How to Conduct Keyword Research for a Directory Website Pt. 2 - Learning in Public day 3

Creating a successful website starts with understanding what your audience wants. As a travel blogger, that means knowing exactly what people are searching for when they look for information about your destination.

In this post, I'll share my approach to using keyword research to build out the ideal website structure and content plan for my upcoming Bali travel directory. This strategic upfront work ensures the site is optimized to rank for all the right terms from day one.

The Challenge

When starting a new website project, one of the biggest hurdles is figuring out how to organize all the content. With travel, there are countless potential categories like hotels, restaurants, activities, spas, and more. But which ones deserve their own section? And how do you decide on subcategories and landing pages?

Our Approach

To solve this, I turned to keyword research. By looking at real search data for terms related to Bali travel, I could see exactly what people are looking for. This data then became the blueprint for mapping out the ideal website architecture.

Step 1: Brainstorm Potential Categories

I started by listing out all the broad topics I might cover on the site related to visiting Bali. This included things like:

Accommodations (hotels, villas, resorts, glamping)
Dining (restaurants, cafes, bars, food tours)
Activities (water sports, cultural experiences, nightlife)
Wellness (spas, massage, yoga)
Practical info (transportation, visas, money)

Step 2: Analyze Search Volume and Intent

Next, I fired up my favorite keyword research tool (ahrefs) and started digging into each of those broad categories. For example, under "Dining" I analyzed:

Restaurants: best restaurants in [location], [cuisine type] restaurants, romantic restaurants, etc.
Breakfast: floating breakfast, breakfast buffet, breakfast costs
Brunch: boozy brunch, Sunday brunch, hotel brunch
Lunch: best lunch spots, lunch deals
Dinner: sunset dinners, private dinners, company dinners

I looked at not only the search volume for these terms, but the user intent behind them. Are people looking for recommendations, pricing info, or something else?

I did this exercise for each potential category, jotting down all the specific ways people search within that topic and what they're looking to find.

Step 3: Map Categories and Subcategories

With all of this raw data compiled, I could then start mapping out a content structure that matches how people search. I created a few core categories like:

Dining (with subcategories for restaurants, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and brunch)
Nightlife & Entertainment (bars, clubs, nightlife areas)
Wellness & Relaxation (spas, massage, yoga/meditation)
Activities & Adventures (water sports, cultural activities, adventure tours)

Under each of those main buckets, I listed out potential subcategories and even specific landing pages based on the keyword data. For example, under "Bars" I had:

Beach bars
Rooftop bars
Sports bars
Swim-up bars
Gay bars
Best bars in [location]

This ensured the site architecture directly matched real user behavior and search patterns.

Step 4: Prioritize and Filter

With my big master list of categories and subcategories, I could then prioritize which ones to build out first based on a few factors:

Search Volume: Categories with higher volumes got priority
Our Expertise: I stuck to topics where we could share first-hand experience
Business Priorities: I focused first on revenue-driving sections like booking hotels

This let me create a phased approach for building out the site over time without getting overwhelmed.

Challenges We Faced

The biggest challenge was choosing the right tool for accurate keyword data specific to the Bali/Indonesia market. Many popular SEO tools are heavily skewed toward US/English searches.

Additionally, some topics had surprisingly low volumes that didn't seem to match reality (e.g. surfing, which is huge in Bali). This required supplementing the data with other research.

How We Overcame Them

To get more localized, relevant data, I experimented with different keyword research tools and methods, including:

Looking at the actual ranking pages for key terms to see what's working
Using Google's auto-suggest to mine for long-tail keyword ideas
Studying the best performing content from competitors
Surveying my existing audience about their search habits

By combining insights from multiple sources, I was able to build a more holistic picture of the landscape.

Results So Far

Using this research process, I've now mapped out a solid content architecture to guide the website build. This includes:

4 main categories
18 subcategories
72 potential landing pages

I've prioritized the top 2 categories and 8 subcategories to tackle first based on search volume and our expertise.

With this structure in place, it will be much easier to create a logical site navigation, URL structure, and content plan from the start. No more guessing what people want!

Key Takeaways

Research real search data to understand how users look for information
Map categories to match search patterns, not just random topics
Prioritize based on volume, expertise & business goals
Supplement data from multiple sources for a complete picture
Start small and build out sections over time

What's Next

Now that the overall structure is defined, I'll be mapping out a content plan and beginning to produce the first batches of posts, guides, and landing pages. Having this solid foundation from the research will streamline the entire process.

I'll also start working on other key areas like branding, setting up the technical infrastructure, and planning marketing promotion. Stay tuned!

Conclusion

If you want to build a website that attracts a constant stream of targeted search traffic, it all starts with thorough keyword research. By understanding exactly how people search for information in your niche, you can craft the perfect site architecture and content plan to meet that demand.

While it takes upfront work, this strategic approach pays major dividends down the road in the form of higher rankings, more traffic, and better user engagement. It's absolutely worth the investment for any content-driven website.

Want to Learn More?

Follow along with my 60-day journey building this travel directory site! Subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Twitter for behind-the-scenes insights and lessons learned along the way.