Keyword research is one of the most important components of search engine optimisation, or SEO as it is often known according to a report out this week by renowned SEO expert Peter Brittain. Effective keyword research allows you to identify the best terms for you to focus on when creating content to drive more visitors to your website.
As the internet has grown into a more competitive space, it is becoming harder and harder to rank highly in search engine results. Different people use different techniques to improve their SEO score, and therefore to jump up the search engine results pages. However, one of the most popular and most effective techniques is the strategic placement of various keywords – which are relevant to your business – throughout your website.
Unfortunately, a lot of people rush their keyword research, and this can lead to a wide range of mistakes. Some of the most common mistakes people make when they don’t spend enough time on their keyword research include:
Ignoring Location Specific Keywords:
If you have a small business with an offline component, you need to make sure that you optimise your website for your location. Unfortunately, a lot of people rush through their keyword research, ignoring location specific keywords. This can have significant negative impacts on your website traffic, as you won’t be receiving as many relevant visitors as you possibly could have.
Not Doing Competitor Research:
Before you even start doing keyword research, you need to take a good close look at your competitors’ websites. Doing this may give you ideas that you hadn’t even had before, leading to entire new avenues of keyword research and website optimisation.
Sure, you might think of your services in one way, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t other ways to look at them. Looking at the keywords that your competitors are targeting can broaden your horizons and help you increase your website traffic.
Failing To Use Long-Tail Keywords:
Sure, long tail keywords might not have the same search volume as shorter, more popular terms. However, they can be extremely useful due to the fact that they are generally less competitive. It is more beneficial to rank number one for a long tailed keyword with 500 monthly searches than to rank on the second page for a short keyword with 10000 monthly searches. This doesn’t mean that you should ignore short keyword, but that you should broaden your focus and include a variety of different phrases.
Missing Out On Opportunities:
Rushing your keyword research can lead to you missing out on very good keyword opportunities. If there are keywords out there that are, for some reason, less competitive than they should be, then you should be targeting them. If you rush your research, you will simply be missing out on great opportunities to skyrocket your website up the search engine rankings.
As you can see, it is extremely important to make sure that you take your time when it comes to keyword research. If you don’t your SEO efforts will suffer, and your website won’t reach its full potential. Do your research, and make sure that you spend plenty of time picking the keywords that are the most relevant to your business.