Successful Keyword Research #2

Below are another keys for successful keyword research

Identify *viable* targets

We'd all love to rank well for the most general and all-encompassing search phrase related to our topic, but only a handful ever will. Targeting some ultra-competitive keywords is as good as shooting yourself in the foot unless you've got massive amounts of time and resources to throw at the problem.
Finding long-tail (three words and more) and targeted search phrases that are actually getting traffic can mean the difference between SEO success and failure. Be reasonable in your expectations, and fight the big guys by researching long-tail search phrases that have slipped beneath the radar. You might also find that long-tail search phrases bring better conversion rates for your topic.

Keep it relevant

You may find keywords and phrases that offer inroads to high search rankings, but it's important to remember that the ultimate end is traffic and how you utilize it. In other words, you need to be sure your keywords relate to your web site. If you get a page to rank well enough to bring in some search traffic, but when users actually view that page they either can't make sense of the content or find the page unrelated to your topic (or worse - spammy) that search traffic will do you no good. Not only will off-topic or spammy content affect your brand and drive users from your site, but there's a chance Google could catch on to your irrelevant content or spammy techniques and penalize your domain for it.