PSA: I used to spend hours on keyword lists before even touching a site

Back when I started, my whole process was to build these massive spreadsheets with hundreds of keywords, trying to guess what would rank. I'd spend a full day just on that part for a single local business site. The shift for me happened maybe two years ago, after a project for a bike shop in Portland. I realized their customers were asking questions in reviews and on social media that weren't in any of my keyword tools. Now, I look at the actual search terms bringing people to the site already (via Google Search Console, you know, the free one) and what real people are saying about the business online. I build content around those phrases and questions first. It just works better. Has anyone else moved away from the old keyword-list-first approach?

4 comments

4 Comments

anthonyrivera17d ago

Remember when we thought those giant spreadsheets were the secret? Turns out the secret was just listening to people.

john50616d ago

Remember those spreadsheets we treated like holy texts? Turns out they were just really complicated guesswork. Listening to actual people cuts through all that noise.

finleyrivera17d ago

Totally agree, that old method is such a waste of time lol. Real user data is way better.

hayes.wade16d ago

Real user data" is just guessing with a different spreadsheet.