Keyword Targeting – Commonly Made Mistakes

‘Keywords’ is an inseparable part of SEO. Keywords hold the potential of making an advertising campaign successful or unsuccessful. Hence, it is very important that keyword selection and targeting is done carefully. Though the importance of keyword selection is well known to marketers, they still fail to make the best use out of it. With online marketing getting competitive day by day, it has become important that marketers correct the mistakes they are making with keyword targeting.

Here are the commonly made keyword targeting mistakes that you should avoid –

• >>Remember, keyword selection does not mean picking keywords with highest search volumes. Even if you choose a keyword that has very high search volumes, you need to understand that competition for that keyword will be very high. So, a low volume relevant keyword will be able to generate more traffic than a high volume high competition keyword.

• >>Don’t be unrealistic with the choice and performance of keywords. Research is very important for keyword targeting.  Instead of generic keywords, opt for specific and long tail keywords, especially when your campaign budget is limited.

• >>While performing keyword research, check the search volume for exact phrase matches rather than broad phrase match. There is a significant difference search volumes for broad match and phrase match, so base your predictions on the exact phrase match search volumes.

• >>Do not target the same keyword throughout the website. Treat each page of the website individually, and target keywords specific to that page. Also, avoid keyword cannibalism as it results in your own website pages competing with each other.

• >>Do not neglect the potential of localization in search engine results. Now-a-days, users are increasingly using mobiles and handheld devices for searching, so using local and geographic-related keywords provides advantage to your business.

SEO is not a one-time activity, it is a continuous process. Hence, make sure you review your keywords from time and time, review their performance and make necessary changes to the list of target keywords.