Swapped my keyword research from SEMrush to just Reddit and Amazon searches 6 months ago

I used to build entire site plans around what SEMrush told me had high volume, but after three straight clients with zero organic traffic after 8 months I started digging through subreddits and product reviews instead and the content actually ranks now, so has anyone else ditched the expensive tools for raw human intent signals?

3 comments

3 Comments

sandra_moore3010d ago

Remembered a client I had a few years back who insisted on targeting keywords about "artisanal pet furniture" because SEMrush said it had great volume. After six months of zero sales we finally figured out nobody was actually searching that phrase to buy anything, they were just looking at funny pictures of cats on expensive beds. Swapped over to what people were actually complaining about in pet forums and product reviews and the traffic started coming in within weeks. It makes sense if you think about it, people type things into Reddit because they have a real problem they need solved, not because they're window shopping for keyword volume numbers.

schmidt.iris10d agoMost Upvoted

Huh, @sandra_moore30 I read that SEMrush volumes can be fake from bot traffic.

fionat5510d ago

You know what, I've got to admit I used to think those keyword tools were the gospel truth but this totally changed my mind. That line about "window shopping for keyword volume numbers" really hit me because I used to do exactly that. I remember chasing a ton of keywords about "best eco friendly yoga mats" because SEMrush said they had huge volume. Turns out people just wanted to know if they smelled bad after a month of hot yoga. Now I spend way more time reading actual complaints and questions people have in forums and it makes such a difference.