Keyword research is the process of finding words and queries that searchers are using to find your content. It’s crucial for creating effective SEO strategies.
There are several important elements to consider during this process, such as assessing popularity and competition. It’s also essential to understand search intent, which influences how your content ranks.
1. You’re Not Using the Right Tools
Keyword research is a crucial part of any SEO strategy, focusing primarily on keyword suggestions and domain analysis. It allows you to discover the search terms that your audience uses to find your product or service, and then create content that speaks directly to those searchers. In order to perform the research effectively, you need the right tools. There are a lot of different tools on the market, some free and some paid. Some are more comprehensive than others, and some offer integration with other tools to streamline your workflows. However, the best tool is the one that suits your unique needs and budget.
While free tools are a great starting point, they often have limitations and can be misleading. Many paid tools also offer advanced features and personalized insights for a more effective approach to keyword research. Some are even designed to integrate seamlessly with other marketing and SEO tools.
The biggest mistake that people make with keyword research is ignoring the search intent behind a particular term. For example, if someone searches for “cloud integration freelance hire”, they may be looking for a professional to help with their project or need advice on how to do it themselves. By focusing on the search intent, you can ensure that your content is relevant to the user’s needs and will encourage them to stay on your site longer.
It’s important to remember that keyword research is a process and not an end goal. It takes time to identify the right keywords and create relevant content that will rank well. If you are trying to rush through the process, you will likely end up with a list of keywords that won’t drive the right traffic to your site.
Using the right keyword research tools can help you avoid making these mistakes and achieve better results from your SEO efforts. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can save time, money and effort while still getting the results you need to grow your business.
2. You’re Not Using the Right Keywords
Keyword research is the process of discovering which organic search terms (also known as keywords) are (1) most commonly used in your industry, (2) the most valuable to you from a business standpoint, and (3) low enough from a competition standpoint to be ranking possible. Search engines use keywords to figure out what your page is about, so ensuring that your content matches the intent of users searching those keywords (also known as user intent) is critical for ranking well on SERPs.
Most people who conduct keyword research focus on finding new keywords, which is a good idea if you’re looking to boost your website’s traffic. However, it’s also important to understand how to optimize your current keywords in order to maximize their performance.
To start, you’ll need to identify a few seed keywords that are relevant to your business. These are the keywords that you will start with in your keyword research tools, like Google’s Keyword Planner or Ahrefs. Ideally, these should be broad keywords that are related to your niche but also have high search volumes.
Once you have a few seed keywords, you can use your keyword research tools to generate a list of additional keyword ideas. You should pay special attention to the keywords that are in the top five results, as these will be the most likely to convert into customers.
Finally, it’s important to look at the average monthly search volume for each of your potential keywords. This will help you gauge how competitive each one is and determine if it’s worth pursuing.
Using this information, you can then begin to create a list of targeted keywords that you will aim to rank for. This should be a mix of high-volume head keywords and long-tail keywords that support those head keywords. Additionally, you can use your keyword research data to understand what type of consumer intent each term has, so that you can target content that aligns with that intent.
There are several tools that can be used to help with this process, including competitor analysis tools such as SEMrush or SEMprove; keyword difficulty tools such as Google Keyword Planner and Moz’s KWFinder; and qualitative insights from customer surveys and social listening platforms like Reddit’s /r/SEO subreddits. With the right tools, you’ll be able to streamline your processes and find the most effective keywords for your SEO strategy!
3. You’re Not Using the Right Data
Using the right data is one of the key components to performing keyword research effectively. This includes not only search volume, but also keyword difficulty and the relative competitiveness of a term. This information can help you decide if the effort involved in ranking for a particular keyword is worth it.
The other piece of data that should be considered is user intent. User intent refers to what a person is looking for when they perform a search query, and it’s important to know what type of results Google displays for different types of queries. This is because each type of search has a different purpose and users will only click on the pages that most closely align with their desired outcome.
For example, if someone searches for “REI tents,” they are probably looking to purchase a new tent. However, if someone searches for “how to repair an REI tent,” they are more likely looking for tips and advice on how to fix their existing tent. In either case, the content on your website should be relevant to the intent of the searcher.
If a keyword does not align with the intent of the searcher, it may result in low-quality traffic. If you rank for a search term that is not relevant to your business, you’ll receive clicks but they will likely bounce quickly because they are not in the right place in the conversion funnel. Conversely, if you create content that matches the intent of the searcher, it will compel them to stay on your site and convert into a lead or customer.
There are a number of free tools that can be used for basic keyword research, including the Google AdWords Keyword Planner and the Moz Keyword Explorer. Using these tools can provide you with monthly search volumes and keyword difficulty data. However, if you want to take your keyword research to the next level, there are several paid competitive analysis tools that can give you a lot more data on top of this. Many of these tools have a free trial version that you can use to see if they are worth the investment.
4. You’re Not Using the Right Strategy
The goal of keyword research is to help you optimize your website’s content and search engine result rankings (SERP). However, many SEO professionals make the mistake of thinking that the best keywords are those with a high search volume. While this is true to an extent, the most important factor is search intent. If a user is searching for a specific product, it’s likely that they are ready to purchase. Content that is geared towards purchasing will be most effective at converting these users.
One way to avoid this mistake is by using the right keyword research tools. For example, tools like SEMrush allow you to track the performance of keywords over time, so you can see if they are actually driving traffic and conversions. In addition, a good keyword research tool will also let you identify keywords that are trending upward or downward. This can be a huge indicator of whether or not it is worth continuing to pursue these keywords.
Another way to use keyword research is to analyze your competitors’ existing SERP rankings. This can be done by using a keyword gap analysis tool, such as Backlinko or Semrush, or by using a SERP clustering tool, like LowFruits’. By analyzing your competitor’s existing rankings, you can determine which keywords they are currently ranking for and which ones may be easy to rank for.
You can also find new keyword opportunities by looking at the search terms that your own site is already ranking for in Google Search Console. Once you have a list of relevant keywords, it’s important to group them into different topics or buckets. This will help you to create more targeted content and ensure that your content is aligned with the needs of the searcher.
When doing keyword research, it’s important to keep in mind that the goal is to get more customers and improve your website’s SERP rankings. If you are focusing on keywords that are not relevant to your business, you will waste valuable resources and time. To avoid this, it is important to understand how your audience phrases their search queries, which you can do by studying your competitors’ existing rankings and using a tool like LowFruits’ SERP clustering tool.