an SEO expert lies in this process, where all their knowledge and experience come into play.
Want to learn more about Design Thinking?
I’m currently diving deeper into Design Thinking theory. This is finally giving names to ways of working that I’ve been using for a long time, like those above.
Of course, there’s endless content out there on the topic. The book I’m currently reading is called The Design Thinking Playbook – Mindful Digital Transformation of Teams, Products, Services, Businesses, and Ecosystems. A long title, I know, but if you’re interested in the topic, you might want to check out the book.
