Allow Me to Blow Your PAGE ONE Research Mind

byParthaB

4.2K followers

Updated 9 months ago

How many of you choose a keyword via Jaaxy, or another keyword tool, and then determine it’s “good keyword” simply because of the metrics provided?

How many of you strain, struggle, and do whatever it takes to get your SEO plugin to go to “green” or to give you a score over 90/100?

Guess What?

You’re doing it WRONG.

Okay, this is something I have spoken about for a number of years now.

Do you know what?

I’m almost convinced that so many people are going to get “hit” by future Google Helpful Content and Spam Algorithm Updates because they ARE TRYING TO SATISFY WHAT A KEYWORD TOOL & AN SEO PLUGIN TELLS THEM.

I will also say this is probably why so many members appear to be taking longer to reach specific ranking, traffic, and income.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m kinda “proud” whenever I read about “proper” rankings and “first sale”, “second sale”, etc.

But why is it taking you so long to get there?

This has NOTHING to do with the old mantra of “It’s a marathon, bit a sprint”.

In truth, it simply comes down to a poor choice of keywords and an over-reliance on SEO plugin, e.g. “I MUST do this because an inanimate object, an SEO plugin, tells me I must”.

And with the inception of ChatGPT I can actually see this getting WORSE.

I’m not saying ChatGPT isn’t a fantastic tool, but ONLY if you’re putting the work in first.

Simply asking ChatGPT to “Write me a 2,000-word article about XXXXX” ain't going to cut it.

So, I want to actually do some keyword research with Jaaxy and then show you some very interesting things.

And for those of you who think I give Jaaxy and overly hard time, trust me, this is going to be an on-going series of blog posts, and I have also used other keyword tools to “prove this point”, including ahrefs, semrush, Ubersuggest, and Keywords Everywhere.

So, NO, I am NOT anti-Jaaxy or anti-WA, I am simply ANTI “Not using your brain and your own eyes”.

So, let’s get to it.

Jaaxy Keyword Research

Okay, I’m going to plug in a very broad topic into Jaaxy, let’s go with “Weight Loss”.

Here’s the results:

I’m going to go with the keyword

Fast Weight Loss Diets

I am guessing at initial glance you ALL think this is a fantastic keyword.

I mean, it’s got a decent search volume/traffic, the QSR is under 100 and the SEO score looks pretty good.

Okay, let’s forget my experience or even my knowledge of this niche for a moment.

I want you to really, really, really, really, really think about this for a moment.

Weight loss is definitely one of the largest and most popular “niches” (I actually think it’s an “industry” and NOT a niche) online.

There are approximately somewhere between 30,000,000,000 to 50,000,000,000 web pages currently indexed by Google.

So, weight loss is going to have a fair percentage of these.

Let’s be UNDER generous and say that there are only about 1,000,000,000 websites online focusing on “Weight Loss”.

Do you honestly believe that ONLY 85 websites in the entire world (85 QSR according to Jaaxy) have tackled the topic of:

Fast Weight Loss Diets

THINK ABOUT IT?

There are 100s of millions of people in the world who want to lose weight, and they ALL want to do it “fast”.

Obviously, Jaaxy’s QSR figure DOESN’T mean there are only 85 websites online that have discussed “Fast Weight Loss Diets”.

The QSR figure simply means that only 85 websites have used the EXACT words “Fast Weight Loss Diets” in that EXACT order.

Personally, I would actually say that this is also incorrect.

However, now let me show why THIS DOESN’T ACTUALLY MATTER.

It makes absolutely no difference what order the words are in and how many other websites have used those words in that exact order.

So, if your keyword research is based SOLELY on what an “inanimate object” (a keyword tool) is telling you, this could explain the lack of rankings, traffic, and income!

It has NOTHING to do with YOUR time availability, or time to “rank in Google”, etc.

Let’s Check Out Page One of Google

Okay, this is an interactive blog post.

What I mean by that is, I want YOU to do some work here for yourself.

The TWO BEST ways to learn are by DOING and TEACHING.

