The Ultimate Guide to Keyword Research in 2025

By Murray Lunn

Keyword research lays the foundation of your digital marketing and search engine optimization strategy. It’s how businesses get discovered online, connect with the right audience, and create content that gets noticed.

But the way you’ve always done that research won’t cut it in 2025. With evolving search algorithms, voice search, AI, and new user behaviors, you need a fresh approach. We’ll walk through the latest keyword research trends, the best tools to use, and how to build a keyword strategy that sets you up for success now and into the future.

Why Keyword Research Still Matters

Think of keywords as your secret weapon for getting your website found online. They’re the words and phrases someone would plug into Google or another search engine.

Keywords have always been important to your marketing strategy, but like all things digital, how we use them continues to change. In 2025, people use voice search and AI tools such as virtual assistants, meaning they’re searching in conversational ways. Plus, search engines are getting smarter at delivering personalized results.

This year, you should focus on how people search for things: They’re asking Siri or ChatGPT a question, or looking for a local business in Google Maps, or hunting for quick product reviews after having seen a TikTok video.

Nail the right keywords, and potential customers will find your content.

Hot Keyword Trends for 2025

Here’s what’s trending this year in keyword research:

• Long-Tail and Conversational Keywords: These are phrases of three or more words. Because more and more people are turning to voice search, they’re using full phrases and natural language: “What’s the best pizza in Roanoke?” instead of “pizza restaurant.”
• Topical Authority: Forget single keywords; it’s all about building content around broad topics to boost your authority and expertise.
• User Intent Segmentation: Know if your audience is searching to buy, learn or find something. Then create content that fits what they want.
• Hyperlocal Keywords: With mobile searches dominating, build in location-based keywords, such as “nearby,” “in my area,” or even a certain number of miles “from me.”
• Visual and Multi-Modal Search: Optimize for image and video searches by adding the right tags and keywords to multimedia content.

Must-Have Keyword Research Tools

Keyword tools are available to help you find and analyze the performance of your keywords. Some of our favorites include:

• Google Search Console: Real search data straight from Google
• Ahrefs / SEMrush: Dig into competitor strategies and finding new keyword ideas
• AnswerThePublic: Uncover the questions your audience is asking
• AI-Powered Tools: Help predict search trends before they blow up
• ChatGPT and AI Assistants: Brainstorm keyword ideas and analyze opportunities

How to Do Keyword Research (Step by Step)

• Set Your Goals: Are you focused on SEO, paid ads, or content marketing?
• Spy on Competitors: Find out what keywords are working for them, using a tool such as SEMRush.
• Create a Seed Keyword List: Start with broad terms that fit your business, in the way users could talk about your product or service.
• Expand with Tools: Use research tools to grow your seed keyword list and discover long-tail keywords and trending phrases.
• Check Difficulty & Volume: Aim for a balance between search volume, competition, and potential conversions.
• Group by Intent: Organize keywords by topics and search intent to plan better content. Not only can you craft stronger marketing funnels this way, but you’ll also find it easier pairing it with campaigns and channels.
• Monitor and Adjust: Regularly review performance and refine your strategy.

Common Keyword Mistakes to Avoid

Be strategic and be smart. Don’t make these mistakes:

• Ignoring Search Intent: If your content doesn’t match what people are looking for, they’ll click away.
• Skipping Competitor Analysis: Be aware of what your competition is doing.
• Keyword Stuffing: Overloading your content with too many keywords will hurt your rankings.
• Not Adapting: Doing the same thing year after year doesn’t work.

Conclusion & What’s Next

Keyword research in 2025 is all about understanding how people search and creating content that truly connects with them. The team at LeadPoint Digital is ready to help you find the keywords that will take your SEO to the next level. Get in touch and book your free consultation.