Keyword research is a crucial element of an optimized SEO and link-building strategy because it helps you understand the needs and interests of your target audience. This enables you to create content that is relevant and valuable to them, which can attract backlinks from high-authority sources. Keyword research also helps you choose the right anchor text for your links and optimize your guest posts and blogs for better rankings and more traffic. By conducting thorough keyword research, you can build a link building strategy that is focused on helping your audience and improving the user experience, rather than just trying to please search engines.