7 Deadly Sins of Keyword Research

Keyword research is an all too often under-appreciated aspect of SEO.

Here are some of the more common mistakes that I see people make with their keyword research.

#1 – You’re being Unrealistic

“It is better to have a bigger slice of a few smaller pies rather than not getting even a slither of a much bigger pie.”

Keyword research appears to be a very straightforward task. You fire up your keyword research tool of choice and find the keywords that relate to your industry with the highest search volumes. Sadly, that’s not the way to do it if you want to see real results.

To many businesses, high-competition keywords are simply out of reach – at least in the short and medium term. Part of good keyword research is about being realistic and selecting appropriate keywords for targeting that take into account the site’s age, current authority and any future optimization that will take place.

Targeting one word keywords is quite often unrealistic but it may also prove unprofitable – someone searching for ‘Toshiba l670 laptop’ is likely to be much further along in the purchasing process that someone who searches for ‘laptops’ – think about which searcher is likely to have their credit card out already.

There’s nothing wrong with targeting generic keywords, I’m simply saying that if your campaign has limited budget and you need results in the short to medium term then targeting less trafficked, less competitive keywords is a much better way to utilize resources.

Lower traffic but lower competition keywords might not seem as exciting to target but if your website can dominate these areas fairly quickly then you are going to see far more traffic from the search engines than failing to effectively target a much more competitive term.

#2 – You’re looking at broad match instead of exact match

A seemingly simple mistake but one which many people continue to make…

Search volume is of course a very important metric when it comes to keyword research but all too often people make the mistake of looking at broad search volumes rather than the exact match figure when using tools like Google’s Keyword Tool.

There can be a huge difference between broad match and exact match search traffic for example:

There are 135,000 broad match searches each month in the UK for ‘dog kennels’ but only 14,800 exact match searches for the same keyword. Still, this wouldn’t prove particularly problematic as this is obviously still a keyword worth targeting – it would knock traffic and ROI projections way off kilter if you do these kinds of things though.

The real problem comes when you choose to target a keyword like ‘ladies leather handbags’ which has a broad match search volume of 2,400 but an exact match search volume of only 260 – failing to base your research on exact match data might mean you think you are targeting a reasonably well-trafficked keyword when in actual fact, once you’ve factored in data inaccuracies, you could be looking at a very low search volume keyword indeed.

It is widely accepted that Google’s Keyword Tool isn’t entirely accurate when it comes to search volumes but using exact match gives you the best data available when assessing how viable a keyword is to target.

#3 – You’re targeting plural instead of singular

It is very common to see a website targeting the plural version of a keyword but in most cases, it is the singular version of a keyword that people are searching for.

I see this most often on eCommerce websites where the site owner optimizes category pages and because they sell more than one product, they naturally focus on the pluralized keywords for example “tablet PCs” which actually gets 91% less searches than “tablet PC”.

I will readily admit that Google is much better at determining that a singular and plural version of a keyword are one and the same, but in many cases there are still differences in the search results. Failing to target the singular keyword can be the difference between your search listing being highlighted in the SERPs (=higher clickthrough) and it can also mean your website appears lower (even slightly) than marginally better targeted pages – that could be the difference between making a sale and not.

#4 – You’re ignoring conversion

This one could easily turn into a rant for me because so often I come up against clients who want to rank for [insert trophy keyword] when in actual fact they’d do better (financially) targeting a different keyword or set of keywords. I try to explain that a keyword that brings in traffic is wasted bandwidth if that traffic doesn’t convert. You don’t hire my company to get traffic for traffic’s sake…you presumably hire us to help you ultimately make more sales.

The online world is competitive and it’s only going to get more competitive, therefore making the most of every penny being invested is vital.

This makes conversion and language analysis a vital part of keyword research. The human mind is the only software capable of performing a good quality ‘conversion audit’ of a keyword list because whilst there are programmes out there that can filter and sort keywords to make your life easier, there’s no real substitute for industry experience and SEO knowledge.

