Some of the Glaring Keyword Research Mistakes to Avoid for Achieving SEO Success in 2020

The power and versatility of keyword research could be leveraged to your advantage only if you have a sound knowledge of your target audience and when you have a sound understanding of the way they are searching online for your products, services, and content.

Concentrating on your target audience and then effectively utilizing keyword data for honing those insights would result in exceptionally successful campaigns as compared to concentrating your attention on arbitrary keywords. As per https://moz.com, keyword research would be providing you with precise search data that could be helping you in responding to questions such as:

• What are people currently searching for?
• What is the exact number of people searching for it?
• What is the format in which the information is required?

We understand that keyword research seems to be an integral aspect of an SEO strategy. However, as per the findings of a study, very few individuals have a fascination for keyword research. SEO experts have pointed out that keyword research was regarded as one out of the first three toughest SEO-related jobs behind only link building and then content creation. That is simply because 66 percent of you are performing your keyword research in-house instead of outsourcing it or employing the services of an SEO specialist. Keyword research is regarded as a challenging and daunting task because as much as 44 percent of you are doing it only whenever you have to. Whenever you perform keyword research sparsely, it could seem like a humungous project. Moreover, certain keyword research mistakes make things look even more difficult.

Mistake: You Are Not Being Realistic

Keyword research seems like a pretty straightforward job. You need to fuel your keyword research software or tools and identify the right keywords that are relevant to your business having the highest or maximum search volumes. Unfortunately, that is not the right way of doing it if you are looking for real results.

To numerous businesses or organizations, the high-competition keywords seem to be totally out of reach. However, good keyword research involves being realistic. You must choose relevant keywords that consider the site’s age, the present authority, and the optimization that would take place in the future.

It is pretty unrealistic to target one-word keywords and it would also prove to be unprofitable. An individual, who searches online using the keyword ‘laptops’, would be lagging behind someone in the buying process who types in ‘Microsoft Surface Laptops’. You could pretty well imagine who would be fishing out his credit card already.

However, targeting generic keywords is not always entirely wrong. If your SEO campaign has budgetary constraints and you require results in the medium or short term then in such a case targeting less competitive and less trafficked keywords could be a better way of using resources.

Mistake: Not Remembering Searcher Intent

The greatest keyword research pitfall is not remembering to meticulously examine searcher intent. There is absolutely no reason to rank your content or site for a specific query that doesn’t seem to match what precisely the user is searching for. Numerous marketers are unnecessarily obsessed with driving more and more traffic and they are just not focusing on the bottom line that is boosting conversions. And that is precisely where searcher intent would be coming in. Searcher intent would be assessing what the user seems to be searching for when they are searching online. Suppose you are having a recipe site, people would be looking for recipes and they would not be interested in a 1500-word essay on what a particular dish meant to you as a child.

It is important to match your specific content to what searchers online are looking for to make sure that the perfect queries are attracting the right kind of traffic to your website.

Mistake: Not Considering Actual SERPs

Examining SERPs is supposed to be a pivotal factor in understanding searcher intent. Lots of people devote too much time on the tools. However, they fail to examine what all are ranking for keywords.

You could observe that the content served by Google for a specific query may not match at all with your content for that precise keyword. You must constantly monitor precisely what kind of content seems to be ranking for that specific keyword and accordingly model your web content on the same framework.

Mistake: Not Including Long-Tail Keywords

You tend to dismiss long-tail keywords when your focus is solely on volume. This is a major mistake. Even though long-tail keywords seem to have relatively lower volume, they would be representing, more often than not, a lower phase of the funnel, implying that the user is near a conversion. However, even when targeting top of the funnel, we understand that long-tail keywords would be providing a relevant response to a searcher’s precise query thus compelling them to trust your specific brand as an authority in that area and consider coming back to you when they are thinking of making a purchase.

Mistake: Inserting Keywords after Writing an Article

Unfortunately, keyword research is performed more often than not, after writing the content. Sometimes, Content Writers and Digital Marketers who are not acquainted with the best practices of search engine optimization think that it is enough to stuff the content with keywords. Instead, they must rely on keyword research that should serve as a foundation on which you must build your PPC, SEO, and even the content stratagem. Your site simply cannot cater to the specific needs of the users and it cannot perform well in the SERP if keyword research is truly an afterthought.

Conclusion

We have discussed some of the glaring mistakes in keyword research. You must keep them in mind if you wish to achieve SEO marketing success in 2020. Moreover, avoid making the mistake of not being aware of your competitors. Businesses are aware of their competitors in terms of their products or services but they do not usually, have an idea about their SERP competitors. It is of pivotal importance to know all about your SERP competition for the search terms and topics that are being used by you for ranking. Make sure that your keyword research process includes meticulous competitor research. Keep all the above factors in mind while you are performing keyword research.