Three days from the big game. Hope y’all enjoy your Super Bowl parties. I’ve got a good Super Bowl story in the P.S. if you need a plan for potential “conflicts.”

Today’s marketing thought will be quick and dirty with 15 things marketers get wrong with keyword research and using those keywords. This story was seeded by a good SEO book I just finished reading. It’s got lots of easy-to-follow tips in it.

15 Keyword Strategy Mistakes

SEO is part science, part voodoo. Worse, that blend is on a rollercoaster you’re riding blindfolded due to Google’s secret algorithms and updates—aka switcharoos.

So what are you supposed to do to benefit from SEO?

Avoiding keyword mistakes is a good place to start. So see the list below.

#1 Brands often use jargon or assume search terms without verifying the words their audience really uses.

#2 Failing to understand why customers are searching for specific terms can lead to content that doesn't match user needs.

#3 Competing for high-volume keywords can be too competitive, making it hard to rank on the first page.

#4 Not analyzing competitors' content strategies. 

#5 Keywords should be used during content creation, not awkwardly stuffed in afterward.

#6 Ignoring customer language found in their feedback can result in irrelevant keywords.

#7 Targeting a single keyword can limit content's reach—using related terms is more effective.

#8 Overusing keywords can lead to getting smacked with Googster penalties.

#9 Not focusing on long-tail keywords, which are less competitive and can attract targeted traffic.

#10 Overestimating exact match keywords as search engines now prioritize context over exact keyword matches.

#11 Failing to monitor keyword performance prevents optimization and improvement.

#12 Wasting time creating content for super-low-volume keywords.

#13 Optimizing multiple pages for the same keyword can confuse search engines and ding your rankings.

#14 Failing to regularly update keyword lists can lead to outdated content.

#15 Relying on guesswork instead of analytics can lead to poorly performing content.

Two Extra Keyword Strategy Tips 

1️⃣Leverage Forums and Social Media: Platforms like Reddit and Quora can provide insights into what people are discussing (helps you spot long-tail keywords and reveals your audience’s mindset).

The problem with forums? They eat up your time because of rabbit holes and the sheer amount of posts. To avoid wasted time, pick the right platform to dig into. And look for chats where users are seeking advice or comparing products to help you pick good keywords for content targeting users at specific points in the customer journey. 

2️⃣Use Google Trends to identify seasonal fluctuations in search demand and plan your content around those spikes and dips.

I like Exploding Topics to search trends. Two other tools are Treendly and Glimpse - both have free versions.

The Wrap-Up is coming up…

2025’s Cost Of Newsletter Growth Is Too Dang High

95% of newsletter publishers think adding new subscribers is crazy-expensive.

And that’s before calculating “zero-value subscribers” who open just one email and then forget your newsletter exists. 

But what if you could test a new subscriber growth program that cuts your cost-per-lead to under $1?

TrafficGrid helps publishers scale their newsletters with high-quality leads (test the quality yourself with 200 free leads!). 

Your cost-per-lead becomes instantly affordable — plus, you get ONLY highly engaged subscribers who show all the intent signals of loyal newsletter readers.

Schedule a call. 

*To qualify for this growth program, you need at least 5k U.S.-based subscribers and they must be highly engaged. Most of TrafficGrid’s clients have 50k - 100k active subscribers.

Case Study: Publisher in a sports niche achieved a 53.14% open rate and over 1,100 clicks in just 30 days with TrafficGrid.

I appreciate you reading. Please share Inbox Hacking with a fellow marketing person or business owner. 

Shane McLendon - Copy Kingpin

Bonus: Proof brands should break the rules… Ad of the Day - Air Jordans.

ICYMI: How to double 🚀the impact of your slogans (& headlines)

P.S. Have a plan for potential Super Bowl party conflicts. Back in the day, my wife convinced me to go to a Super Bowl party. I protested because I liked focusing on the game at home (huge NFL fan back then, not now). We went anyway. At halftime, she tells me she and her friend (party host) had an argument and we should just head home. 

I reminded her I didn’t wanna come in the first place! Then told her even if she and her friend got into a Jerry Springer-type fist fight, I wouldn’t be leaving and missing any part of the Super Bowl. It was a 40-minute drive home. So, the lesson? Don’t let anything disrupt your enjoyment of the game. And don’t worry, that event had nothing to do with our eventual divorce😁.