So, for now, I need you to DO!

Don’t trust me, I’m an idiot!!! LOL!

Don’t believe every word I say.

I want YOU to go and look at everything I’m telling you for yourself WHILE you are reading this blog post.

Agreed?

Got It?

Good!!

"You want PROOF... You Can't Handle the PROOF!"

Okay, open up a new tab and go to the Google search bar and type in

Fast Weight Loss Diets

Right, I’m going to provide screenshots below of EVERY article that is ranking on page one of Google for this term.

Now, I have certain software installed for additional metrics that you won’t have.

BUT

I’m still not 100% reliant on these pieces of software.

Once again, I like to use my own eyes and my own brain.

Here’s the top result in Google for the “keyword”

Fast Weight Loss Diets

Now, this result will be slightly different from the others, as it is the “Featured Snippet”, often referred to as position 0 on Google (one place ABOVE the article that ranks number one).

Okay, before I go through the results and show why this is a terrible keyword to target, FIRSTLY, let’s pull apart this over reliance on an SEO plugin.

LOOK at the “meta title” and the “meta description” for this first result.

Can you see the words - Fast Weight Loss Diets - ANYWHERE in the title or description?

Is the “keyword” placed at the front of the title?

Is the “keyword” referred to anywhere in the description?

NOPE!

Guess what, this top ranking article would FAIL All-in-SEO, it would FAIL RankMath, it would FAIL Yoast, it would FAIL SEO Framework."

Your SEO plugin would tell you that your “SEO is terrible”, and then you would try to “fix this” by aiming for an SEO score of 90/100 or even 100/100.

Will you take ANOTHER LOOK at this top ranking article.

It DOESN’T INCLUDE THE KEYWORD ANYWHERE IN THE TITLE OR DESCRIPTION.

“Sorry, article number one, even though you’re probably getting around 100,000 MONTHLY visitors to this ONE article, and that alone is earning you approximately $6,000 per month for that ONE article, YOU’RE A FAILURE."

Why?

Because my SEO plugin tells me you're a failure.

Answer me this…

Would you rather be getting 100,000 visitors PER MONTH to ONE ARTICLE and earning $6,000 PER MONTH from this ONE ARTICLE

OR

Would you rather have 100/100 in your SEO plugin?

Rhetorical question, but YOU KNOW which choice you have made.

Now, let’s look at ALL the other articles.

Here’s the articles (from the SAME website) ranking in the next two places.

Once again, can you SEE the term

Fast Weight Loss Diets

In the meta title or the meta description?

Google likes to BOLD the relevant search terms within the meta description.

Look at what has been bolded for the second article above (the Military Diet article):

The words

RAPID Weight Loss Diets

have been bolded

RAPID means the same as FAST

BUT

It’s NOT EXACTLY THE SAME WORD!

So, how can they be ranking?

Because EXACT MATCHING of keywords has been dead for almost 10 years now (go and Look Up the Google HUMMINGBIRD Algorithm update - greater emphasis on NATURAL LANGUAGE and NOT on EXACT MATCH).

Here’s the next TWO results.

Guess what?

Meta Title and Meta Description DOES NOT use the “exact” phrase

Fast Weight Loss Diets

Here’s the next two results on page one of Google (are you STILL checking these for yourself with your OWN EYES, and not solely relying on the information I am telling you?)

Guess what?

Absolutely NO mention of

Fast Weight Loss Diets

In the title or description.

Sure, we have Quick Weight Loss Diets in one of the meta descriptions, and Quick is the same as Fast, but it STILL ISN’T EXACT!

NEXT:

We have a “Winner”... (you know that’s sarcasm right?)

FINALLY USA Health News has used the term

Fast Weight Loss Diets

Somewhere in their title.

So, why aren’t they ranking NUMBER ONE if Exact Matching of keywords is required?

Why aren’t they ranking number one as they are the ONLY website on page one of Google with the EXACT KEYWORD in their meta title?

Once again, I repeat, EXACT MATCH is NOT A THING, hasn’t been for YEARS!

