source - Niche Site Lady
Before a keyword gets added to your list of Keywords, ALWAYS type it into Google and check the results manually.
Only write it if you KNOW you can rank in the top 3.
Requirements:
- Do the titles match the keyword's search intent?
If you search for "How long to drive across Scotland?" But the articles are about "How to visit Scotland" Then that's a really good sign that you can win!
Zero competition keywords are gold.
- How authoritative the Domain is?
Ideally, you want the domain rating of most to be lower than your own site. You can use the free backlinks checker by Ahrefs to see the DR and the top 100 backlinks. That way you know what you are going after. And for the backlinks, if it's hard to get, most of the time it's a good backlink.
- Are there forums on page 1?
If you see Reddit, Quora, or niche forums then you can probably beat these. Google only ranks forums if there are no half-decent articles.
- What's the word count of the top 5 articles?
Open each in a new tab and use the SEO Minion chrome extension to give the word count. The optimal scenario is that the articles are short (500 - 800 words).
- What's the content quality like?
While each page is open, look at: -
- Is it poorly written?
- Big chunks of text?
- Stock photos?
- Bad grammar?
- Not enough headings?
We can beat that!
