Have you ever put hours of time and energy into a keyword strategy only to see no or even negative results? The issue could be your focus, missed opportunities or insights, or simply not covering enough ground. No matter what the problem is, spending some time identifying solutions will be far more important than sinking in more time. Here are five different mistakes that are made when conducting keyword research, and their solutions.

Mistake #1: Focusing on Vanity Metrics (and Ignoring The Real Deal)

The Problem: Prioritizing Search Volume Over Relevance and Intent

Whether the 5 people or 5,000 people are searching under a given keyword, it is important to always remember the mission – to convert. Whether this means more eyeballs on your website, driving more sales, or generating leads, the goal is not for users to see your link in the search results but to have a reason to interact with your website. This implies that just become a term has high search volume does not mean that it is a good fit for your keyword strategy. The term must also be relevant.

If you are selling ‘The Office’ themed coffee mugs, this could be blanketing your strategy with terms such as: 

• Coffee Mugs
• The Office
• Coffee
• Mugs

Just because these terms have high search volume, does not make them relevant.

The Fix: Targeting Keywords with High Relevance and Clear User Intent

To ensure the term is relevant you should identify the intent a user would have when searching the web for a product like yours. The three main intents include: 

Informational – Seeking to gain knowledge on a topic.

Commercial – Seeking to gain specific knowledge on an item.

Transactional – Seeking to locate the final location/price of an item for purchase.

Comprehending where you fall between these three categories can help you narrow down the keywords you may be interested in selecting for your strategy. 

Continuing with our ‘Office’ coffee mugs, users searching for this item specifically would more than likely have a commercial or transactional intent. Given that most consumers understand what a coffee mug is the transactional intent is the most likely. 

Therefore including keywords such as “Best Coffee Mug” or “Coffee Mug Styles” would be poor selections while “Custom Coffee Mugs” might be a better choice.

Mistake #2: Neglecting Long-Tail Keywords (Losing Down The Funnel)

The Problem: Overlooking the Power of Specific, Long-Tail Phrases

It might not be a mistake you are actively making that is hurting your keyword strategy but rather a missed opportunity. Not incorporating specific long-tail keywords could be impacting your strategy’s conversion rate. 

Leveraging targeted long-tail keywords can increase your conversion rate if applied correctly as the audience who will be viewing your website will often be further down the funnel.

The Fix: Embracing Long-Tail Keywords for Better Targeting

The key aspect of long-tail keywords is to use the right ones. In order to do that you must be able to employ some strategies that allow you to identify highly relevant long-tail keywords. Here are just a few:

1. You can start with more basic (and free) approaches such as using the autofill portion of Google’s search box to identify terms that plenty of users search.
2. Scrolling to the bottom of a search result will allow you to see what people are searching for. This will help you spot LSI keywords but also give ideas as to how you can formulate longer keywords.
3. Finally, you can leverage free or paid tools that can give you insights into search analytics or even your own site analytics. Google Keyword Planner, Semrush’s tools, and more are great places to start. 

These are just a few of the many options out there. Be creative and do not forget to leverage AI-based tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and more to help you brainstorm.

Mistake #3: Ignoring The Lingo and Slang (Missing The Experts)

The Problem: Not Understanding the Shorthand Within an Industry

If you are struggling to rank or generate the volume you need for a site, success is more than likely in the details. Let’s perform a quick thought exercise… If you are highly involved in a hobby, this could be anything from sport, to coffee, to knitting, think deeply around you speak about the topic. Do you use words, phrases, and slang that a novice would know about? More than likely the answer is yes. These are the untapped goldmines for keywords.

The Fix: Do Your Research

Before setting out to build a keyword strategy, you should have a firm grasp on the terms, phrases, and lingo used related to the site you are looking to rank. Whether coffee mugs or hockey sticks, try to find the terms only experts are using. 

You can start by viewing existing website details or specifications pages. Let’s use hockey sticks. Did you know that each hockey stick has a unique age range, flex, and curve? These could be very specific search terms used by hockey players and their parents that you may not have known about. 

Wrap Up

Whether it is remembering you must be targeted and relevant, embracing long-tail keywords to capture customers further down the funnel, or learning the lingo there is plenty here to get you started. Make the important changes and continue to focus on the details. Researching keywords is just one component of a larger SEO strategy.

Add value to a fellow reader, and comment a keyword research strategy you have employed. Share this article with someone who could benefit from one of these tips.