Any SEO expert will tell you that SEO isn’t a simple task. Searching for ways to outrank rival websites for those all-important keywords could be a total bummer at times. That’s why everything that makes your life a little easier is a great blessing. Long-tail keywords, on the other hand, perfectly fit that description. We’ll talk about SEO’s price tag in a future post.
Businesses may obtain massive quantities of organic, high-converting online traffic by ranking for long-tail keywords. As if that weren’t enough of an incentive to concentrate on them, long-tail keywords are also considerably simpler to rank for. It’s almost difficult for new and small companies to rank well in the SERPs for highly competitive keywords. Long-tail keywords have a lower level of competition because of their length.
By creating content around those keywords, you’re ensuring that your website meets the needs of searchers. This will please both Google and your site’s real visitors. The basis of your keyword strategy should be long-tail keywords. That is, if your goal is to maximize the effectiveness of your approach.
Still doubting the value of long-tail keywords? We’ll go into more detail about them later on. As a bonus, we’ll give you some pointers on how to go about discovering those keywords, ranking for them, and putting them to use. But first, let’s talk about what long-tail keywords really imply. You can’t expect to get the best out of them until you realize that.
What Are Long Tail Keywords and How Do They Work?
There are a few distinct features of long tail keywords. It’s a term that has a low total search volume. This means that each month, there are very few searches for them. This is due to the fact that each long tail term is very specialized.
It’s not one of those hazy, wishy-washy searches. They are searches conducted by individuals who are certain of what they are searching for. As a consequence, long tail keyword conversion rates are high. The distance between a particular search and a possible purchasing decision is less.
Long tail keywords are less competitive than other keywords due to their specificity and low search volume. That may deter some individuals from pursuing SEO, but it shouldn’t. This is because long tail keywords account for the overwhelming bulk of online searches. Around 70% of all searches are expected to fall into this group.
When all of the information is put on a graph, it looks like this. The Search Demand Curve is the name given to the graph in question. Long tail keywords get their moniker from this graph.
They are the keywords that make up the ‘long tail’ of the curve, which extends over most of the x-axis. The keywords at the top of the curve, to the left, are referred to as head keywords, while those in the middle are referred to as body keywords. However, there is a widespread misunderstanding regarding why long tail keywords are called this way.
It’s Not About the Number of Words
The ‘long’ in long tail keywords is often misunderstood to relate to the keyword’s length. As we’ve previously said, this is not the case, although the error does have some foundation in reality.
Long tail keywords are often found to be longer search phrases. In many instances, these will be complete queries that a searcher has typed into a search engine. They may also be lengthy lengths of text or complete and detailed product names. That’s because a keyword may frequently get more precise by being lengthier.
Shorter search phrases may still be considered long tail keywords, whereas larger ones can be considered head keywords. The graph below, based on Ahrefs data, clearly demonstrates this:
It’s critical to keep in mind that a long tail keyword isn’t defined by the length of its keyword phrase. Search volume, specificity, and how competitive a term are all factors.
Long Tail Keyword Types
As you can see, it’s quite straightforward. Long tail keywords are highly specialized search requests with low levels of competition and low volumes of searches. That is, at least, the idea behind it. As you may have imagined, reality is a little more complicated. The entire tale doesn’t end there.
Long tail keywords don’t all behave the same way when it comes to SEO. Or, maybe, it’s more accurate to argue that Google’s algorithms do not treat them all equally. That’s because the algorithms have become so smart.
As a result, for long-tail keywords, we must divide them into two groups.
Supporting Long Tail Keywords
Long tail keywords that are referred to as’supporting long tail keywords’ have all of the characteristics of long tail keywords. They are very specialized search questions with a little amount of search traffic. As a result, you would anticipate them to be less competitive to rank for than other keywords. That’s where these keywords are able to defy conventional wisdom.
If you do analytics on a supporting long tail term, you’ll discover that it’s far more competitive than it should be. When you type the phrase into Google, you’ll get a SERP full of high authority pages that will be difficult to outrank. What’s going on?
The solution may be found by delving a bit further into the term itself. Specifically, if it genuinely reflects a certain issue or whether it is asking a much broader inquiry.
While a keyword might be very precise and have minimal search volume, it can actually be asking the same question as a highly competitive head keyword. ‘What are the greatest ways to lose weight?’ and ‘losing weight’ are two search keywords that get similar results.
