Researching for effective keywords that you want to rank for is obviously the very first step everyone needs to take while doing SEO or writing content. Following the fact that keyword research can be quite tiring sometimes.
But apart from that what hurts more is when you put all your effort into doing research and that still doesn’t work out. So, to make sure that doesn’t happen, today I’ll discuss the most common keyword research mistakes that drive your research to waste.
Knowing what not to do will keep you one step ahead and all the work that you put in making a keyword research strategy will surely pay off.
1. Not putting time in keyword research
A few people out there actually skip keyword research as they think that will save their time. Well, doing comprehensive keyword research can surely be a long and irritating task sometimes but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s the core of all your content and SEO strategy.
Just stuffing the keywords you think should work wouldn’t make the page rank. Skipping the proper research leads your content without a clue of what its potential readers are searching for.
And that’s the biggest keyword research mistake, thinking that you know what your potential readers are searching for.
2. Letting Clients Choose their keywords
These ones are especially for those who offer content writing or SEO services to others.
We all have faced those clients who give keywords themselves to add thinking that it would help us. But actually, it doesn’t. Because the keywords they give are generally not specific, don’t match search intent or they are quite competitive to rank for.
The list given by the client should be considered as a beginning point and not as an ending point.
Several businesses believe that they know what their potential users are searching for but again feelings don’t work here.
3. You’ve chosen the proper keywords, but there’s already a lot of competition.
Ensure your keywords are realistic. Some niches are heavily competitive. Ranking in a competitive niche is difficult, particularly if your website or business is new. If you’re just getting started, avoid the very tough ‘head’ keywords (yet).
Rather, concentrate on long-tail keywords (as they are easier to rank and provide a better possibility of conversion).
4. Overlooking Search Intent
Adding search intent to your keyword research checklist is quite important. As you would take shots in the dark if you don’t know what your audience looks for on search engines.
Your audience might want to learn something (learning intent), look for some specific events (informational intent) or they might be looking to buy some stuff (commercial intent). Adding to that, search engines are now way too smart that they try to offer the audience exactly what they want.
So, that makes it quite important to have an eye on the search intent of your audience. And how to do that? That’s pretty simple, just look at the search results.
Just up your target keyword and look if the intent matches? What questions do they have? Does your content fulfil their need?
5. Ignoring the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
There are numerous effective keyword research tools available that make keyword research a snap.
You may explore statistics, examine past trends, and even discover how your competitors rank. However, there is such a thing as having too enough of a good thing.
Many marketers expend a lot of time browsing through research tools that they overlook the one area that actually counts: the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Allowing tools to rule the complete keyword research process is not a good idea. Take the time to look at what types of content are ranking for your most important keywords and utilize that information to improve your efforts.
6. Ignoring Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords have a lesser search volume, which scares off some marketers. You can’t bear to repeat that misstep.
It’s not always a bad thing to have a low search volume. Lower volume key phrases are frequently found more effective while calculating the conversion of visitors.
Using variants of relevant keywords can help you wrap a topic more comprehensively as well as present visitors with all the information they might have a need to buy the product.
7. Keeping the focus only on exact keywords
An amazing article doesn’t have to limit its ranking opportunity to only one exact keyword. Rather, it can surely rank for its variant keywords too. So, if you can cast a spell to optimize a related keyword without turning to longer, you should definitely do so.
For instance, we have an informational article posted about Mobile SEO Guide. So, primarily it’s optimized for [UtlimateMobile SEO Guide], but we also optimized it for similar phrases like “Best Mobile SEO Tips” and “Complete Guide on Mobile SEO”, and it’s performing quite amazing for each of the keyphrases.
8. Not differentiating between using singular or plural forms
Always be sure you’re targeting the plural or singular form of a term. While Google recognizes that the plural and singular forms of a word connect to the same subject, the search result pages and amount of results are frequently varied due to minor differences in what people are searching for.
It’s critical to consider the intention of users looking for your keyword in this scenario. Anyone searching for the singular variant of a keyword might be seeking information, whereas one searching for the plural variant might be comparing things and/or purchasing things.
So, the use of singular or plural relies completely on the purpose of using that keyword.
9. Keep Conversions in Mind
Some keywords can bring you traffic while others might get less spotlight but they could drive more conversions than the previous one.
A lot of marketers and clients optimize the content for quite broad terms which might bring you a lot of traffic but they eventually fail to get you conversions.
For instance, an E-Commerce site might attract a lot of traffic aiming at a broad keyword like “Backpacks”, but that has a very low chance of converting. Instead, a relatively more specific keyword like ” Waterproof Printed Backpacks” might fail in bringing a big amount of traffic but this has a better chance of converting the users into customers.
10. Missing Out Evaluation
When you try to rank for a handful of terms, ensure to evaluate whether you’re succeeding or not. You need to check if your target audience finds your articles.
The easiest way to do so is to open up a private browser session or a tool and search for the keyword that you’re trying to rank on. Now go through the results and look if your site is ranking well enough or not.
If not, then you should restructure your strategy and think if you need to aim at more competitive keywords or shift your focus on long-tail substitutes.
Are Keyword Research Mistakes Keeping Your Website Down?
The issue of keyword research is that most of the tactics are still from the 2000s. And Google has grown a lot smarter since then making keyword research more valuable and tough.
The most crucial factor is to understand your readers and structure your strategy around them. Keyword research ain’t just about some exact terms that you need to add instead it’s about getting to know your audience and optimizing your content according to that.
Thank You For Reading Along.
We hope that you’ve found all the answers that you were looking for but if you still have any queries left, the comment box is wide open or you can mail us at [email protected] We will be more than happy to help you.
