1. Focusing on Irrelevant Keywords
Let's get this settled right at the very beginning: if you choose the wrong keywords that do not meet your potential users' expectations, your SEO strategy will actually be worth nothing. I know it may sound cliché, but actually many people tend to forget about it - they choose the wrong keywords that will not really increase traffic on the site or influence conversion rate. Try not to optimize your website with keywords that users and your potential customers do not really use. Look at this example: imagine you run a clothing online store. Which keyword do you think has more potential to increase traffic on the site - shoes or boots? Or maybe it doesn't really matter? Well, it matters! It turns out that customers in the United States are more likely to look for shoes-related keywords in search engines than boots-related. Another important issue: I've noticed that many people don't even realize the difference between British English and American English. If you think that it doesn't really matter, you're terribly mistaken. It's true that British English and American English have much in common, but there are differences between them, for example in terms of spelling. Search engine optimistion vs. search engine optimization in the United States: This comparison shows that spelling really matters, especially when it comes to doing SEO in English.2. Ignoring Long-Tail Keywords
Ignoring long-tail keywords and building SEO strategies on unrealistic keywords is one of the most critical mistakes that will prevent your website from appearing in the search results. Sounds serious, right? However, this rule applies to most websites. Just think: if you run a small online clothing store, you don't really have much chance to appear in TOP 10 search results on such general keywords as dresses or shoes. Why is that? Because these keywords are way too competitive and most probably popular worldwide brands such as Zalando, H&M, Zara or Next will rank much higher in the search results. Look at the search volume for keywords dress and dresses! Wouldn’t it better to choose more precise keywords that have a much lower search volume? It will give you a better chance of appearing in the search results, and not just, for example, in position 168, but even in TOP 10! What types of long-tail keywords are the most effective? Personally, I recommend choosing phrases that have from 3 to 5 words. Longer keywords may be too detailed and have no search volume (however, in some cases longer long-tail keywords will also work well). Let's return to the example of dresses. Imagine that your online store offers mostly elegant dresses - why not to focus on what makes your offer unique? Consider the features of each of your products and choose appropriate long-tail keywords. For example, you sell elegant black dresses, just look at the search volume: Such volume gives you a much better chance to succeed in the search results.3. Not analyzing Competitors
Competitive analysis is one of the fundamental SEO activities that should be carried out quite often. This allows you to keep an eye on what campaigns or products they are introducing and, as a result, you have a better chance of not falling behind. If you want to fully analyze your competitors, you should also check on which keywords they appear in Google search results. Fortunately, you have many tools for this (most of them require full subscription), which will allow you to verify competitors' visibility and keywords. Recently on our blog I presented the best, in my opinion, SEO tools for competitor analysis - check them out! This time I will focus on SEMrush - when it comes to analysis of competition and keywords, it is definitely number 1 among SEO tools to be found. If you want to check which of your competitors are particularly strong, there are several steps to identify them. Step 1: Enter your domain name in the Search bar. Step 2: Choose the Organic research option. Step 3: You'll be able to check your keywords or traffic. But now our main focus is on Competitors. Now you see which competitors, according to SEMrush, you should analyze. Thanks to the competitive analysis you will certainly discover many keywords that have great potential to increase conversion rate and web traffic. Step 4: Analyze Common Keywords. Check which keywords you and your competitor have in common. This will tell you which ones should be higher in the search results to beat your competitors. I suggest you carry out a general competitive analysis at least once a week and an analysis of your competitors' keywords minimum once a month. This way you will not miss anything!4. Ignoring Search Intent
Have you ever heard of search intent? Does that term ring any bells? Well, if you still don’t know search intent and its impact on SEO, it's time to catch up! Search intent is, to put it simply, the purpose for which users enter a given keyword in the “Search” bar. A search engine should respond to users' needs so that they can find the exact answer to what they are looking for. Are they searching for information? Or maybe they want to visit a particular website? If you interpret the search intent correctly, you will understand users better and match keywords to their needs. Keep in mind that even if you introduce well-optimized high quality content, but it will not correspond to searcher's intent, you will probably not increase traffic to your website anyway. What are the types of search intent?- informational - user wants to learn or understand something, e.g. “what is search intent”, “how to conduct SEO audit”
- navigational - user is looking for a specific company, brand or website, e.g. Delante, Zalando, Zara
- transactional - user wants to buy something, e.g. “ H&M discount code”, “buy iPhone 8 Plus”
- commercial investigation - user has already decided what he/she wants to buy, now he/she is looking for more precise information, e.g. “the best bars in Rome”
Always had some problems with choosing the right keywords – eventually, we reached out to the outside marketing agency to do it for us and the difference in the website performance was huge! Great article Matt, wish I had a chance to read something like that earlier