What’s the most important aspect of ranking?

RELEVANCE to what a human being types into the Google Search Bar.

Not how much you can EXACTLY match what they are looking for, but rather how much your content is RELEVANT TO WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW.

And the final page one result for the keyword

Fast Weight Loss Diets

And yet again NO USE OF THE KEYWORD AT ALL!!!

Here’s something else, again that I’ve been saying for a few years now.

How many times do we see a question asked on the platform about

60 characters in the meta title.

And everyone is so desperate to “achieve” this “60 characters or less”.

For those who remember, I have spoken previously how John Mueller has confirmed that the ENTIRE title will be taken into consideration for SEO purposes, so even if you title is 1,000,000 characters, Google will “read” it all (possibly a bit silly to have a title that long, but hopefully you get my meaning).

Plus, the other thing I have often said about longer titles is that it can create intrigue!

Let’s look at this final result again

The end has been cut off and the final few characters are ellipses (...) the three dots at the end of a sentence which suggest there are “things left unsaid”.

Look at how INTRIGUING that title is

Michael Mosley’s ‘rapid weight loss diet’ recommends…

What?

Recommends what?

What is Michael recommending?

I HAVE TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

INTRIGUE!!

And yet, you would have shortened your title simply to SATISFY WHAT YOUR SEO PLUGIN IS TELLING YOU.

Why is This a “Terrible” Keyword?

Okay, as I’ve mentioned, I do have certain software installed that provides me with certain metrics.

But again, I DON’T solely rely on these.

However, going back to the Featured Snippet.

And an oft-used phrase that I have NEVER quite understood, "QSR is your real competition" (eeerm, NO, whatever is ACTUALLY ranking on page one fo Google is your "REAL" competition).

In fact, rather than me explaining this to you, let’s kick the sarcasm up a notch or 10 and imagine that the Google greats that are John Mueller and Gary Illyes having a conversation:

GI - “Ere Jonny, I think we need to sort out our rankings for a certain keyword”.

JM - “Gazza, how many times have I got to tell you NOT to call me Jonny? Anyway, hit me with it.”

GI - “Well, I’m just about to Index an article from Gertrude in St. John’s Wood, London. Her website is only 3 weeks old, has 2 previous articles, and her newest article targets the keyword “Fast Weight Loss Diets” and she’s used it EXACTLY in her meta title, her meta description, and in her first paragraph, and again as a heading. Should I rank her number one or the Featured Snippet for this keyword because she’s used it in these places?”

JM - “Who’s currently ranking number one or in the Featured Snippet?”

GI - “Well, it’s Medical News Today, So, they have a domain authority of 91, they are the 523rd most popular website on the ENTIRE internet. They’ve been in business since 2003, they have over 50 employees, many of which are MEDICAL EXPERTS who can confirm the details in their blogs, they had 83,000,000 visitors last MONTH, and they earn approximately $15,000,000 per YEAR.”

JM - “Did they use the EXACT keyword with the words in the EXACT order in their meta title or their meta description?”

GI - “NO”

JM - “Oh, in that case, give the ranking to Gertrude. Clearly a 3-week old website, where the person writing has no medical experience, and no proof of any experience, expertise, authority trustworthiness should be ranking above a bunch of Doctors who’ve been on the Internet for 20 years and have provided over 100,000 HELPFUL and MEDICALLY REVIEWED articles, because THEY DIDN’T USE THE EXACT WORDS IN AN EXACT ORDER”.

SORRY, this is NOT how the internet, Google ranking, gaining traffic, etc. works.

I won’t go through every article individually on the first page, but you can see most of the metrics in the screenshots above.

These are ALL HUGE AUTHORITY WEBSITES.

The minimum domain authority of any website on page one is DA44.

Something else to consider, YES, I agree Word Count is NOT a thing.

However, I have always said that if you wish to rank for a keyword, the TOP 3 places is what you should be aiming for, and therefore YOUR article should have everything that is in those articles and MORE.