Google’s algorithms are capable of recognizing this. Pages and sites that rank for the head keyword will appear in a SERP created for the long tail keyword. Even if they don’t appear in the results for the exact search term entered. This is because Google is certain that they will still contain the information the searcher seeks.
These are search phrases that support wider subjects and their head keywords. That is why they are referred to as’supporting keywords.’ When picking keywords to rank for, it’s vital to keep the qualities of supporting long tail keywords in mind. There will be more to come on the subject later.
Long Tail Keywords for a Specific Topic
The other primary kind of long tail keywords is those that are related to a single, particular topic. These are the usual long tail terms that we mentioned earlier while discussing the search demand curve.
They are less competitive to rank for since they have a low search volume, are extremely specialized, and have a low search volume. Pages that rank for the particular phrase rather than a parent subject will appear in SERP results for them. When it comes to attempting to rank for long tail keywords, these are the ones to focus on.
It’s worth noting that not all long tail keywords fall neatly into one of these two groups. Some people fall somewhere in the middle. Those that do are keywords that reflect a specific topic while remaining within the scope of a larger subject area.
We’re interested in the long tail term ‘SEO services in South West England’ as a SaaS SEO business, for example. That keyword will have a modest amount of searches and will be quite easy to rank for. However, it is obviously related to the primary issue of SEO.
As a result, pages that rank for ‘SEO’ are likely to appear on a SERP. It might also include people that rank for similar phrases as well as the long tail keyword in question. Those pages will have a lot of page authority and a lot of backlinks. Other ranking variables for the parent topic of SEO will also be a strength of theirs. Without targeting the long tail term, they will be able to push their way onto the SERP.
What Is the Importance of Long Tail Keywords?
Let’s speak about why long tail keywords are essential now that you know what they are. As previously stated, they account for around 70% of all web searches. Ignoring all of those queries would mean missing out on a significant quantity of organic internet traffic.
That alone would justify the importance of long tail keywords. However, there are a slew of other elements that contribute to the importance of keywords in SEO. These are outlined below. They should hopefully be enough to convince you that long tail keywords should be the foundation of your SEO approach.
Simpler to Rank
Each long tail keyword is a highly specialized search phrase. That is, each one has a very modest search traffic. So far, this may seem to be a problem rather than an opportunity. The potential stems from the implications for the competitiveness of the keywords.
To rank for a long tail term, there will be minimal competition. That implies you may quickly climb the SERPs for each term. Your material will not have to be excellent. You will not need so many backlinks. Overall, getting a high position for long tail keywords will require less time, money, and effort.
High Conversion
SEO is about more than just getting searchers to discover your website or pages on the internet. It’s not even just about boosting the number of organic visitors to your website. Increasing your sales or getting more individuals to join up for your services are other important considerations. It is necessary to take into account how effectively any online traffic translates into actual purchases.
People who use the internet to find products and services are potential customers. Customers can all be assigned to a stage in the consumer purchasing process. That is the path that every consumer follows before making a purchase. It lasts from the moment they see an issue or a need until they buy something. Customers search in various ways based on where they are in their trip.
Long tail keywords are utilized by searchers who are on the verge of making a buying decision. They know exactly what they want and may be quite detailed in their search query. As a consequence, traffic from long tail keywords has a high conversion rate. There is less distance for the searcher to go between their search and their purchase choice.
Intention to Search
Long tail keywords account for around 70% of all web searches for a reason. They are how most people search the internet. If you’re looking for an answer to a query, you’ll input it into Google. You won’t look up a similar topic and then go through the results yourself.
This indicates that content based on long tail keywords performs well in terms of user intent. As long as it focuses on a keyword that searchers utilize. The information will be helpful to readers who come across it and will directly address their requirements. These are the elements that Google considers to be most important. Such material will quickly get you in the good favor of the search engines.
Help With Head Keywords
The main point of this essay is that it is critical to concentrate on long tail keywords. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive to rank for the more popular head keywords as well. These keywords have a significantly larger search volume, but they are also much more competitive. That implies ranking high for them requires a lot more time and work.
Ranking for relevant long tail keywords might help speed up the process. Google can determine the context and overall theme of your article. In the long term, ranking high for long tail keywords linked to your overall field can help you rank for the field’s more competitive head keywords.
