How to Find High-Volume Keywords for SEO: A Practical Guide

If you’ve ever sat in front of your screen thinking “What should I even be writing about?”, trust me—I’ve been there way more times than I’d like to admit. These things called high-volume keywords? They’re the secret sauce. Not magic, but close. They bring people in. And if you’re doing anything online that needs eyeballs, you’re gonna want them on your side.

So how do I find ’em? Well, it’s a mix of common sense, digital tools, and a bit of playing detective with what other people are doing. Not always clean, definitely not always easy, but it works.

High-Volume Keywords… What Even Are Those?

Okay so, first off—when we talk about high-volume keywords, we’re just talking about stuff people type into Google a lot. Like, thousands or even millions of times per month sometimes. That’s it. They’re just search terms that show up over and over.

More folks searching means a better chance of getting clicks if you show up for it. That’s the big idea. Simple on paper. In real life, though? You’re gonna need a plan because tons of other folks are trying to rank for the same dang words.

Why Should You Even Care?

Here’s what I learned early—if no one’s searching for what I’m writing about, nobody’s reading it either. Sad but true. So high-volume keywords? They get your stuff seen.

More eyeballs = more chances for clicks.
If your site shows up first, you get the traffic. Boom.
Your brand starts getting noticed.
Might even sell something, if that’s your thing.

That’s the big win, right?

How I Actually Go Looking for These Things

1. Start Basic. Think Like A Regular Person.

Usually I just start with something broad. They call ’em seed keywords in SEO land. To me, it’s just stuff people would type if they were looking for whatever I write about.

Say I’m blogging about meal prep. My seed words might be “healthy meals”, “prep recipes”, “budget food”. Nothing fancy yet.

I just brainstorm real basic words I’d Google if I were looking for help with whatever I’m about to write. That’s the start.

2. Use Tools (But Don’t Rely Only on Tools)

Tools are cool. Tools help. But tools won’t think for you.

Here’s a few I like:

Google Keyword Planner: Still solid even if you don’t run ads.
Ubersuggest: Great for beginners. It gives you search volume and other fun stuff.
Ahrefs / SEMrush: Bit pricey, but they go deep. Like, real deep.
AnswerThePublic: Wild interface. Shows what folks are asking about in bubbles.
Google Trends: More for timing. Helps you ride waves instead of sink.

When I’m in these tools, I’m watching:

How many people search the word per month.
Is the word super competitive?
And if advertisers pay for it a lot—if they do, it means money’s in there somewhere.

3. Check What Your Rivals Are Up To

Not sure why people don’t do this more. It’s easy. Just spy on whoever’s doing better than you.

I pop their site into Ahrefs or SEMrush, and boom—every keyword they rank for pops up. I look for:

What they’re ranking for without a lot of backlinks (means I can maybe beat them).
Keywords they missed that I could sneak in and grab.

It’s basically digital eavesdropping. Legal. Effective. Fun, too.

4. Long-Tail Keywords = My Best Friends

The really broad keywords (“marketing”, “coffee”, “haircuts”)—yeah, good luck ranking for those unless you’re a monster brand. I go long.

Example:

Short: “protein powder”
Long-tail: “best protein powder for teenage athletes 2025”

That second one? More specific. Less competition. Better shot of showing up and actually helping someone.

Even if fewer people search it, it converts better. I take ten of those over one huge one any day.

5. I Let Google Give Me Clues

Autocomplete is low-key amazing. I type something and Google tries to finish my sentence. That’s basically them telling me, “Hey, this is what most people search next.”

I also scroll to the bottom after I search and check “Related Searches”. Goldmine.

You search “vegan breakfast ideas” and down there you’ll see things like:

“easy vegan breakfast for beginners”
“cheap vegan breakfast meal prep”

These ain’t just suggestions. They’re directions.

**6. I Ask: What Do They Want? (Intent Is Everything)**

Knowing what someone wants when they type something into Google? That’s the key.

Is someone just looking for info? Trying to buy something? Comparing options?

I break it down like this:

Informational: “how to fix a leaking pipe”
Navigational: “login page for LinkedIn”
Commercial: “best hiking boots under $200”
Transactional: “buy bluetooth speaker now”

If I target a keyword but write content that doesn’t match the intent… it’ll flop. No matter how good the writing is.

7. Keep Checking, Keep Updating

This part’s boring, but it’s necessary. Things change. Search volume rises and falls. Your competitors publish new stuff. Google updates their algorithm for the 100th time.

So I:

Re-check keyword stats every couple months.
Rewrite old posts with newer keywords.
Track rankings in Google Search Console. It’s free and surprisingly helpful.

It’s like gardening. You water your old stuff while planting new things.

Some Stuff That’s Easy to Mess Up

Here’s where I’ve messed up, and what I avoid now:

Only looking at big volume: Just because a word is searched a lot doesn’t mean I should chase it.
Ignoring what people actually want: Intent mismatches kill traffic.
Stuffing keywords like it’s 2004: Google hates that now.
Dismissing low-volume words: Some of them bring super targeted traffic.

Last Words from Me

At the end of the day, I’m not trying to impress an algorithm. I’m trying to help real people find real answers. And high-volume keywords? They’re just the road signs that help folks find me.

Don’t stress about finding the perfect keyword. Just start with smart ones. Watch what works. Tweak as you go. SEO’s a long game, not a one-time trick.

Hope that helped—go dig into those keywords and see what pops up.
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