Do you intentionally leave some keywords alone even when they are easy to rank for?

Jeffrey Sly

Jeffrey Sly

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Something I have been thinking about lately is whether every easy keyword is actually worth targeting.

Sometimes I find keywords with low competition and decent search volume, but when I look closer, the people searching don't seem likely to become customers, subscribers, or even return visitors. It feels like chasing traffic just for the sake of higher numbers.

I would rather have 500 visitors who actually engage with the site than 5,000 who leave after a few seconds.

Has anyone here started ignoring certain keywords even though they're easy wins? Has focusing more on search intent than search volume improved your results?
 
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If it's not related into the site niche or isn't likely to bring the right audience, I'd skip it. Easy rankings don't mean much if the traffic never converts or comes back.
 
Jeffrey Sly said:
Something I have been thinking about lately is whether every easy keyword is actually worth targeting.

Sometimes I find keywords with low competition and decent search volume, but when I look closer, the people searching don't seem likely to become customers, subscribers, or even return visitors. It feels like chasing traffic just for the sake of higher numbers.

I would rather have 500 visitors who actually engage with the site than 5,000 who leave after a few seconds.

Has anyone here started ignoring certain keywords even though they're easy wins? Has focusing more on search intent than search volume improved your results?
Click to expand...
Ofc. there are certain keyword that can easily be ranked because they don't have too much business value. I would rather rank for keyword that follow the buyers journey even though they may not have too much search volume.
 
Yes—many SEO professionals now intentionally ignore “easy” keywords if intent is weak or non-commercial. Traffic alone isn’t valuable; relevance and conversion matter more. Tools like Ahrefs help evaluate keyword intent, SERP quality, and competitor pages so you focus only on keywords that bring engaged users, not just empty visits.
 
I think search intent matters more than just low competition.An easy keyword can bring traffic , but if it does not match what your audience is looking for , It won't add much value . I would rather target keywords that attract the right visitors , even if they are a bit more competitive.
 
Yes search intent matters more than keyword difficulty for me some easy keywords inflate traffic but have poor engagement so i focus on topics that are more likely to generate leads sales or repeat visitors
 
Jeffrey Sly said:
Something I have been thinking about lately is whether every easy keyword is actually worth targeting.

Sometimes I find keywords with low competition and decent search volume, but when I look closer, the people searching don't seem likely to become customers, subscribers, or even return visitors. It feels like chasing traffic just for the sake of higher numbers.

I would rather have 500 visitors who actually engage with the site than 5,000 who leave after a few seconds.

Has anyone here started ignoring certain keywords even though they're easy wins? Has focusing more on search intent than search volume improved your results?
Click to expand...
I completely agree. Search intent matters far more than easy rankings. I'd rather target keywords that solve a real problem or show buying or show buying intent, even if they have lower volume. Better engagement usually leads to better long-term results.
 
Easy rankings can be tempting but they're not always valuable i usually ask myself whether that keyword can lead to a sale a lead or a returning visitor If the answer is no i move on to something with better intent
 
yeah, i’d skip them unless they support a bigger cluster. sometimes an easy keyword is still useful for internal links or warming the topic, but if it attracts the wrong audience it is just vanity traffic.
 
Jeffrey Sly said:
Something I have been thinking about lately is whether every easy keyword is actually worth targeting.

Sometimes I find keywords with low competition and decent search volume, but when I look closer, the people searching don't seem likely to become customers, subscribers, or even return visitors. It feels like chasing traffic just for the sake of higher numbers.

I would rather have 500 visitors who actually engage with the site than 5,000 who leave after a few seconds.

Has anyone here started ignoring certain keywords even though they're easy wins? Has focusing more on search intent than search volume improved your results?
Click to expand...
It is true. Easy keywords will not have much transactional value. You should aim for keywords that have good purchase intent.
 
Yes, focusing on intent has definitely improved my results. My traffic is lower than before, but conversions and user engagement are much better, which matters more in the long run.
 
Jeffrey Sly said:
Something I have been thinking about lately is whether every easy keyword is actually worth targeting.

Sometimes I find keywords with low competition and decent search volume, but when I look closer, the people searching don't seem likely to become customers, subscribers, or even return visitors. It feels like chasing traffic just for the sake of higher numbers.

I would rather have 500 visitors who actually engage with the site than 5,000 who leave after a few seconds.

Has anyone here started ignoring certain keywords even though they're easy wins? Has focusing more on search intent than search volume improved your results?
Click to expand...
In point of fact, even easy gain can be deceiving becuz the lack of competition indicate that there is no efort or money involved. generaly speaking, I retain these link only when it is logical to build a topic cluster or else I have to make use of them internaly.
 
That's been my approach for a while now i check whether the keyword can realistically lead to a sale lead or repeat visitor if not i usually move on to something with stronger intent
 
Yes, I do. Nowadays I spend more time understanding the search intent than looking at keyword difficulty. An easy keyword is not valuable if it does not attract the right audience. In my experience, targeting the right visitors has always produced better results than simply chasing more traffic.
 
Yeah I do the same now low competition doesnt always mean its worth it if the search intent is weak I just skip it Id rather get less traffic that actually converts than a lot of visitors who leave right away its worked better for me in the long run
 
Some keywords look easy but the intent is week, so the traffic does not help. Now I focus on keywords that can bring engaged users rather then just volume.
 
Yeah, I skip them unless they support a valuable topic cluster. Easy traffic with zero commercial or audience value is usually just a vanity metric.
 
If you are saying about content optimisation - you can miss them for sure. But as an option - you may use them as a dillution keywords when building links. It might be enough for the page to have positions.
 
I ignore them here unless they make sense or help create internal links to pass on authority. Personally, i think empty traffic only skews conversion data.
 
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