Peanut Butter Calorie Count Isn't My Keyword Jam!
Are all keywords built the same? No.
Are there keywords that I simply try to avoid because of the nature of how Google shows results? The answer is yes. You can look at competition data on a keyword all you want, but there has to be a certain level of logic in terms of the intent of the user, and whether they actually need to research something to get the anticipated answer they are looking for.
Let's look at a few examples here to help give you some context. Here is a search in Jaaxy on "how many calories in peanut butter".
Based on my search, there are lots of keywords that meet the "low competition" criteria. That is, under 100 QSR means that a keyword has less than 100 pages in all of Google. So it meets the criteria of low competition.
The problem however, is mindset of the person performing the search. They are looking for an INSTANT answer to their questions, something that can provided as a number (in terms of the calorie count).
For perspective on what I mean here, lets have a look at the Google search results for this kewyord phrase.
You can see Google is providing me with the answer to my questions, and even providing an easy tool where I can choose the quantity to get the results. There is no need for me to continue looking for more information, it is right there.
These are called "zero click" searches, and as Google's understanding of user behavior and answers to questions improves, they are able to provide an experience that leads to more and more zero click searches.
Now, I could still rank under this term. But what are the chances that someone would type this in, and then go on to read an article about peanut butter, and how it is high in calories. Likely a very low percentage of people in this search click on something, and as Google is getting more answers to simple questions, they are trying to answer them for people without having to leave Google.
This can pose a bit of a problem, but it is an insignificant one if you are doing a bit of due diligence before you decide on the "type" of search terms that you are leveraging.
So let's discuss the thought process that should go into choosing keywords.
Research Intent Keywords
If you are going to get a ranking under a particular search term in Google, ideally you get a page/post on your website to rank under a term where the person searching has a much higher likelihood of clicking through to the pages in the search results. In all reality, if they can get the answer quickly (like the example above), even a #1 overall ranking is going to lead to far less potential.
So that is why I want to help you understand the TYPE Of keywords where the audience has intent to perform research. In other words, they will want to click through to a website to learn more thorough information...unlike a "calorie count of peanut butter" type of keyword, where they were able to get that from Google without having to actually having to visit a website.
So before you choose a keyword to target with your next article, ask yourself this:
(1) "Can Google answer my question without the need to visit my website?"
(2) "Is the search term one where it would require a detailed article to fully understand?"
In the case of "peanut butter calories", this can be answered by Google without the need to go to a website. So I would recommend you avoid keywords like this.
But there are some other similar keywords that would be more appropriate, while still targeting the idea of peanut butter + keywords.
Here are a few examples:
- best ways to include peanut butter into diet
- is peanut butter bad for a low calorie diet
Both great keywords, low competition and relevant...but they are articles where the intent of the person search would be to find an informative and useful article (versus an instant answer), which in this case I could provide.
So competition data isn't everything. Keep in mind the intent of the person doing the search, and you will ensure that if/when you do get rankings in Google they will have fruitful returns in terms of traffic.
Recent Comments
97
Very interesting Kyle! Not all keywords are created equally. I have learned to check competition before just going with the keyword data and now adding this to my choosing a keyword knowledge base.
I still have so much to learn and the more I go through the training the more excited I get.
So with this post I got to thinking… while the answer is so straightforward and Google answered it how about IF you were to want to try to rank for this keyword to offer an alternative to peanut butter that offers the same benefits or better and less calories? In your article you can answer the question or refer to googles answer and then go into offering something as good but with less cals.
Chances are the searcher is wanting to know because they are trying to consume less calories or more depending on their goals. I know I do searches like this because I am calorie counting for my husband for weight loss.
Yes, checking competition can be another thing that you do as well, just don't get too fixated on this if you see an authority site in there, in particular if the competition is really low.
Google has to serve something, and often times they don't have any really great article to show, so they show something similar through a relevant article.
You can outrank amazon, reddit, quora, etc....if your content is more relevant and more thorough.
I hadn’t thought about Google being the answer to everyday questions.
I think about keywords that open up a niche with information that creates interest and entices a reader to know more. At least show interest in the subject. Using Jaxxy should assist in whether the subject has inquire’s or not.
I’m sure I have a lot to learn.
People are more and more inclined to pull up Google on their phone and get a quick answer, in some cases asking devices like Alexa for answers. These are pulled from platforms like Google, which encourages "zero click" responses to simple questions.
Anything that people research, which is still the bulk of all searches, are going to lead to people clicking through to the content at a very high rate.
I actually like this...ive been just keywording away. Looking and thinking of something witty to use. I never end up using them at all. I just save them to my keyword bank to look back at latter. And most definitely never thought about easy answers to problems that google could simply answer. I will apply this technique and avoid easy key words. Informative post kyle! I love it!
Ms. Kida
Well it sounds like you are in a position where you have a surplus of keywords that you can leverage, that is a good position to be in.
I always do too much research, to the point where I never have enough time to take advantage of all of the keywords.
Nice, thank you.
It is true I often search for items and take what Google give me on the first page without ever clicking into an article.
Not only that, but I appreciate the fact that I can do this.
I never put that together with researching my articles.
Now I will.
Alex
Yeah, I perform searches all the time where I am looking for just a quick answer, other times I want a more thorough experience. The "zero click" type of results were never really great keywords anyways to target as they tend to be difficult to monetize outside of "ads".
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Thank you for this information. Sometimes we don't know how these technologies work and that keeps affecting our progress leaving us wondering what we've done wrong.
We normally use the tool like Google to see that we make profits, but the same tool can be defeating your endeavors!
This is very informative,
Cheers
It can be defeating your endeavors if you are not considering things like "zero click" searches. The reality is though that Google being able to provide quicker answers, leads people to searching in Google more frequently, thus leading to more opportunity.
This isn't a bad thing. Google is improving their experience. More people are search more often as a result.