How to Conduct Keyword Research in Ahrefs Step by Step - RFC Cambridge

February 13, 2026 by Brittany Conaway

You want traffic that converts. Not just visitors. Not empty clicks. To get that, you need the right keywords. Not the biggest ones. The right ones. This guide shows you how to conduct keyword research in Ahrefs with a practical process you can apply today. No theory. No fluff. Just a few steps you can follow.

Table of Contents

Start With a Clear Goal

Before you open Ahrefs, define your purpose. Are you trying to:

Drive sales for a product.
Grow an email list
Rank for informational content
Support a new website.

Your goal shapes your keyword choices. If you sell accounting software, you need commercial keywords like “small business accounting software,” not broad terms like “what is accounting.” Write down: Your main topic, your target audience, and the action you want them to take. This clarity will guide every decision inside the tool.

Use Keyword Explorer the Right Way

Open Ahrefs and go to Keyword Explorer. Enter a broad seed keyword related to your topic. Example: If you run a fitness blog, type “home workout.” Do not stop at the overview screen. Go deeper. Look at:

Search volume
Keyword difficulty
Traffic potential
Parent topic

Search volume tells you how often people search. Keyword difficulty shows how hard it may be to rank. Traffic potential estimates the real opportunity if you rank. Do not chase volume alone. A keyword with 800 searches and low difficulty can outperform one with 10,000 searches and strong competition.

Expand With Matching Terms

Click on Matching terms. This is where the real work begins. Filter results to remove noise. For example:

Set keyword difficulty to under 20 if your site is new.
Set minimum search volume to 100
Use the word count filter to find long phrases.

Longer keywords often show clearer intent. Example: “home workout” is vague. “home workout plan for beginners without equipment” shows specific intent. Specific intent usually means better conversions.

Understand Search Intent

Finding keywords is not enough. You must understand why people search for them. Click on a keyword and review the SERP overview in Ahrefs. Study the top-ranking pages. Ask yourself:

Are results blog posts or product pages
Are they guides or listicles
Do they answer a question or sell something?

If the top results are detailed guides, your short product page will struggle to rank. Match what works. Then improve it. Example: If the top results for “best email marketing tools” are comparison posts, create a detailed comparison. Not a homepage. This step separates random content from strategic content.

Analyze Competitors for Gaps

Now move beyond seed keywords. Enter a competitor domain into Site Explorer. Go to the Organic keywords report. You will see every keyword that the site ranks for. Sort by:

Position between 5 and 20
Low keyword difficulty
Relevant to your topic

These are weak spots. Pages ranking at positions 5 to 20 are often easier to outrank than the top 3 results. Example: If a competitor ranks position 12 for “meal prep ideas for weight loss” and their content is thin, you have an opportunity. Study their page. Create something clearer. More complete. Better structured. This is a core part of how to conduct keyword research in Ahrefs effectively. You are not guessing. You are using real ranking data.

Use Content Gap Tool

The Content Gap feature is direct. Enter your domain. Then add two or three competitor domains. Ahrefs will show keywords they rank for, but you do not. This reveals missing topics. Filter results by:

Minimum search volume
Low to moderate keyword difficulty
Relevance to your audience

Do not copy every keyword. Focus on ones that match your goal. If you run a budgeting blog and see competitors ranking for “printable monthly budget template,” that is a clear opportunity. You now have data to support creating that content.

Evaluate Keyword Difficulty Realistically

Keyword difficulty is a guide. Not a rule. Click on the keyword difficulty score. Review the backlink profile of top-ranking pages. Look at:

Number of referring domains
Domain strength
Content depth

If top results have 200 referring domains and your site has 10, ranking will be hard. But if top pages have 15 referring domains and average authority, you have a path. Do not rely on a single number. Review the actual SERP.

Cluster Keywords Into Topics

Do not create one page per keyword. Group related keywords together. Example: Primary keyword: “budget meal plan” Related keywords: “cheap weekly meal plan” “budget meal plan for family of 4” “low cost healthy meal plan” These can live in one strong article. Clustering improves structure and prevents internal competition between your pages. Inside Ahrefs, export your filtered keywords into a spreadsheet. Group them by similarity and intent. This turns raw data into a content plan.

Prioritize With Business Value

Not all traffic is equal. Inside Ahrefs, you can assign business value to keywords. This forces you to think beyond traffic. Ask:

Will this keyword bring buyers?
Is the searcher close to making a decision?
Does this topic support your core offer?

For example: “how to lose weight fast” brings traffic. “best calorie tracking app for weight loss” brings buyers. Focus on keywords that support your revenue model. If you ignore this, you may grow traffic but not income.

Build a Simple Workflow

Here is a clean workflow you can repeat:

Define your goal
Find seed keywords
Expand with Matching terms.
Analyze search intent
Study competitors
Use Content Gap
Cluster keywords
Prioritize by value

This is how to conduct keyword research in Ahrefs in a structured way. You move from broad ideas to specific opportunities. No random clicks. No guesswork.

Turn Research Into Content

Research is useless without execution. Once you select a keyword cluster, outline your article based on top ranking pages. Cover the main subtopics you observed in the SERP. Add examples and data where needed. Structure content clearly with headings. If the top results average 2,000 words, do not publish 600 words. Depth matters. If competitors skip practical steps, include them. Example: Instead of writing: “Here are tips for budgeting.” Write: “Open your banking app. Export the last 30 days of transactions. Categorize spending into food, rent, transport, and subscriptions.” Specific instructions improve quality.