Keyword Research
Research search keyword volume and quality within your domain
What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is a foundational validation technique that analyzes search volume, competition, and user intent for terms related to your startup idea. By examining what potential customers are actively searching for, you can gauge market demand, identify pain points, and validate whether your solution addresses real problems that people are trying to solve online. This quantitative approach provides concrete data about market size and customer behavior patterns.
Unlike surveys or interviews that rely on what people say they want, keyword research reveals actual search behavior - what people are genuinely looking for when they have a problem to solve. The technique involves using free and paid tools to analyze search volumes, keyword difficulty, related terms, and trending patterns. This data helps startups understand market opportunity size, validate problem-solution fit, and identify gaps in the competitive landscape before investing significant resources in product development.
When to Use This Experiment
- Early ideation phase when you need to validate if people are actively searching for solutions to the problem you want to solve
- Market sizing to understand the potential reach and demand for your product category
- Content strategy development to identify what topics and pain points resonate most with your target audience
- Competitive analysis to discover what keywords competitors are targeting and identify market gaps
- Product positioning to understand the language and terminology your target customers actually use
- Before launching marketing campaigns to ensure you're targeting terms people actually search for
- International expansion to validate demand in new geographic markets through localized keyword research
How to Run This Experiment
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Define your core business concept - Write down 5-10 seed keywords that describe your product, service, or the problem you're solving. Include industry terms, competitor names, and problem-focused phrases.
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Choose your research tools - Start with free tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest (free tier), or AnswerThePublic. For deeper insights, consider paid tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz Keyword Explorer.
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Generate keyword variations - Input your seed keywords into your chosen tools to discover related terms, long-tail variations, and questions people are asking. Pay attention to auto-complete suggestions and 'People also ask' sections.
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Analyze search volumes and trends - Document monthly search volumes for each keyword. Look for consistent volume over time rather than temporary spikes. Use Google Trends to understand seasonal patterns and geographic distribution.
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Assess keyword difficulty and competition - Evaluate how difficult it would be to rank for each term. High-volume, low-competition keywords indicate market opportunities. Analyze what types of content currently rank for your target keywords.
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Identify user intent patterns - Categorize keywords by intent: informational (learning about problems), commercial (comparing solutions), or transactional (ready to buy). This reveals where people are in their customer journey.
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Document insights and validate assumptions - Create a spreadsheet with keywords, volumes, competition, and intent. Look for patterns that validate or contradict your assumptions about market demand and customer behavior.
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Test top keywords - Create basic landing pages or content targeting your highest-potential keywords to test actual traffic and engagement, validating the research with real user behavior.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Objective data - Provides quantitative insights based on actual user behavior rather than stated preferences
- Cost-effective - Many powerful keyword research tools offer free tiers or trials
- Reveals market size - Search volumes indicate potential audience size and demand levels
- Uncovers customer language - Shows exactly how your target audience describes their problems and needs
- Competitive intelligence - Identifies gaps in the market and successful competitor strategies
Cons
- Search-dependent - Only captures demand from people who search online; misses offline or non-search behavior
- Keyword volume accuracy - Search volume data from tools can be estimates rather than exact figures
- Intent interpretation - Requires skill to correctly interpret what search behavior actually means for your business
- Static snapshot - Represents current search patterns but may not predict future trends or emerging needs
- High competition keywords - Popular terms often have established competitors, making market entry challenging
Real-World Examples
Dollar Shave Club used keyword research to discover that men were searching for terms like 'cheap razors,' 'razor subscription,' and 'expensive razor alternatives' with significant monthly volume but limited quality solutions. This validated market demand for affordable, convenient shaving products and informed their disruptive positioning against premium brands like Gillette.
Canva leveraged keyword research to identify that millions of people searched for terms like 'free logo maker,' 'easy graphic design,' and 'design templates' but found complex, expensive software like Photoshop dominating results. This gap validated the opportunity for user-friendly design tools and guided their product development toward simplicity and accessibility.
Zoom (before becoming mainstream) analyzed keywords around 'video conferencing,' 'online meetings,' and 'webinar software' to understand that while demand existed, users frequently searched for terms like 'easy video calls' and 'reliable video chat,' indicating frustration with existing complex solutions. This research validated their focus on simplicity and reliability as key differentiators.