Keyword Research 5 Mistakes to Avoid

keyword research

keyword research

5 Mistakes when you are doing Keyword Research

Before starting any SEO strategy, you must first perform keyword  research.  What phrases or words do you want to rank for?

Unfortunately, many people (including many SEO companies!) often go astray during this step and sabotage the entire campaign.  However, efficient keyword research almost always brings excellent results.

So what are the most common mistakes made during this process?  Let’s take a look.

Performance Problems

Keyword research is not child’s play.  In fact, it can be a strenuous and time-consuming task.  The result?  Many people just guess what the best key-phrases are or half-heartedly grab the first few that look promising.

You will need to attempt to comprehend who the audience is and the language they use. When finished, you should have an exhaustive list of keywords that you would love to rank for.

Shooting For the Stars

You have to be realistic.

Some niches are much more competitive than others.  If you are a newcomer or a novice, ranking for a popular niche is going to be very difficult.  Before aiming for the “head” keywords, give long-tail optimization a try.

Long-tail keywords are longer (usually 3 words or more) and much easier to rank for.

If you started a website about dog training, it will be nearly impossible to rank for the key-phrase “dog-training” for a long, long time.  However, if you target a long-tail keyword such as “dog-training for dachshund owners”, your odds will greatly increase.

Being Single

Normally, you will want to optimize each page or post around one keyword from your research.  It is a common misconception that you should try to rank for several keywords at a time.  You can use variations of the main keyword, but remember to focus on one at a time!

The Ugly Cousins

Why would you try to rank for words your customers will never use?  Utilize the audience’s language from your research.  Ranking for irrelevant terms may boost your SEO ego, but it is worthless when it comes to conversion.  Laser focus your keywords to your clientele.

The Evaluation

Don’t forget to follow the progress of your keywords.  Check them at least once a week to ascertain if you are being successful with your researched keywords.  You can use paid software or services found on the net or you can simple type the phrase into Google and check the results.  Either way, it is of the upmost importance as without evaluation, you will have no idea if it is time to focus on more competitive keywords.

Remember keyword research takes a great deal of time.  It is vital that you don’t take shortcuts in your quest for the terms you want to rank for.  Follow this guide and you will be on your way!