There are some very basic indicators for example prefixes such as ‘buy’ might be a clear indicator that the traffic from this keyword is going to convert.

A keyword conversion audit is more complex than that however since each situation and market is individual. I find existing data to be a very useful way to determine which keywords are likely to convert well. If you have goal tracking setup with Google Analytics, you can easily determine the highest converting keywords your site currently gets traffic from, try to identify patterns in your highest converting keywords and then translate and apply this knowledge to other areas of keyword research.

#5 – You’re selecting keywords that are out of context

This is yet more rationale to further humanize the keyword research process because most keyword tools struggle to compute words and their meaning in the way a human would.

For example, a searcher looking for ‘storage’ could be looking for a self-storage center, boxes and other storage furniture for the home or even professional storage solutions for a warehouse or office.

Opportunities for confused targeting are abundant which is why it is essential the keywords you decide to target are highly-relevant and laser-focused towards what your business offers.

A good way to do this is to search manually for the keywords in Google and see the kinds of results that come up, you will likely be able to get a feel for whether the keyword is applicable to the product or service you intended to target.

#6 – You’re failing to conduct keyword reviews

It is accepted that SEO is an on-going process but rarely are target keywords reviewed and audited. If a marketplace is shifting over time then you would also expect customer search behavior to develop and evolve over time too – this makes regular keyword reviews essential.

In most markets, I find an annual review is perfectly adequate. Any time period shorter than this and there is a risk that targeting becomes a bit chaotic with efforts focused on new keywords before results on old keywords have been achieved or evaluated.

That being said, in some competitive and very fast moving markets a more regular keyword review may be required.

#7 – You go it alone

And… there’s no reason to.  SEO professionals use all the best tools and can guide you based on experience and best practices.

Now when you search for a place on Google you’ll see a large part of the screen on the right side taken up by what is essentially the entire Place page for that business. This includes the typical information like the map, prices range, hours, pictures, menu and reviews. But now notice the street view and store view windows readily available. These are both indicated by the little street view mascot “pegman” over the thumbnail picture shown. When you click on these images it will jump to the street view or store view page in the format you’re used to.

A Very Cool Feature

… especially if you’re looking for a single place, or if someone is specifically looking for your place, but what if you don’t know what place exactly you’re looking for?  Well now if you’re searching for places in an area, Google will include this exact information in the Instant Preview feature for any place. Just clicking the “>>” button next to a place’s result will overlay the same information to the right side of the results.

Local Searching Just Got Easier

This definitely makes finding information about places in your area a lot easier and faster. Keep in mind that the information which shows up on the right side is limited by what’s available on that company’s Place Page, so if you want to take real advantage of this – include as much information about your company on your Place Page.   Also since it also gives links to other review sites like Zagats and Urban Spoon right there, you should be building reviews on those types of sites as well.

Your Reviews in Lights

Another addition to Local Search is the addition of places that you have reviewed showing up as small icons over the Google Map. Under these icons is 1 to 5 dots indicating the rating you have given the location. Hovering your mouse over these icons brings up a bubble showing its average rating, the brief details and what you rated the place. Also included will be icons of places that Google recommends and thinks you may like based on what you’ve reviewed. As of right now, places your friends have reviewed seem painfully absent.

A couple of side notes:  Not only do excessive images impact site speed (which can decrease customer usability and lead to higher bounce rates), but they don’t look as attractive.

But the question remains – if content on your home page is a good thing - how much content is enough?  In our opinion, enough content is that which easily and effectively communicates your product and service offerings to your audience and the search engines.

Is this a quantifiable figure? Probably not. For some of you with shopping sites you may want to take the Zappos.com focus and provide less direct information but more linking text and contextual content around the breadth of features and products they offer.  However, for those of you with blogs or information-focused sites, you may want to emulate the sites of Dave Taylor and Jim Boykin.  Both provide a TON of content in the form of blog posts, industry links and customer testimonials that Google is clearly using to effectively place them at the top of the search engines for dozens of competitive queries.  Just “google” them and you’ll see what I mean.

