Intelligent keyword research is at the heart of any SEO content. It’s like a bicycle without wheels. You can’t boost your rankings without relevant keywords.

Unfortunately, this is one area of SEO that hasn’t kept up with the trends. A whopping 92.42% of keywords only get about 10 searches a month. Some keywords get an even lower amount.

1. Forgetting About Conversions

SEO is a tricky game at best. Marketers tend to focus on broad keywords thinking it’ll get more results. Think of an online clothing store. You might assume keywords like “dress” or “shoes” will get you the best results.

It’s not likely to increase conversions because it’s too vast.Narrowing the search term to something like “summer cocktail dress” won’t necessarily increase your traffic, but it can boost your conversion rate by 3-5%. Consider your conversion rate when researching the right keywords for your content.

SEO is a tricky game at best. Marketers tend to focus on broad keywords thinking it’ll get more results. Think of an online clothing store. You might assume keywords like “dress” or “shoes” will get you the best results. It’s not likely to increase conversions because it’s too vast.

Narrowing the search term to something like “summer cocktail dress” won’t necessarily increase your traffic, but it can boost your conversion rate by 3-5%. Consider your conversion rate when researching the right keywords for your content.

2. Neglecting The Importance Of Search Intent

We all want to boost our conversions, but getting caught up in search volumes often leads to neglecting the importance of search intent. Why are your customers online right now? What questions do they want answers to? It might be awesome to be the number one ranked website, but if no conversions are happening, there is no point.

Focus on the reason certain keywords are so popular and then create content that addresses their needs. You wouldn’t want to write an article about how to clean with an all-in-one vacuum mop if you’re trying to convince people to buy one. Make your content user-centric to increase conversions and keep customers coming back for more.

3. Ignoring Keyword Difficulty

Many SEO consultants ignore keyword difficulty and competitive terms in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). They place greater import on keyword volume, which won’t always fetch the results that you want. Why?

If a keyword is too difficult for search engine algorithms to find, you won’t land on the top pages. Using keywords with less difficulty and volume can help drive traffic to your site because it won’t be so challenging for search engines to find your content.

4. Letting Clients Do Their Keyword Research

One of the worst things you can do is skip the keyword research or let your clients give you the search terms they think are best. Often, clients give you search terms that are too broad or miss the intent completely. Worse still, some keywords they give you are way too competitive to even try.

Many clients think they can give you terms because they know what their clients want, but that isn’t the way it works. Keyword research involves extensive data analysis to help you find the best words and phrases that will drive traffic to your site and boost your conversions.

5. Not Finding Your SERP Competitors

All business owners are aware of their market competition. As SEO consultants, we should focus on SERP competitors, too. Believe it or not, the brands with the best SERP results aren’t always your market competitors.

Think of a plumbing website. They assume the only websites they are competing with are for parts or plumbers. In reality, their biggest SERP competitor might be a DIY plumbing blog that helps people learn to solve problems on their own. You must do research to find which websites have top rankings and what they offer. You could even find new keywords that you hadn’t thought of before.

6. Worse Still, Skipping Over The SERPs Entirely

Today, there are many keyword research tools that you can use to help you find the best terms for your client’s content. Using keyword data, you can take a deep dive into the world of historical trends and even look at what your competitors are doing to stay ahead.

The trouble starts when you get too caught up in the data and forget to look at the SERPs. Tools help you streamline your research process but shouldn’t stop you from looking at top-ranking content to learn about what they are doing right.

7. Missing Topical Research

When doing your keyword research, you must include a range of crucial terms to help you with your rankings. This helps you build topical authority. What is that? Well, simply put, it gives you influence over a range of ideas rather than just one. When you conduct topical research, you’re trying to find the other areas your predominant keywords target.

SEO is a great example to use. You won’t write a 2,000-word article on SEO alone. You’ll use other key terms like “Best SEO Tools” or “Common SEO Errors”. You may even write an article about SEO Trends like we did. Read it here. (YOU CAN LINK THIS TO THE OTHER ARTICLE ON YOUR SITE ONCE IT’S PUBLISHED OR DELETE THESE SENTENCES.) Do your topical research, find more keywords, and boost your rankings.

8. Only Including One Keyword Per Article

You found the most important keyword while doing your research and that’s the only one you plan on using. This is the worst way to improve your SEO rankings. Granted, keyword stuffing is something you want to avoid altogether, but only using one keyword won’t get you anywhere

Google is getting smarter every day. In fact, the algorithms are learning to understand the context of the content you create. What does this mean for SEO? You can’t have one keyword per article and expect it to reach the top SERPs. Find related terms that support your main one to reach more customers. Try not to force the keywords and phrases that won’t work with your content. Keep it relevant and user-centric.

9. Overlooking Keyword Localisation

Keyword localization is crucial for boosting your website content, especially with the rise of zero-click searches. Most of the top search results are localized, so you must focus on that when planning your SEO content. Use the language of the area you’re servicing. Make sure to look at the SERPs to see which local businesses are ranking at the top and what keywords they’re using to make that happen.

Improve Your Keyword Research

Avoid making these mistakes to help you take your SEO game to the next level. SEO Consulting is happy to help you with all your content needs. Give us a call today!