If you’ve been implementing SEO tactics over the years, you know that keyword research is an essential part of your success. While it has evolved (just like the search engines we use), and many people rely solely on keyword tools nowadays, there are a few ways to find those words that drive traffic to your website that you may have overlooked.

Here we look at five places that will enhance your keyword research and give you insight into the content your target audience wants.

Forums

Forums are an excellent place to get to know what your customers are saying about the industry you’re in. For example, if you are in the automotive industry, you can use forums to find out what people are concerned about when it comes to repairs or what they want from a car dealership when buying their first car.

Chances are if they’re asking questions and discussing it in the forum, they’ve been researching the topic online. Read through the conversations (and join in the dialogue if you want!) and pull out the strings of keywords that seem to pop-up the most.

Customers

That’s right – dust off your ears and actually listen to the questions your customers are asking you. Chances are if you completely rely on technology to spit out keywords for you, then you’ll miss out on the phrases that Google and other search engines haven’t tapped into yet.

If you have customers asking you the same questions over and over, then type them in the search bar and see what pops up. If it isn’t anything relevant or helpful, you now have the insight and information to create content around those words and bring people to your site.

Reviews

Whether you are reading a review about product or service, you can gain a new understanding of how your ideal customer communicates and phrases their statements and questions. The closer you match the way they search, the more exact your keyword strings will be.

Plus, you have the added benefit of knowing what they like (or don’t like) in similar products and services. This way, you’ll know what content to avoid and what you need more of.

Search bars

When you go to places like Amazon and Google, the search bar can be a valuable tool because when you put in a word, you’ll get a drop-down list of the most popular searches. However, be mindful that if you don’t have a clear search history, favorite search bars will start to cater to your particular tastes instead of providing you with general search information.

Authority sites comments

Don’t just read the articles on authority sites within your niche, but read the comments as well. You’ll get direct feedback about your particular business without having to do a ton of research. When you see the same string of keywords used by multiple consumers, you might just need to incorporate them into your website so that you can help solve the problems they are inquiring about.