How to Run Keyword Research in Ahrefs
Step-by-step guide to keyword research in Ahrefs Keywords Explorer. Find high-value keywords with volume, difficulty, and click data.
Step-by-step
How to Run Keyword Research in Ahrefs
Open Keywords Explorer
Go to Keywords Explorer in the top menu. Enter a seed keyword related to your niche. Choose your target country and search engine (Google is default, but Bing, YouTube, and Amazon are also available).
Analyze the keyword overview
Review the overview metrics: search volume, Keyword Difficulty (KD), Cost Per Click (CPC), clicks per search, and return rate. The 'Clicks' metric is unique to Ahrefs — it shows how many searches result in actual clicks.
Explore keyword ideas
Click 'Matching terms' for keywords containing your seed term, or 'Related terms' for semantically related keywords. Use 'Questions' to find FAQ-style queries. Each report can contain millions of keyword suggestions.
Filter and export
Filter by KD (start under 30), minimum volume (100+), and clicks. Add promising keywords to a keyword list. Export the filtered results as CSV for your content calendar.
Tips
Pro tips
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Check the 'Parent Topic' for each keyword — often you should target the parent topic rather than individual long-tail variations
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Use the 'SERP Overview' to see what type of content ranks (blog posts, tools, videos) before committing to a keyword
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The 'Traffic Potential' metric (shown in SERP Overview) is often more useful than search volume — it shows total traffic the #1 page gets from all keywords
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