Quick answer
Keyword research is the work of gathering the words and questions customers actually type into the search box, understanding the search intent behind them and deciding which page will answer them. In search engine optimization (SEO), keywords are not for repeating in the body text but serve as the basis for choosing topics and titles. Filling a page with keywords unnaturally is keyword stuffing, which Google's spam policies prohibit.
Key takeaways
- Keyword research is the work of understanding the search intent behind queries.
- Find candidates in customer inquiries, search box suggestions and Search Console data.
- AI summaries appeared in 53% of searches with 10 or more words (US).
- Keyword stuffing violates Google's spam policies.
- Google does not use the keywords meta tag.
What is search intent, and why look at it first?
Search intent is what the user is trying to get with that query. Even when queries contain the same word, a different intent calls for a different page, so you look at intent before keywords.
In practice, search intent is commonly divided into wanting to learn information, wanting to compare several options, and wanting to buy or visit. For example, an explanatory article suits a query asking what something means, and a service or location page suits a query looking for a business. This division is a conventional industry classification, not an official search engine standard.
A simple way to check intent is to search for the query yourself. Seeing which types of pages mostly appear gives you an idea of what form of answer is expected for that query.
Where do I find keyword candidates?
Keyword candidates come from customers' actual wording, the suggestions search engines show and your own site's search performance data.
The Google Search Console Performance report provides clicks, impressions, CTR and average position. Queries with impressions but few clicks are candidates for checking whether the title or content is out of line with the intent. Tool menus and features can change, so it is a good idea to check the official help as well.
- Expressions and questions that recur in customer consultations, inquiries and reviews
- Search box autocomplete and related searches
- People Also Ask in Google search results
- Queries that appear in the Google Search Console Performance report
- The content impressions and clicks report in Naver Search Advisor
Which keywords should I prioritize?
The common approach is to prioritize keywords that are highly relevant to your business, have a clear intent and can be answered with your own first-hand experience and expertise.
There is no need to insist only on short terms with high search volume. Long, specific question-style queries have a clear intent, which makes it easy to write an article that answers them. In Pew Research Center's analysis of US Google searches in March 2025, AI summaries appeared in 8% of searches with 1–2 words and 53% of searches with 10 or more words, and AI summaries appeared more often for searches that were questions or full sentences.
Researching question-style keywords also gives you a topic list for answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO). However, the figures above cover US users, so they cannot be applied directly to search in Korea.
How do I reflect the researched keywords in an article?
Assign one page to each group of keywords with the same intent, and reflect them in natural wording in the title, subheadings and body text.
Keyword stuffing, which means filling a page with keywords unnaturally, is prohibited by Google's spam policies. Google's guidance is also to write titles that are descriptive and concise, without repeating keywords.
Google does not use the keywords meta tag, so listing your researched keywords in this tag is not reflected in Google Search. Use keywords as reference material for writing in the words your readers use.
Step by step
- Gather expressions and questions that recur in customer consultations, inquiries and reviews.
- Expand the candidates with search box autocomplete, related searches and People Also Ask.
- Check the queries you already appear for in Google Search Console and Naver Search Advisor.
- Group the candidates by shared search intent.
- Search for each group yourself and check which types of pages appear.
- Assign one page to each group and set priorities.
- Publish, then check performance a few weeks later and revise the list.
Frequently asked questions
Should I target high-volume keywords first?
Not necessarily. Even with high search volume, if the intent does not match your service, visits are unlikely to lead to inquiries or purchases. It is better to look at relevance and intent match first and treat search volume as the next criterion.
Do I need to research Google and Naver keywords separately?
If possible, it is best to check each. Even for the same topic, the wording users use and the layout of search results can differ by search engine. Looking at the reports in Google Search Console and Naver Search Advisor together lets you see the differences.
Is keyword research a one-time task?
It is best to redo it periodically. The wording customers use and the things they want to know can change over time. The common approach is to check Search Console performance a few weeks after publishing and keep revising the list.
Key entities in this article
- Search engine optimization (SEO) ( Concept or service )
- The work of helping search engines understand content and helping people find a site through search. Official source: Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Google ( Organization )
- The company behind Google Search, AI Overviews and AI Mode, which publishes official SEO guidance through Search Central. Official source: Google
- Google Search Console ( Concept or service )
- Google's free tool for checking clicks, impressions and index status in Google Search. Official source: Google Search Console
- Naver ( Organization )
- Korea's largest search portal, which operates the Yeti crawler and the AI Briefing search feature. Official source: Naver
- Naver Search Advisor ( Concept or service )
- Naver's webmaster tool for registering a site and checking crawling and indexing in Naver Search. Official source: Naver Search Advisor
- Pew Research Center ( Organization )
- A US nonprofit research organization that published an analysis of Google AI summaries and click behavior in 2025. Official source: Pew Research Center
- Answer engine optimization (AEO) ( Concept or service )
- Structuring content and information so search engines and AI can present it as the single answer to a question.
- Generative engine optimization (GEO) ( Concept or service )
- The work of making content and brands more visible and more often cited in answers that generative AI builds from multiple sources. Official source: Generative engine optimization (GEO)