Step 1. Make sure you're optimizing for the right keyword 

You must ensure that keyword optimization is worthwhile and that your chances of ranking are excellent whether you optimize fresh or current content. Here are some things to remember from the beginning of the process, as this stage is likely the most difficult one.

Potential for search traffic

Estimating a keyword's potential to increase your traffic might be challenging. Most SEO tools try to address this by focusing on search volume, but more is needed. Some searches don't lead to clicks on specific sites, such as clicks on advertisements or queries that provide users with complete answers immediately on the SERP. Pages optimized for only one keyword rank for hundreds of them so that you can get more traffic than the search engines. Calculating the amount of traffic, the ranking pages receive is a better approach. This is automatically determined in Ahrefs using the Traffic Potential (TP) statistic. The top-ranking page for your target term is calculated using the TP measure, which averages traffic estimates from all keywords. This illustrates the traffic volume you may receive if your page outranks this one.

A benefit to your website 

Choose keywords wisely so you may get worthwhile visitors. When choosing a target term, consider the benefit of attracting searchers on a practical level. Is it increasing direct sales, brand exposure, or readership?  Each term may be mapped to a scale corresponding to your ultimate objective. For instance, your approach can provide material (or "product-led content") that guides readers toward utilizing your product to address their issues. 

Term complexity 

It will be more challenging to rank for some keywords than others. Look at the number of unique domains connecting the top 10 ranking sites to get a fast idea of how tough it is to rank for a specific phrase. Since backlinks continue to be one of Google's most important ranking factors, the more connecting domains there are, the more difficult it will likely be to rank. On a scale of 0 to 100, Ahrefs's Keyword Difficulty (KD) is automatically determined based on backlinks.

Search intent 

The purpose of the search is the search intent. Typically, people who conduct searches want to buy, learn, or locate a particular website. Search intent is essential for optimizing keywords since Google favors material that closely matches the dominant purpose of the query. Finding out what people are looking for can help you determine whether you can provide it and whether it is worthwhile for you to do so. For instance, it can be challenging for a "non-e-commerce" website to stand out for a search term like "women's shoes." The entire page is made up of product pages.

Your expertise 

The messenger in Google Search is as diminutive as significant as the message. Google's stance on that was articulated through the E-A-T principles (expertise, authority, and trustworthiness). Searches in the Your Money or Your Life domain (i.e., health, financial matters, safety, etc.) are significantly impacted by E-A-T. In the most recent "helpful content" core upgrade, Google emphasized the authority of the website's function even more (and perhaps even gave it more significance): Does your writing blatantly show first-hand experience and depth of understanding (for instance, experience gained from actually using a product or service or going somewhere)? Did you choose to write on a specialized subject for which you had no actual knowledge, primarily in the hope of attracting search traffic? Google strives to provide its consumers with high-quality material. It makes it simpler for a search engine to identify excellent material when it is known that something is coming from a reliable source. Therefore, it is perfect for someone with professional medical expertise to write or at least review a blog about health. It should also be checked and updated often.

Step 2. Align with the search intent 

Let's ask Google what sort of information users wish to find. We refer to this as the three Cs of search intent analysis. The target the searcher is pursuing is referred to as content type. Typically, one of the following content types will be used: Product page, category page, landing page, blog post, or article. The goal is to hunt for the most prevalent form of content on the top-ranking pages for your keyword. The SERP features (People Also Ask box, featured snippet) and the top three ranking sites will have the most influence here—the stuff you have to match that. We see virtually only articles while searching for "best all-season car tires," except the top result. Therefore, since an essay is the most popular content type, if you were to compete for this term, your best chance of success would be with an article.

Step 3: Adhere to recommended practices for on-page SEO 

It's time to construct our content with SEO in mind after selecting our target keyword and determining its search intent. We require so-called on-page SEO for this. In other words, you may use tried-and-true techniques on the page to make it easier for Google and searchers to comprehend and assimilate your material. It's a good idea to optimize outdated information utilizing a tool like Ahrefs' Site Audit (also accessible without charge in Ahrefs Webmaster Tools). You may use it to find all the missing tags, improperly optimized photos, and more.