1️⃣ 1 Search Volume: Look for keywords with a high search volume, but note that what is considered high volume can vary by industry. You can check search volume using Google Keyword Planner (GKP) or KWFinder. You’ll find the number of searches in the “Avg. monthly searches” column. Pro Tip: Seasonal variations affect search volume for certain keywords, such as "Christmas sweaters" being more popular in December than in June. However, non-seasonal keywords can also have fluctuations throughout the year. KWFinder provides month-to-month search volume information to track these changes. 2️⃣ Keyword-Product Fit: Ensure that the keywords you choose align perfectly with what your site sells. Avoid keywords that are a stretch compared to your product offerings. Suppose you sell coffee beans, and you find a keyword like "coffee cups," but you don't sell them. In this case, you may be able to create a category page around this term and convert those searchers to what your site sells. However, it's tricky to execute. It's best to exhaust keywords that your target customers search for before stretching into other product categories. Choose a keyword that's much more targeted to your business, like "coffee beans online," even if it gets fewer searches. 3️⃣ Commercial Intent: Choose keywords that indicate that searchers are ready to buy. Use GKP to assess the keyword's competition rating and top of page bid. Stick with medium to high competition keywords for better results. A high suggested bid indicates a stronger commercial intent. Keep in mind that keywords with higher suggested bids are more competitive to rank for in Google search. For instance, "coffee beans online" has a higher suggested bid than "coffee beans" as the latter may attract non-buying visitors (they might be looking up the definition. Or they might be curious about the health benefits of coffee beans.) Similarly, "buy coffee beans online" has a bid 2.4 times higher. 4️⃣ Competition: Check the keyword difficulty using tools like SEMrush to see how hard it will be to rank for a given keyword. Consider optimizing your page around a super-specific keyword for an edge over less optimized pages. Keyword Targeting and Page Optimization: Here’s where you see if the sites ranking in the top 10 are optimized around that keyword. If the pages in the top 10 are only semi-related to that keyword, you can sometimes outrank them with a highly-targeted page. Once you have identified keywords that are highly searched for, aligned with your products, indicate commercial intent, and have little competition, optimize your ecommerce site architecture accordingly.