Keyword research is an important part of SEO, no matter what industry you’re in. It helps develop a brand identity, narrow your target audience, and get relevant traffic to your website. Keyword research can also be what makes ad campaigns, website optimization, and blog content success or failure.
When a business knows how to implement good keyword research, it puts them ahead of the competition. However, it isn’t always simple. The following are some common mistakes business owners made with keyword research and how to avoid them.
The following are some common mistakes with keyword research that marketers make, often without realizing it is bad.
Why Does Keyword Research Impact SEO?
The process of keyword research is important to SEO because it’s the stage where keywords are compiled for targeting the audience. Each keyword is analyzed to find the more relevant and most searched terms in your niche.
That is why keywords have been a major part of SEO for many years; even though it’s not as important as in the past, search engines continue using it as a partial ranking factor for page rank. Many times keyword research is ignored within digital marketing, but company’s that want to deliver to a more targeted audience, it needs to be a process that isn’t skipped.
Avoid These Mistakes With Keyword Research
Keyword research is difficult but important. Many people make several common mistakes; the following are some of those mistakes that, when avoided, can increase overall ROI.
Broad Keyword Targeting
This is among the most common mistakes marketers make, choosing keywords that are simply too broad. Keyword research should be used for finding relevant keywords that your specific audience is interested in, followed by the monthly search volume.
If you run a watch business, targeted keywords could include watch repair or other relevant keywords. If you want a local business, long-tail keywords are useful too, such as “watch repair in…”.
Focusing On Non-Relevant Keywords
You will simply be wasting ad budget and your time if you are not consistently focusing on keywords used by your targeted audience. That includes ‘close’ keywords too, again if it is not specifically relevant or interesting to the targeted audience, avoid using it. You will only waste money on terms your audience doesn’t use.
Researching Plural Keywords and Not Singular
Moz shows that users tend to search with singular terms more often than with plurals. However, many only target plural words and forget or ignore singular keywords because they focus on an audience as a whole and not as individual people.
Although Google has the ability to determine the difference between plural and singular keywords, it is still recommended to focus on the singular. After all, why not target the keywords people use most, then let search engines use their algorithms for the secondary terms?
Not Reviewing Keywords Frequently
Because things are always changing, especially with keywords, you should always go back often and review the keywords you choose to use. Ensure they still work for you. Are they still being searched? Regular keyword audits are suggested for finding and removing lacking keywords and to learn which are more lucrative. Simply adjust marketing strategies as needed.
Keyword Difficulty
Another common issue is a difficulty; many marketers target moderately difficult keywords to rank. But, the best approach is a mix of each difficulty to get the best range. HubSpot says the best method is to create keyword strategies using long-tail keywords. This allows you to target important search terms and various related keywords.
Not Watching Search Trends
Targeted keywords are significantly impacted by current search trends. That is why watching them is just as important. If you notice popularity over a certain term is decreasing, it may be time to switch focus to another keyword. This will allow you to remain efficient in your strategy.
Focusing On Single Keywords At One Time
When writing web content or blog articles, you can rank well for multiple keywords. Many marketers make the mistake of focusing on one keyword per post, which is overlooking many opportunities for bringing in more traffic.
Using Keywords With Little To No Search Traffic
Even relevant keywords may not be the best option and could be a waste of time to create content for if no one is searching for it. Long-tail keywords are more targeted, so it’s normal to have fewer searches than broad terms but watch for little to no monthly searches.
Event he best-written content and marketing won’t help if no one is searching for the keywords, so be sure to look at the current and past trends for the keyword. Some may spike during certain times of the year; others just have no interest.
Successful SEO Builds From Effective Keyword Research
While not used as a key determining factor like it used to be, keyword research should not be ignored. If you still need help getting your keyword research and marketing strategy going, let us know. Our team of professionals is available to help.
