Why I quit teaching keyword research 😲
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Hello Reader, Quick note: I'm hosting a free semi-impromptu town hall about sustainable sales and marketing with my friend Nat Bullen next week. Join us! For years, the SEO and marketing industries pushed us toward the content treadmill—chasing search volumes, obsessing over competition scores, and twisting our sentences to satisfy a machine. But if you’ve been following along for the last few years, you know that’s not how we build sustainable authority. While I do offer an "over my shoulder" look at how I do research to determine topics in my Summer of SEO program, I don't teach keyword research—which people find quite scandalous! After all, how can you "do SEO" and not spend the bulk of your time faffing around in Moz, SemRush, and KeySearch? And where are the five-figure long keyword lists in multi-tabbed spreadsheets? Here's the thing... When we get too fixated on data points, and what an app spits out without context, we lose the most important element of any successful strategy: the human being on the other side of the screen. Focusing on natural language that we've heard from real people is more powerful than chasing volume. Instead of trying to outsmart an algorithm with robotic phrasing or jargon your audience hasn't even learned yet, focus on how they actually talk. Use their natural language. Write to solve the problems they’re currently facing. If you’re speaking their language, you’re already doing the work that matters. This reality has come even more into focus in the Post-Keyword SEO Era. Now, the various algorithms driving the multiple billions of searches understand that if someone is looking for dog training tips, they may also be looking for ideas on crate training their new puppy, or insights into teaching loose-leash walking. This is call "query fan-out" and it effectively anticipates what else a searcher may be looking for, or what they'll drill down to next. You can see where the old-school way to doing keyword research—that is, looking up a term, matching the sweet spot of high volume, low competition, using it in specific places on your page, and calling it a day—doesn't work for this level of complexity. I've used this metaphor previously, but the old way of using keywords looked like a dictionary: We matched a word, plugins graded us on our matching, and the best match won in Google. Now search is more akin to wandering a library. We may find a reference book that gives us a solid overview of dog training, but we may also discover a compendium of advanced dog tricks, or a guide to handling resource guarding. From my vantage point, this shift represents an incredible opportunity for subject matter experts. I'm yet to meet an expert service provider who enjoys siloing their insights into tight, focused content, and this approach allows more freedom and flexibility—and most importantly elevates and prioritizes what's called in the biz "information gain" or what I refer to as "unique insights." Instead of hunting for keywords, I want you to focus on building an authority ecosystem. Put those natural language terms where they belong (like in your FAQs) and spend your energy crafting content that actually reflects who you are and what you do. The Post-Keyword Era isn't about ignoring SEO, it’s about doing it in a way that respects your time, your voice, and your website visitors' intelligence. Let’s get back to the work that actually builds a business, not the fancy business work of endless keyword lists. And, yes, if you want to do this with me this summer, now is the time to hop on the Summer of SEO waitlist. Onward & upward, Sarah 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246 © Alignthority LLC & Sarah Moon
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