How to Create a Keyword List on Ahrefs Like a Pro

Creating an effective keyword list is one of the most crucial steps in building a successful SEO strategy. Keywords act as the bridge between your content and your target audience. If you want to ensure that your website ranks high on search engines, you need to understand how to create a solid keyword list that drives traffic. Fortunately, Ahrefs, one of the leading SEO tools, makes this process straightforward and efficient.

In this guide, we will walk you through how to create a keyword list on Ahrefs like a pro, covering everything from identifying the right keywords to organizing and prioritizing them for your content strategy.

Why is Keyword Research Important?

Before diving into how to use Ahrefs, let’s briefly touch on the importance of keyword research. SEO is all about visibility, and visibility starts with keywords. The right keywords help you:

• Attract the Right Audience: Keywords help you align your content with what users are actually searching for, making it more likely that your site appears in their search results.

• Improve Rankings: Choosing the right keywords enables you to target low-competition terms that you can rank for, gradually improving your website’s overall search engine ranking.

• Increase Conversion: Keywords can drive more qualified traffic, leading to higher conversion rates since they match user intent.

Now, let’s break down how to use Ahrefs to create your keyword list.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Ahrefs Account

Before you can start keyword research, make sure you have an active Ahrefs account. Ahrefs offers a 7-day trial for a small fee, but if you plan to do extensive keyword research, investing in a full subscription will be worthwhile.

Once logged in, you will have access to various tools like the Keyword Explorer, Site Explorer, and Content Explorer, which are all pivotal to creating a comprehensive keyword list.

Step 2: Start with Keyword Exploration

The Keyword Explorer tool in Ahrefs is your starting point for finding potential keywords. Here’s how to use it effectively:

a) Enter Seed Keywords

Seed keywords are the broad terms related to your business or niche. For example, if you are in the digital marketing space, a seed keyword might be “SEO services” or “content marketing.” These broad keywords will help you unearth a variety of related terms.

• Enter Seed Keywords: Go to the Keyword Explorer tool and type in a seed keyword.

• Select Search Engine: Choose the search engine you want to focus on (usually Google).

• Click on Search: Ahrefs will return a list of keyword suggestions based on your seed keyword.

b) Analyze Keyword Metrics

Ahrefs provides detailed metrics for every keyword, helping you assess its potential:

• Search Volume: Indicates how many times a keyword is searched per month.

• Keyword Difficulty (KD): Measures how hard it is to rank for a keyword on a scale from 1 to 100. Lower KD means less competition.

• CPC (Cost per Click): If you’re also running paid campaigns, this tells you the average cost for a paid click.

• Click Potential: Shows the estimated number of clicks you can get from ranking for this keyword.

c) Look for Related Keywords

Once you’ve analyzed the seed keyword, Ahrefs will suggest other related keywords. These suggestions are based on search intent and include:

• Phrase Match Keywords: Keywords that are semantically related to your seed keyword.

• Questions: Keywords phrased as questions (e.g., “how to do SEO?”).

• Also Rank For: A list of other keywords that pages ranking for your seed keyword also rank for.

Review these suggestions to gather a broad set of keywords for further analysis.

Step 3: Refine and Filter Keywords

Ahrefs allows you to refine your keyword list using various filters. This is essential to weed out irrelevant keywords and focus on terms that will bring value.

a) Filter by Keyword Difficulty (KD)

If you’re aiming to target long-tail keywords with low competition, use the Keyword Difficulty (KD) filter. Set the difficulty level to below 30 for easier-to-rank keywords, especially if your site is new or doesn’t have a strong domain authority.

b) Filter by Search Volume

To focus on keywords that actually drive traffic, filter by Search Volume. Depending on your target market, you can set a range that fits your needs. For example, if you’re targeting niche topics, look for keywords with lower search volume but high conversion potential.

c) Filter by Clicks

Ahrefs allows you to filter keywords based on their Click Potential. It’s important to target keywords that drive clicks, not just impressions. Even though a keyword may have high search volume, it might not necessarily bring in many clicks if the search intent is unclear or the search results feature many informational pages without a clear call to action.

Step 4: Organize Your Keywords

Once you’ve gathered a list of keywords, it’s time to organize them. This is a crucial step in making sure you can execute a focused content strategy.

a) Categorize Keywords by Intent

Keyword intent is the goal behind a user’s search. Typically, intent can be categorized into:

• Navigational: Searching for a specific website (e.g., “Facebook login”).

• Informational: Looking for information (e.g., “how to do keyword research?”).

• Transactional: Ready to make a purchase (e.g., “buy SEO tools”).

Categorizing keywords by intent helps you tailor your content. For example, informational keywords can lead to blog posts, while transactional keywords can be targeted with product pages or landing pages.

b) Group Keywords by Topic

Group related keywords into topics. For example, if you’re focusing on SEO, you might create categories like:

• On-Page SEO

• Off-Page SEO

• Technical SEO

• Local SEO

This will make it easier to plan your content around specific themes and target multiple keywords within a single page or article.

c) Create a Content Calendar

Now that your keywords are organized, you can prioritize them based on your content strategy. For example, if you’re launching a new service, prioritize transactional keywords to attract customers ready to convert. For educational content, focus on informational keywords.

Step 5: Monitor and Adjust Your Strategy

Creating a keyword list is just the first step. To succeed in SEO, you need to monitor your rankings regularly and adjust your strategy. Ahrefs provides powerful tools for tracking keyword performance over time.

a) Use Rank Tracker

With Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker, you can track how well your keywords are performing in search engines. This tool will show you which keywords are improving and which ones need more work.

b) Adjust Content Based on Performance

Regularly update your content based on the keywords that are driving traffic. If a keyword is underperforming, consider improving the content around that keyword or targeting a new keyword altogether.

Conclusion

Creating a keyword list on Ahrefs is a straightforward process that, when done correctly, can lead to significant improvements in your website’s search engine rankings and traffic. By following these steps—exploring keywords, filtering them effectively, organizing them by intent, and continually refining your strategy—you can ensure that your SEO efforts are well-targeted and successful.

Remember, keyword research is an ongoing process. The SEO landscape changes constantly, so it’s essential to keep revisiting your keyword strategy and adjust based on current trends and search behavior.

With Ahrefs in your toolkit, you’re well on your way to mastering keyword research and building an effective SEO strategy like a true pro!