If you don’t research potential keywords correctly you won’t get the desired results you’re looking for. For instance you may spend hours creating a list of keywords using your favorite keyword tool, only to find out later it didn’t generate new traffic or convert into sales.
So what are the top 3 mistakes marketers make while conducting keyword research?
Mistake 1
Believing the keyword tool provides accurate results
Not all keyword tools are created equal. For instance the free Google AdWords Tool most marketers use gets all its data from Google. It excludes data from other search engines such as Yahoo and Bing. Also it’s data consists of automated searches carried out by robots. For example many webmasters generate automated ranking reports from SEO software.
What do do instead
Understand you’re only getting a rough estimate of search counts when using the Google AdWords Tool. I use this tool for quick research then compare the search counts using the Free WordTracker Tool. I’ll then analyze the results using the advanced tools in Market Samurai.
Mistake 2
Selecting keywords that are too competitive
High search counts for a specific keyword or keyword phrase means you’ll have a ton of competition and therefore it will be very difficult to gain high rankings for that keyword.
What to do instead
Research long tail keywords (phrases containing 2 or more keywords) because they have less competition. Even though they produce less search counts than general keywords, it will be easier to gain high rankings for them. The total traffic generated from optimizing content for multiple long tail keyword phrases will often exceed the traffic generated from a highly competitive keyword and it will take less work.
Mistake 3
Keyword research is only the first step for effective SEO
Creating a large list of long tail keywords doesn’t guarantee they’ll convert into sales or leads. Other factors that determine if keywords will be profitable include your website’s design, how well your web copy is written, optimizing your meta tags, the quality and quantity of backlinks and social media signals.
What to do instead
- Create a list of long tail keyword phrases
- Create a page of content for each keyword phrase
- Weave your phrase into the content naturally
- Optimize your title meta tag by including your main keyword
- Optimize your description meta tag by writing a captivating description
- Get backlinks by commenting on related blogs, forums and social media sites
- Announce your new content on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+
- Monitor and analyze your stats to make improvements
Every time you create new content keep these 3 mistakes in mind and implement the solutions mentioned under the “what to do instead” sections.
Related Articles
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Top 10 Keyword Research Mistakes To Avoid
5 Disadvantages For Using The Google Keyword Research Tool
Keyword Research 101 – Where to Begin?
How To Research The Market Value Of Any Keyword
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