Boost your Content Marketing Strategy
SEO takes time and usually needs a significant financial commitment. One of the reasons behind this is that you require a long-term, high-quality content marketing plan. Your website must constantly generate fresh, unique, and helpful material for users. That implies you’ll need a diverse range of themes and issues to base your work on. Long tail keywords might also serve as a source of inspiration for such subjects.
A specialized long tail keyword is a topic that genuine searchers are interested in learning more about. Blog posts or articles centered on such keywords will satisfy their needs. They will also be clearly distinguishable from one another. This helps to eliminate duplicate material and keeps Google pleased.
How to Discover Long Tail Keywords
The significance of long tail keywords should be clearly transparent by now. As a result, you’ll naturally want to know how to identify the long tail keywords that will help your SEO efforts. There is no better time to get started on that topic than right now.
The technique of keyword research is essential for locating valuable long tail keywords. We describe that procedure in detail here, but if you don’t have time to read our guide, here’s a quick refresher.
Keyword Research Refresher
The searchers, not the searches, should be the starting point for keyword research. You must see yourself in the shoes of your potential clients. You may accomplish this by creating a client persona. This is a profile of your potential consumers, including their age, gender, income, and other important details.
The customer persona may then be used to generate specialized subjects that you believe your target consumers would be interested in. Examining forums or even Wikipedia articles relating to your area can also aid in the development of these themes. You may then develop possible long tail keywords from those specific subjects.
Suggestions for Finding Long Tail Keywords
There are several methods for generating long tail keywords linked to your specialized subjects. With a solid knowledge of your consumer profile, you should be able to generate a plethora of ideas off the top of your head. When you’ve exhausted your own imagination, there are a plethora of other areas to look.
Starting with Google is a fantastic place to start. When you start typing a topic or keyword, Google’s auto-complete tool might provide you with a plethora of alternative long tail keyword options. There are two more locations to check for ideas once you’ve pushed enter on a search.
If you’ve searched for a question, scrolling down to the ‘People also ask’ widget will get you there. This will provide a list of questions relevant to the one you looked for. Some or all of these might be valuable long tail keywords.
Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to locate the ‘Searches related to’ option. That is a new list of questions, words, and search queries that are similar to and connected to your original request. In other words, they are a list of possible long tail keywords.
Analytical tools and procedures can assist you in generating additional keywords to work with. You have a plethora of free keyword research tools to select from. Entering a term or subject into a tool like Moz’s Keyword Explorer may provide a plethora of additional potential options.
Another thing that might help you identify long tail keywords is competitor analysis. Analyzing your competitors’ pages will disclose which keywords – of all kinds – they are ranking for. Any long tail keywords for which they rank but you do not are ones you should consider targeting.
Long Tail Keywords: Using and Ranking
Following the ideas and techniques above will lead to you having a pretty long list of long tail keywords. Then you’ll want to start employing those keywords and ranking high for them in SERPS. Long tail keywords are especially effective in content marketing. Making long tail keywords the emphasis of your article is a smart idea.
This will make the material more valuable to users who search for the phrase in issue and will undoubtedly please Google. It will also make it easy to prevent duplicating information and keep articles and postings original. When developing a content marketing plan based on long tail keywords, keep the following two categories in mind.
In the long run, content that focuses on supporting keywords will help you rank for higher volume head keywords. They will, however, be more difficult to rank for than other long-tail keywords. This is simple because high authority pages will rank for the parent topic of the supporting long tail keyword.
Pages or blogs that focus on certain subject long tail keywords will rank higher. There will be less traffic for each term, but it will be high-converting traffic. The optimal content marketing plan would incorporate content that focuses on both sorts of long tail keywords.
The most crucial aspect of all of the material is that it does respond to a searcher’s intent. It must directly address the inquiry or query that they have sought. This is considerably more essential than adhering to keyword-focused rules. Natural keyword use in valuable content is more beneficial than excessive keyword density.
Bottom Line: Concentrating on Long Tail Keywords
Long tail keywords have a low search volume and a low level of competition. They account for around 70% of all web searches and offer high-converting organic traffic to your website. Their moniker is derived from their location on the search demand curve and has nothing to do with the length of their words.
Because of their numerous benefits, they should serve as the basis of your content marketing approach. They are more easily ranked than head keywords and have greater conversion rates. They also aid to give inspiration for your content’s themes and keep that material focused on user purpose.
Higher volume head keywords should not be ignored. The greatest SEO tactics, on the other hand, will concentrate on long tail keywords and making the most of them.
