In any content, keywords play a crucial role. Keywords help in driving the potential traffic towards the content. Every SEO marketer considers keyword research as an integral part of their job.
SEO professionals have stated that keyword research is known as one of the most difficult tasks apart from content creation and link building. 66% of people are performing in house keyword research instead of finding a specialist to do it. Making wrong keyword decisions for SEO can incur huge losses to any website. One can opt for SEO professionals at socialmarketway.com who have expertise in the field of keyword research.
Even though it might look easy but keyword research is very daunting. People who are performing keyword research in a scattered manner will always find the task to be laborious and it will have pitfalls.
If you want to bring a huge improvement in your keyword research technique then here are some pointers that you need to keep in mind.
Mistake to Avoid While Performing Keyword Research
- Not Paying Attention to Searcher’s Intent: While researching the keywords, people make the common mistake of forgetting what the consumers are looking for. In the race of ranking the content or website, most people come up with keywords that will not match with the query of the user. Driving the potential traffic is not enough if you fail to drive conversion. It is very important to examine what a user is searching for on the internet.
If the website is dealing with recipes then your content or keyword must not be linked to your childhood stories of meals. It is very important to match the content with the queries of the people to ensure that the website can retain the potential traffic. According to https://www.entrepreneur.com, Google can determine the content of the blog post by looking into the URL.
- Ignoring Long-tail Keywords: When you are focusing only on the volume of the keyword you are ignoring long-tail keywords. With long-tail keywords, they have low volume but they represent the lowest part of the funnel. It means that it leads to the stage where the user is almost close to the conversion.
By targeting the long-tail keyword you will be able to answer the exact query of the searcher. It will, in turn, help you to create an impression of an expert in front of them. So they will come back to you when they are going to purchase.
- Overlooking SERP: SERP helps in determining the intent of the searcher and what the search engine understands behind the query of the searcher. Most people spend their time on using tools for finding keywords but fail to analyze the keyword rankings.
You may find that the content which Google is serving to the user for any particular query is not matching with your content having that exact keyword. Analyze the content type which Google is ranking for a particular keyword and mould your content accordingly.
- Oblivious to the Audience: It is crucial to understand where the audience looks for the answers to their query. Some may pick Google as their search engine while others may look for the information on YouTube, Twitter or other types of platforms. Look for the mediums or places where the target audience is going to find the answers to the queries.
- Ignoring Localization: One must include SERP while performing keyword research. Several websites use keywords that are related to their product but still fails to drive conversions or traffic as they don’t use location specific keywords.
Here one must know how Google works. If you are trying to buy something and you are searching for it on Google then it will show you the results of places that are near to you. So while curating the appropriate results for the searcher, Google considers several factors like previous searches, localization, seasonality, etc. Just having the right keyword is not always enough for driving traffic.
- Unaware of Competitors: While conducting business online we all are aware of our service or product competitor but have you thought about SERP competitors? Well, most people make the common mistake of ignoring the SERP competition.
One must know their competitors and their method of searching keywords and topics. In the process of keyword research, make sure that you are also analyzing the competitor’s keywords research.
- Applying SEO Keywords after Writing the Article: Several SEO experts have reported cases where they have been requested to perform SEO on content after it is already written. To perform Search Engine Optimization on the content, keyword research must be performed first. This will be the foundation on which PPC, SEO and the content strategy will be built.
- Client Picking the Search Term: As an SEO expert, you must provide the client with keywords that will help in driving quality traffic and improve revenue. A common mistake that people make is to allow the client to pick the search term. The client might target some wrong keywords that wouldn’t help in driving conversions.
- Concentrating on the Exact Match: Several people keep on stuffing their content with all the related keywords that they can think of. They feel that by using different variations of the keywords they will be able to rank their website easily. This is not the case and hence you should always ensure that you are writing the content in a way that you will be able to explain it to someone without repeating the same words again and again.
- Not Asking the Real People: Always talk to real people along with using SERP and SEO tools. It will help you with the keyword research process. People will share information about the journey, the language that they are using, issues that they are facing, etc. You can use all the information and look for keywords that will help you to answer their queries.
Conclusion
A failure in the process of keyword research will break the link between your potential traffic and content. Keywords will act as a catalyst and will help your website or content to win this race.
