HOW TO RUIN YOUR SEO CONTENT GAME (OOPS!)

I love you all...

But your desire to be "unique" is killing your SEO content game.

I see it all the time.

With quirky blog post titles

And little brand "isms" you use in your content

And even made-up phrases that only your audience understands...

The problem with all of these is that your audience isn't actively searching for these terms.

This type of content can work OK on social

But if no one is using "BawseBabes" or "x ways to kill it as a dadpreneur" or "marketing maverick", you're not likely to get that organic traffic.

I know. It hurts.

It's a struggle sometimes because we don't want to lose our own voice trying to please the Google gods.

But if you want to drive organic traffic to your website, you need to be using terms your audience is actually using within search engines.

Especially if you are in a small or new niche.

People may not even know that you exist yet. They are using terms that they know. They don't know that "marketing maverick" = "marketing consultant" or that "BawseBabes" = "mom with a side hustle".

So really it's this song and dance between staying true to yourself + speaking your audience's language, and using keywords that users are actually using within Google.

You can stick up your nose at it, but it hinders your chances of generating organic traffic. If you don't want to compromise, then another traffic channel may be your best bet.

My workaround for this is to use keywords that do have ample search volume, while using my own voice and "isms" within my content. You can always attract traffic and raise awareness about your product/services once they get to your website.

For example, if you are a life coach that encourages people to "come into their power" or "live an 'empowerful' life", I'll tell you, it's unlikely that people are using these exact terms.

They may, however, be looking for someone to help them "have better relationships" or "improve self-esteem" or "be more assertive" or a wide range of other things.

Using a keyword research tool like SEMRush will show you which terms get search volume and which ones do not.

Attract people to your website using the terms they are already using and THEN convert them to your cause. Otherwise, they don't know what they don't know and they are unlikely to stumble across your site on accident.

Savvy? It's a tough pill to swallow (I fought this idea for a long time) but you'll just continue hitting a brick wall if your "target keywords" aren't ones your audience is actually using. That need to be quirky can absolutely kill your SEO content game before it even starts.

Not sure what keywords to target in your SEO content? I teach you how to find the best keywords and incorporate them seamlessly into your content in my FREE SEO Content Roadmap.