Keyword research has always been an important element of SEO, providing strategic direction and context for the rest of your campaign. With the right selection of keywords, you can get a competitive edge, reach a more appropriate audience, and have an easier time getting more search visibility. But sometimes, keyword research can fail you.

Why isn’t your keyword research working the way you intended?

Is Keyword Research the Problem?

Before we start exploring the ways that you can improve your keyword research, we need to acknowledge an important point: keyword research itself may not be the root of the problem. Your keyword research may be perfectly fine, and you may have a perfectly fine selection of keywords to target. But if you don't target them effectively or if your strategy has holes in it, even the best selection of keywords are going to fail you.

That's why it's important to analyze your current SEO situation and determine what the real problem is. If your onsite optimization, your onsite content, your link-building efforts, and your other strategies are all perfectly aligned, keyword research may be the issue. Otherwise, you may need to critically examine and potentially overhaul the rest of your campaign.

The Biggest Issues With Keyword Research

So let's say there's nothing wrong with the execution of your strategy and you feel confident that the problem lies somewhere with your keyword research. What are the biggest issues that can get in your way?

· Using the wrong tool. The right keyword research tool can make all the difference. If you're using the wrong tool, you're going to suffer a number of different ailments. For example, your tool may not provide you with a robust set of data on the keywords that you research; you may have so little data that you can't make effective decisions about what to target. If the research tool doesn't help you generate new ideas, you may find yourself creatively stagnated. On top of that, if the tool is hard to use or if there's a learning curve preventing you from accessing all of its features, you may end up wasting time on the tool without getting any meaningful results.

· Only focusing on search volume. Newcomers are often tempted to look only at search volume and research and keywords. After all, it's the biggest indication of how popular a keyword is. Intuitively, this makes some degree of sense; If you can rank for the highest-volume keywords in your niche, you'll get the most possible exposure and earn a tremendous amount of traffic. The problem with this is that it completely ignores the competition dynamic. High volume keywords are lucrative, so they tend to attract a lot of marketers. The increased competition means it's harder to earn visibility, forcing you to multiply your efforts if you want a chance of standing out. In other words, they're much more expensive and time consuming.

· Ignoring contextual relevance. With that knowledge, you can adjust your strategy so that you focus on keywords with a high search volume and limited competition standing in your way. But there's another variable you also need to consider, and it's not one that a keyword research tool can tell you immediately: contextual relevance. There are plenty of juicy ranking opportunities out there, but it's not going to do you much good if you rank for a keyword that has nothing to do with your brand. The keywords you select should be firmly aligned with your brand’s mission and values and should be relevant to the audience you're trying to target. Don’t lose sight of this in a blind rush to reach rank one for as many keywords as possible.

· Targeting too many (or too few) keywords. Some people get tempted to target dozens of keywords from the outset, orchestrating a massive campaign that ends up wasting time with complicated and numerous targets. Others only target one or two keywords, limiting their potential reach.

· Staying close-minded. The best marketers in the SEO world are ones who are consistently open to new ideas. They're willing to research keywords they wouldn't have considered in the past. They're willing to use a variety of tools to open their mind to new possibilities. They're also willing to change their mind and change their approach to keyword research from a high level. If you're too close-minded and stuck in your ways, you're not going to reach your full potential.

There are many things that can go wrong with your keyword research, but try not to let it get to your head. With keyword research, like many aspects of SEO, it's all about trial and error. It takes time to cultivate the skills and experience to master this strategy.

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