What Does Google Say?

As for Google’s stance on this question, check out the below Google Webmaster Help video from Matt Cuts:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

In the video Matt addresses this exact question but doesn’t give a clear answer. He does say that you wouldn’t want to have a home page containing 20MB of data since that would clearly be too much. He then continues to relate the following:

“But in general, if you have more content on a home page, there’s more text for Googlebot to find, so rather than just pictures, for example, if you have pictures plus captions – a little bit of textual information can really go a long way”

In the end, only you can decide how much content is enough for your home page. In our opinion though, it’s always better to have too much content as opposed to not enough.

The Experian Hitwise search success rate report revealed that Yahoo sends 81% of their traffic on to Web sites, as compared to 80% for Bing and only 68% for Google. These percentages show how effective Google Places & Google Maps is at keeping local search traffic on Google’s site, as compared to the current similar offerings from Yahoo and Bing.

Whether you hire a single PPC consultant or go with a larger firm with dozens of certified specialists in PPC campaign management, there are certain places to look AND certain questions to ASK that will make the process go much easier.

Since your current need is primarily Google AdWords, our first recommendation is the Google Partner Search. This simple search engine is maintained directly by Google and lists all those who have been certified by Google to manage AdWords campaigns. With the ability to search providers by your projected campaign spend, locally within your area, or by industry focus, this is the first place you should look to find and generate a list of qualified Google AdWords PPC management professionals.

Note: The Google Partner Search also includes a handy Search by Partner Name field which allows you to check the certification status of any company who “claims” they have a Google AdWords Professional Certification.

Once you’ve generated a list of possible PPC candidates, it’s time to interview them. Understanding their level of expertise, their cost structure, past results, and approach to your accounts is IMPERATIVE going forward.

Here are five suggested questions to ask any potential candidate:

1. How long have they been doing PPC campaign management? Look for at least five years of experience and ask for a DOCUMENTED history of success. Request at least two examples of past and current clients who are willing to speak with you directly.
2. Who is running your campaign? Are you getting a dedicated representative who is a GAP (Google Advertising Professional) or certified by Google as an expert in Google AdWords campaign management?
3. What reporting should you expect? What metrics will be given “on-demand” and will you have full access to reporting functions? What type of reports will you receive on the status of your account daily, weekly, monthly? Make sure you discuss transparency so nothing comes as a surprise down the road.
4. How do you measure success? What metrics do you believe are the most important in determining the success (or failure) of a PPC campaign? Will you be provided with detailed assistance fleshing out goals for this campaign and adjusting them as necessary?
5. Who keeps your accounts? The worst thing you can do is hire a firm who sets-up and manages PPC accounts for you, then KEEPS these accounts when they are done or you decide to go in another direction. Make sure you confirm that these accounts are YOURS once you part ways. Otherwise, keep looking for a provider.

This isn’t an exhaustive list and for those of you with suggestions or additions to this list, please feel free to use our comments below. But from a bare bones standpoint, doing the above will insure you get off on the right foot as you look for a quality PPC vendor.

With the average CPC on Google surpassing $1.24 in 2010 and expected to rise between 5-8% in 2011, getting ALL you can out of your current accounts is vital. Make sure you choose your next PPC manager wisely. Mistakes are costly!

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Well Google seems to have had a change of heart. They’ve officially launched this feature and it’s being called Google Business Photos. Currently it’s only available in certain cities in the US, Australia and Japan. The US areas include: Orange County, CA; the San Francisco Bay Area, St. Petersburg, FL; San Antonio, TX; and Phoenix, AZ.

When businesses apply to have the photos taken, Google sends a free photographer to their business to take the needed pictures. Currently Google is only hitting the most popular search for places – like restaurants, hotels, retail shops and other storefront businesses.

If you’re interested in getting in on this feature, then watch the video below on Google Business Photos to get the whole story: