A Common Keyword Research Mistake

Feb 08 2010

A Common Keyword Research Mistake

Using Keywords That People Don’t Search For.

When researching and selecting keywords sometimes it can be a bit easy to get so caught up in choosing descriptive words and phrases for our content and products that we can loose site of how our potential customers will be looking for what we have to offer.

Jargon

We may think up really specific words and phrases that describe our products perfectly, but if our keywords are based on industry jargon, or insider terminology, then no regular people are going to be looking for those terms.

Now this may be alright, if you are targeting a very specific audience. But if your niche is more main stream, then you shouldn’t be targeting keywords that deal with industry jargon and terminologies. Your potential customers just don’t know it, AND they won’t be searching for it.

You can spend a lot of time, and effort tailoring your content to specific keywords and key phrases, but if the searching public doesn’t know the jargon and terminology of your content, then don’t use the jargon. Use terms that people know, and search for.

You can also spend a lot of time and effort on performing your keyword analysis and research. But if you are only considering jargon and industry terminology, then you are probably wasting your time. Think outside the industry box.

Be aware

Be aware that we can end up using certain jargon day in and day out so much so that we don’t even recognize it. It becomes second nature for us. Just a part of our world. But its often not a part of our potential customer’s world.

Don’t get too myopic, or too close to your content or product. Recognize that people may see your product very differently than you do. And they may well describe it very differently than you do also.

Think about how you search. Do you try to think of an industry’s jargon and terminology before making a search? I doubt it. You probably just search for the easiest terms you can quickly think of. And so does every one else.

Search results page ranking isn’t everything

Also, don’t get caught in the trap of just targeting keywords that you believe will get you a good rank on the search engine results page. You may get the top search engine ranking for ‘cephalopod mollusks’, but how many people are searching that. And even if your site was about octopi, why would some one search for ‘cephalopod mollusk’ when ‘octopus’ is so much easier.

Remember the easier it is for people to find you, the more people will find you.

Your keyword analysis and research should target those keywords that are used most often to describe your content, and those that are the easiest for searchers to think of.

Are you targeting keywords that don’t attract visitors? Find out more about keyword research here.