The top article has 2,999 words and 261 Backlinks pointing to JUST this one article (most of which are HIGH authority)

The next highest ranking article has 3.054 words and 1,867 backlinks pointing to JUST this one article.

And the next highest ranking article is 3.055 words and 144 backlinks pointing to the article.

POOR GETRUDE!!!

Her article has 1,003 words and NO backlinks (in fact, she doesn’t even know what a backlink is).

Do you honesty, in your heart-of-hearts believe that Gertrude is going displace everything else on page one of Google because:

She focused specifically on the keyword - Fast Weight Loss Diets - she used it in her meta title, and her meta description, and then sprinkled it a few times in her article?

A Few More Things For You

I’m hoping that you’re starting to realise that just blindly following what a keyword research tool or an SEO plugin tells you is NOT going to magically displace everything else on page on and put you firmly at the top!

You must, must, must, must check out the first page of Google for every keyword you EVER target.

Furthermore, I didn’t even go into other “page one checks”, which may show that a “good keyword” may not be worth targeting.

As an example, go back and look at page one again for the keyword - Fast Weight Loss Diets.

Realistically, forget ranking on page one, even if the “metrics” were good, I’d think twice about targeting this keyword.

Why?

Because half of the page is taken up by a HUGE Featured Snippet and then all the People Also Ask queries.

People are lazy, the likelihood being that not many people will scroll past the Featured Snippet and the People Also Ask sections because “it’s too much of a hassle” or “I have to scroll more than twice” (we really are a lazy race, us humans, LOL).

There may be other times when keyword metrics are good, but there’s a massive Google Shopping Ad carousel at the top of the page.

Again, this is what will attract people and they are less likely to scroll.

The first page may have a MASSIVE video carousel at the top of the page and again in the middle.

Google is TELLING YOU, “I prefer VIDEO CONTENT for this keyword”.

The point being, Google is ALWAYS giving you clues about a keyword.

Why would you ignore them in favour of NON-GOOGLE related tools (keyword research tool and SEO plugin).

Again, as I’ve always said, if you want to RANK ON GOOGLE the USE GOOGLE for you research.

If you want to rank on Google, then the TOP 3 places is where it’s at.

USE THIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE.

Here’s another FREE tool for you to use.

SEO Meta in 1 CLICK

This is a Google Chrome extension (are we still allowed to use Google Chrome… after reading recent WA blog posts and various “danger suspicious website” questions? Well, I DO!!!)

Once you find a keyword, open the top ranking article, and once the above extension is installed you’ll see the red S at the top of your browser.

Open article number one and click on the red S.

It will probably tell you that there is “No SEO information available” - WAIT!

Patience my young apprentice, it’s coming.

A pop-up box will appear, click on HEADERS, and then copy all of these.

This is ALL the headings and subheadings used in this article.

Do the same for the articles ranking in positions 2 and 3.

You will now have ALL the headings and subheadings of the top 3 ranking articles for a certain keyword.

You want to rank in one of these positions. You need to discuss what these articles have and somehow IMPROVE UPON THEM.

You can plug these headings and subheadings into ChatGPT and ask it to give you an outline for a blog post, incorporating these headings and subheadings WITHOUT using the same wording or the same order, for a blog post about [keyword].

BUT

You still want to target keywords and article topics that don’t have HUGE authority websites on page.

I have written at least 30 WA blog posts about how to do this.

Am I gonna link to them?

HELL NO!!

You’re an entrepreneur, you’re an online business owner, your MOST IMPORTANT skill is being able to research and discover things for yourself.

This is what makes a website owner successful.

If you really "Want This", go and find them for yourself!

Final Thoughts

Not much more I can say, as it’s all been said many, many, many times before.

I think the best way to put all of this is to

STOP THINKING LIKE A ROBOT & START THINKING LIKE A HUMAN

Sure, software, tools, etc. are extremely helpful.

BUT

There is NOTHING that will beat using your eyes, a bit of brain power, some sensible thinking, and a willingness to think outside the box.

Thank You For Reading

Partha