Insights drawn on the keyword research forms the backbone of an SEO campaign. So, it is absolutely necessary that keyword research is done by an experienced professional with ample know-how of what works and what doesn’t.

Just about every newcomer in the SEO market claims to have the knowledge and expertise to perform keyword research. The fact of the matter, however, is that it demands a great deal of first-hand experience.

While passing on your website’s internet marketing project to a credible company is the best way to ensure that keyword research is done correctly, you too should know about the common SEO keyword research mistakes.

Mistake #1: Choosing Highly Competitive Keywords

As a local business, it is advisable for you to stick to local keywords. If you are selling office furniture for example, there is no point trying to optimize your website for ‘office furniture’ keywords directly.

Go for long term keywords for better SEO results. You can, for example, go for keywords such as ‘office furniture in Chicago,’ or ‘good quality office furniture in Chicago.’

Mistake #2: Choosing Keywords that No One is searching for

An experienced SEO professional would never make this mistake but many newcomers in the market and DIY business owners certainly do it time and again.

If your keywords are not related to the content on a page, or if the keywords are the kind that no one is searching for, achieving high page rankings will remain a farfetched dream.

Mistake #3: Not Doing Competitor Analysis during Keyword Research

One of the easiest ways to narrow down your keyword research efforts is to perform a thorough competitor analysis. This way, you can determine which keywords exactly are working for your competitors in the neighborhood. Just by looking at the page titles, meta-descriptions, content optimization strategies and relative rankings on Google, you can get a fair idea of what you should be doing for your own website.

Our Recommendation

Since keywords form the foundation of an SEO campaign, take no shortcuts during this stage. Focus on getting it right the very first time.