Do you spend hours upon hours researching and writing blog posts, only to find that no one is reading them? It’s a common problem, and one that is often caused by keyword research gone wrong.
There are certain types of keywords that will never sell, no matter how well you target them. If you’re guilty of targeting any of these keywords, it’s time to stop wasting your time and focus on keywords that will actually help you generate leads and sales.
1. Keywords with No Search Volume
If there’s no one searching for a particular keyword, then it really doesn’t matter how well you optimize your content for that keyword. You’re not going to get any traffic from it, so there’s no point in spending time on it.
Use a tool like Google AdWords Keyword Planner to research keywords and find ones with decent search volume before you start writing content around them.
2. Broad Keywords
Broad keywords are those that are too general to be effective. For example, if you sell men’s shoes, then targeting the keyword “shoes” is going to be very difficult, because you’ll be competing with everyone else who sells shoes, including department stores and online retailers like Amazon.
It’s much better to target more specific keywords like “men’s dress shoes” or “men’s running shoes.” These keywords may have less search volume than the general term “shoes,” but they’re much easier to rank for and will result in higher-quality traffic.
3. Keywords That Are Too Difficult to Rank For
There’s no point in targeting a keyword that you have zero chance of ranking for. If you sell men’s shoes and try to rank for the keyword “Nike,” you’re never going to succeed. The competition is just too tough.
Instead, focus on long-tail keywords that are easier to rank for and still relevant to your business. For example, “buy men’s Nike shoes” is a long-tail keyword that is easier to rank for and still relevant to your business. People who search for this keyword are further along in the buying cycle and more likely to make a purchase from your store.
4. made-up Keywords That No One Searches For
sick of wasting time on keywords that don’t sell? Check out this list of types of keywords that will never help you generate leads or sales!
