Do You Go After Keywords or Find Pages That Can Actually Rank?

jimmigelx said:

It is relatively simple to find keywords that have low competition, but getting them to rank is a whole other issue. Let us discuss how SERP analysis, search intent, and competitor analysis can help us find keywords worth going after.

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yeah, I agree with that. sometimes a keyword may seem simple enough at the get-go, but once you look at the results, it turn out that google is ranking a completely different kind of thing. It is better to use a few minutes on checking out the top result rather than writing an article that stands no chance of doing well there.

I agree with Larryblack and gokhan45 that the actual results tell you more than a difficulty score, because a low score means very little if the first page is full of pages with a different purpose from the one you plan to write. Bidnexa made that point well about page type. If Google is showing product pages and you write a blog post, you are not really competing for the same result, even if the words match.

What I would add is to start from the page, not the keyword. Before I decide to target a phrase, I check whether my site already has a page that is close to it and getting impressions in Search Console for related queries. If it does, I usually try to improve that page first, because a page that is already near the first page has a clearer path than a brand new page starting from nothing. Rank_Lift made a similar point about staying close to what the site already covers, and I think that matters more than finding a fresh keyword in isolation.

I also agree with Starblazer about matching the choice to the strength of the site. A smaller site can still win when the intent is narrow and the current results are thin, but it needs a page that answers the query better, not just a page that uses the phrase more often. That is why I now check the top results by hand and ask whether I can honestly make a page that deserves to replace one of them. If the answer is no, I drop the keyword, as Digital Crown Agency described, even if the tool score looked easy. Pax Digital is also right that the value of the visit matters. A phrase that brings a few people who actually need what the page offers is worth more than a phrase that brings traffic that leaves straight away.

exactly, search volume and difficulty scores can be deceiving. Before I spend time writing around a keyword, I always check page 1 first to see what kind of content Google is rewarding.

gokhan45 said:

I'd check the actual search results before targeting a keyword. If the top pages match the intent and have similar authority to your site, you've got a more realistic chance than choosing keywords by difficulty score alone.

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100% concur. keyword difficulty is only a rough estimate, the actual SERP tells you a lot more. i'd also check if smaller sites are ranking there, that's usually a good sign.

i always check the serp before targeting a keyword. search intent and the type of pages ranking matter more than keyword difficulty alone