Around 68% of traffic comes from organic searches, and utilizing this chunk is what can make or break the competition. Not just Google, but being in the AI citations has made it more challenging.
Google core and spam updates are constantly calibrating the rankings to ensure fair play. But this has made strategizing content a cornerstone in taking websites to SERPs and AI citations. Keyword research has also seen significant changes, but here is how to do Keyword Research in 2026.
1. Google Search Console
Search for your keyword in the search bar in the Google Console interface. Now change the period as per your convenience and business requirements. The suggested period is between 3 and 16 months. Now export the results in a spreadsheet and play with the rankings, volume, CPC, and other web vitals.
2. Google Keyword Planner
Alt: Google Keyword Planner
Go to “Search Volume And Forecast” and enter your seed keyword. Get the search volume and key trends related to the keyword. You can also go to “Keyword Ideas”, add keyword seeds, and get the trends of the keyword you provided and related keyword ideas.
3. Google Search Engine
Alt: Google Search Engine
Enter the required keyword in the search bar and see the related suggestions. The “People Also Asked” section is also highly relevant in understanding people’s queries and deriving the dimensions to address in the content.
4. Reddit and Quora
Search your keyword in the search bar at the top of the main window, see what people have asked, and add it to your database. Extract the common queries from the rarely asked doubts to come up with a good list of keywords.
5. SEO Tools
Semrush, Aherf, Moz, and Mangools keyword research tools will give you technical information about the keywords and their trend. Here, Rankability can help more. In rankability, go to “Discover”, explore multiple options there, like Trending, YouTube, e-commerce, and Reddit. You can integrate the knowledge base or data from search console, analytics, YouTube, etc., and also get keyword suggestions from Google, AI, Reddit, etc. AnswerThePublic is also a good platform to discover such opportunities.
Concluding Remarks
The keyword research has changed over time with AI and voice searches. Around 62% of Americans are using voice search on any device, impacting the keyword volume. So try incorporating more long-tail keywords and answering the key questions people are asking.
Suggested Approach: Aim for Google but also work to get cited on other platforms like AI, Reddit, etc.
Also maintaining topical authority and semantic relevance while refraining from keyword stuffing to get the page ranked on the keyword not even mentioned in the content.
Bad keyword research might derail the entire content intent. Make sure the research goes right.