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In terms of finding deer locations, read up on how deer move through the woods. They're going to follow routes that combine the path of least resistance with areas of good cover. Topographically, look for saddle crossings (low spots on ridges), benches (flat areas on the sides of ridges), ridge fingers, shallow stream crossings, etc. Anything that makes moving through the area easier. If nothing else, study a topographic map and think about the areas YOU would take if you were trying to cover ground while conserving energy.
In terms of cover, look at transitional areas between cover types like fields and forests and find areas that will concentrate their movements like inside corners, outside corners, vegetative strips, and such. These are often referred to as "funnels" because they'll concentrate deer movement.
Figure out where the bedding and feeding areas are. Then take all of this information and try to figure out where the best overlap of all of this info seems to suggest you'll find a deer "hub"... that is, an area where many game trails converge. This is a good place to focus your scouting.
Once you have several spots picked out and scouted, consider your preferred method of setting up.. tree stand, ground blind, sitting up against a tree in a ghille suit, etc. and figure out different locations to sit depending on different wind directions. These may not only change from day to day, but hour to hour as temperatures change. Being up on a hillside over an area may be great in the morning as rising air carries your scent away, but lousy in the evening as cooling air descents and carries your scent toward the deer.
"Mapping Trophy Bucks" by Brad Herndon covers a lot of this stuff. There are also lots of YouTube vids about pre-scouting using aerial photos and topo maps... but nothing will beat boots on the ground. And don't take your failures too hard. Rather, learn from them. Each missed deer puts you one hard lesson closer to bagging your first.
