Imagine you are driving to a place you’ve never been, looking for a certain street sign, so you know where to turn next. But you see things like totally blank street signs, then three in a row with the same street name, and then one that just says “a street.” You cannot get where you are going, and things are very confusing.
Some common keyword research mistakes can make it just as difficult for people to find your content online. These are especially common when you are just starting to do keyword research for your website.
This is not an advanced, detailed SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy. These are tips about your basic mindset toward keyword research and how you approach it.
Avoid these Keyword Mistakes
Don’t write your content before doing keyword research.
If you are a writer, you are probably used to just writing your content. Keywords and other settings on your website tend to come as afterthoughts, once you are putting your writing online. This is a bit like building a house somewhere, and then deciding what street to put it on.
If this is the way you’ve always done it, consider doing some basic keyword research before you begin writing on your topic. Decide what street you are going to build on, then build your house.
You have great ideas and information, and you want people to find you. Getting your keywords set and writing around them, is the foundational principle of SEO. Keyword research done well (or at all!) makes your writing easy and helps people find you.
PRO TIP: “People Also Ask” questions can be used TO write–they can even be your headings. You just end up answering what people are searching for, with the knowledge and expertise you have.
Don’t use a keyword that drives the wrong kind of traffic.
Often this can happen as a side effect of writing your content before you research keywords. You end up with wording that you love, but it may not be the wording people are searching for.
For example, let’s say you have written an article on kids memorizing Scripture, and you love the phrase “Building Bible Brains.” It is fun, and the alliteration is catchy. However, someone has invented little Bible-related emojis and named them “Bible Brains.” (No, really… they even have a website!) People who Google that phrase are looking for these emojis and related items. They are not looking for information about kids memorizing Scripture.
PRO TIP: Have a thesaurus tab (or even ChatGPT!) open on your browser, to help you find alternative words. You might even find a wording you like better than your original idea.
Don’t use the exact same keywords in multiple articles.
It’s like having the same street name for multiple streets. The search bots do not know where to send the traffic. (Remember those confusing street signs?)
You might think this is a good thing… a way to categorize all the articles you have on that topic. But that’s not really the purpose of a keyword.
Focus keywords are a behind-the-scenes setting that tells search bots where to send your traffic when someone searches for your word or phrase. But these bots are smart, if you have various articles on a topic, with all RELATED keyword phrases (not exactly the same), they will get the idea that you have a variety of expertise on the topic, and THAT is good for traffic.
PRO TIP: Brainstorm a lot of ways to say similar things about your topic. Run them through Google using a tool like Keywords Everywhere, and see which versions have good search volume.
Here is an example of a good set of keyword phrases on the topic of Bible memory verses for kids, but with useful variations. You could write a separate article for each of these keyword phrases:
- Bible memory verses for kids
- Memory verse activities for kids
- Fun Bible memory games
- Ways to teach kids Scripture
If what you have been doing is not driving traffic to your site, don’t just keep doing the same thing you have been doing.
Brainstorm keyword variations, research those options, and THEN write your content.
People need and want what you offer. Make sure your street signs point them in the right direction.
