All businesses want to leave a mark on their target audiences. That is why most of them digitally transform themselves and employ search engine optimization (SEO) in their operation to expand their reach and stay afloat during this pandemic.
However, doing SEO is easier said than done. Many factors come into play before anyone can successfully launch a marketing campaign. One of which is SEO keyword research, and it is the foundation of all SEO services. If done incorrectly, the following SEO strategies you would do might not work as well as you think.
To prevent that, you may want to think carefully before releasing a marketing campaign and do your SEO keyword research properly by avoiding these mistakes.
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Doing Your SEO Keyword Research
1. Forgets About the Search Intent
The purpose of SEO keyword research is to know the search intent of your target audience. They are sentences or phrases they are searching online that are related to your products or services.
Unfortunately, many business owners often focus on search volume rather than the search intent. They thought that doing so would help them rank up, but what is the point of that if the keywords you used do not match what your target audiences are looking for?
For example, if you own a furniture shop, your target audience wants to read guides on how to choose dining tables, chairs, and more—not discover your hobby of building furniture pieces.
To know what search intent to use, you need to breakdown it into four parts:
- Informational. This search intent is about wanting to learn about something. (how to choose home furniture online)
- Navigational. The user for this search intent is looking for a specific brand or website (e.g., Soul & Tables, Harvey Norman, Star Living)
- Transactional. It is about a user wanting to buy, to get deals or discounts.
- Commercial Investigation. While for this search intent, the user already decided what they want to do. (e.g., Best dining tables in Singapore)
The easiest way to do this is by using Google’s autosuggestions. They are sentences of phrases you can find at the bottom of the browser. Here’s an example.
Those eight sets of keywords are also what other people are searching for online, and using them to create a marketing campaign gives your target audience an option to check out your shop.
KNOW MORE: Search Intent and Other Things You Need to Know About Your Audiences
2. Not Being Aware of Competitors
Gaining search rankings for particular keywords means surpassing your competitors. To have effective SEO keyword research, you need to grasp the competitive landscape.
If you know where your business stands in the competition, you will be more careful in choosing the target keywords for your marketing campaigns. Doing so helps you not waste your time and money in the long run.
That is why when you are doing your SEO keyword research, look thoroughly at the websites on the first search engine results page. From there, think about your actual chances of making your way up to the first place with the particular target keyword you type in. And if your competitors are ranking too high, then better choose and use other target keywords instead.
3. Neglecting Other Search Engines
Google may be undoubtedly the most popular and used search engine worldwide, but there are other more search engines out there.
Besides the obvious Bing and Yahoo, did you know that YouTube is also a search engine? According to a study, YouTube is the largest search engine after Google.
With over 3 billion searches a month, the more you need to use YouTube and other search engines in your SEO keyword research. Doing so would help find what your target audiences are looking for and reach out and become connected with them even more.
4. Forcing Exact Keywords to Match
Another SEO keyword research mistake is forcing the exact keywords to match the sentence or phrase their target audience is searching for. While it is the most natural thing to do, it does not work all the time.
Let’s say that your target audience is searching for the “best SEO agency Singapore“, and you are planning to use the format as it is. Do you think they sound good when you read them?
Of course not, since that phrasing would sound grammatically incorrect or something is missing. That is why instead of using the keywords as they are, consider adding three to four words in between since search engines can still find them. Here’s an example from Google search results.
The bold words are the keywords the user is searching for online, but Google is still able to read them in different arrangements or formats. Therefore, try not to forcibly use SEO keywords if they are not applicable or suitable in the first place.
5. Steering Away from Long-Tail Keywords
Even though long-tail keywords have the lowest search volume, that does not mean they cannot help you rank and reach out to your target audience. If you do so, you are making a big mistake.
READ MORE: The Key to Selecting the Most Effective Long-Tail Keywords
You should know that long-tail keywords often have a further sales funnel. That means the user searching for that sentence or phrase is closer to taking action. Be it to hire or buy—they are more determined to do something.
To guarantee your marketing campaign would work, use various lengths of keywords. Combine the short and long-tail terms you found on your SEO keyword search and ensure they have the same search intent so your target audience would be able to relate.
Avoid These SEO Keyword Research Mistakes at All Cost!
Avoiding these five SEO keyword research mistakes may seem like a chore, but it is worth trying since they can help your SEO marketing strategy work better. As such, you can expect your search engine ranking to improve, along with your web visibility.
For more SEO tips, you can reach out to our SEO company in Singapore. Contact OOm at 6391-0930 to help you have a successful outcome for your SEO marketing campaign.
