Keyword Research: Find What People Actually Search For

Here’s the thing most course creators get wrong: they build content around what they want to teach, not what people actually search for. I’ve seen this pattern repeat countless times in my years in higher education. Brilliant instructors create comprehensive resources, then wonder why nobody finds them.

The fix isn’t complicated. It starts with understanding the exact words and phrases your potential students type into search engines. That’s keyword research, and it’s the foundation of everything else we’ll cover in this course.

The Three Types of Keywords You Need to Know

Not all searches are created equal. Understanding why someone searches helps you match your content to their intent.

Informational keywords answer questions or explain concepts. Think “what is project management” or “how does SEO work.” The searcher is learning, not buying. But here’s what most people miss: informational searches often happen before commercial searches. If you’re not showing up here, you’re not in the running when they’re ready to purchase.

Commercial keywords signal comparison shopping. “Best project management course” or “SEO training reviews.” The searcher knows they want something but hasn’t decided which one. This is where your competition gets fierce because everyone wants to rank for “best [topic] course.”

Transactional keywords show intent to take action. “Buy project management certification” or “enroll in SEO course.” These convert at the highest rate but have the lowest search volume. You can’t build a business only on transactional keywords—there simply aren’t enough searches.

Your content strategy needs all three types, but the mix depends on your goals. For most course creators, I recommend starting heavy on informational content and gradually adding commercial and transactional pages as your domain authority grows.

Free Tools That Actually Work

You don’t need expensive subscriptions to get started. Here are the free tools I recommend:

Google Autocomplete is the easiest starting point. Type your topic into Google and watch what appears. Those suggestions come from real searches. Start with “how to [your topic]” and “why does [your topic].” The autocomplete results often reveal language you wouldn’t naturally use.

People Also Ask boxes appear in many search results and are goldmines. Click on a question, and more questions appear. Each one represents a real search query with enough volume that Google deemed it worth featuring. I’ve built entire content calendars from these boxes alone.

AnswerThePublic visualizes questions people ask around a keyword. The free tier gives you a few searches per day, which is plenty when you’re strategic. You’ll see patterns like “how to,” “why does,” “what is,” and “which” questions that map directly to content ideas.

Ubersuggest’s free tier provides search volume estimates, keyword difficulty scores, and content ideas. It’s not as comprehensive as paid tools, but it’s enough to validate whether a keyword is worth pursuing.

Evaluating Keywords: The Volume vs. Difficulty Tradeoff

Here’s where most beginners stumble. They chase high-volume keywords without checking difficulty, then wonder why their content never ranks.

Search volume tells you how many people search for a phrase. Keyword difficulty tells you how hard it is to rank on page one. A keyword with 10,000 monthly searches and a difficulty score of 90 means you’re competing with established sites that have years of backlinks and authority.

For new sites or those without strong domain authority, I recommend this simple framework:

Under 200 monthly searches + difficulty under 20: Easy wins. Create these quickly.
200-1,000 monthly searches + difficulty under 35: Your sweet spot. Worth significant effort.
Over 1,000 monthly searches + difficulty over 50: Wait until you have more authority.

The exact numbers vary by niche, but the principle holds: low competition beats high volume when you’re starting out.

The Long-Tail Goldmine

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases with lower search volume but higher intent. “Project management” is a head term. “How to create a project timeline in Excel for beginners” is a long-tail keyword.

Most people ignore long-tail keywords because the individual search volumes look puny. Big mistake. Here’s why:

First, long-tail keywords have clearer intent. Someone searching “how to create a project timeline in Excel” has a specific problem they need solved. That’s your ideal student.

Second, long-tail keywords are less competitive. The big players optimize for head terms. They ignore the specific phrases where you can actually win.

Third, long-tail keywords add up. A page optimized for one specific phrase often ranks for dozens of related variations.

An anonymized example: A course creator in the professional development space was struggling to rank for competitive terms like “leadership training” and “management course.” After shifting strategy to target long-tail phrases like “how to give feedback to difficult employees” and “examples of SMART goals for managers,” they saw dramatic results. Within eight months, their collection of long-tail-optimized pages was generating over 10,000 monthly visitors—most of whom arrived through search queries they’d never even considered initially.

Why “How to [Skill]” Beats “[Topic] Course”

Here’s a counterintuitive truth: searching for a course is a late-stage behavior. By the time someone types “[topic] course,” they’ve likely already encountered multiple resources and instructors.

The real opportunity lies earlier in the journey. When someone searches “how to [do the thing your course teaches],” they’re discovering the problem exists. They’re learning what skills they need. And if your content shows up there, you build the relationship before your competitors even know this person exists.

Create content that teaches the “how to” and naturally positions your course as the next step. You’ll capture more traffic and convert at higher rates because you’ve established trust.

Putting It Together: Your Keyword Research Process

Here’s a simple process you can follow today:

List your core topics. What skills does your course teach? Write down 5-10 broad topics.
Use autocomplete to expand. Type “how to [topic]” into Google and note every suggestion.
Mine People Also Ask. Search your topics and capture every question that appears.
Check AnswerThePublic. Look for question patterns you missed.
Validate with Ubersuggest. Check volume and difficulty for your top candidates.
Prioritize by opportunity. Sort by low difficulty first, then by volume and relevance.

Aim for 20-30 keyword opportunities in your first pass. You won’t create content for all of them—this is about building a prioritized list.

What’s Next

Once you know what people are searching for, you need to organize those keywords into a content plan that builds authority over time. That’s exactly what we cover in the next lesson.

And if you’re still shaping what your course will cover, keyword research pairs perfectly with course planning. The phrases people search for often reveal gaps in existing courses—gaps you can fill. Check out Plan Your Course to see how search data can inform your curriculum decisions.

Remember: keyword research isn’t about gaming algorithms. It’s about understanding humans—what they’re confused about, what they’re trying to accomplish, and what language they use to describe their problems. Master that, and the rankings follow.