Competition is everywhere. All that are doing their business online are aware of this.
You may have done your research and currently working on your respective SEO implementations to keep up, but there are critical things that you must understand.
Keywords are one of the lifeblood of the search engine optimisation processes that you can count on, especially long tail keywords. When done right and strategically, long-term keywords can be a good route to take your SEO campaign to compete now.
Based on our experience as SEO agency in Singapore, here are some points you need to know if you want to take to the next level your long-tail keywords strategy.
What Are Long Tail Keywords?
Long tail keywords are made of three to five words, making them fit to be a phrase found in your content.
Since it is a phrase, long-tail keywords are more specific than the usual keywords you see on your content or your competitor’s website. These key phrases are less competitive because the main goal is to better frame how people use search queries.
This means only that you can attract more high-quality, organic traffic to your brand’s website. Other than attracting more visitors, long-tail keywords can drive more leads to sales conversions.
Why Are They Called “Long Tail” Keywords?
You are wondering why SEO people called this a long tail keyword and not a key phrase.
Chris Anderson, author of “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More,” is the man who introduced first the long tail concept. But the long-tail keywords got their name from their position on the “search demand” curve.
To clarify, there’s no specific search volume threshold for a keyword to qualify as long-tail and you don’t define long-tail keywords based on their length in words.
There are instances that one-word keywords get less than 100 on monthly searches and there are three to five-word long keywords with thousands of monthly searches.
According to Ahrefs, it is not the length of a keyword that makes it a long-tail. It’s the search volume of that keyword.
What Qualifies As Long Tail Keywords?
These are some of the distinct characteristics of long-tail keywords.
- Consists of several words
Long-tail keywords run from 3 to 5 words long. But we have to remind you that not all words that consist of 3 to 5 words are automatically considered long-tail keywords.
Remember that long-tail keywords address a clear topic, and the intent is specific.
- High Conversion Rate
Another thing that makes long-tail keywords a sought after SEO strategy is their ability to have a high conversion rate.
Since it is specific, there’s a big chance that search results will match the searcher’s intent closely. This means that search engines will show exact results to users who enter the long-tail keyword.
If your page ranks more using a long-tail keyword, you will notice a higher conversion rate.
- Low search volume
Fewer people search using the long-tail keyword making it less popular than the short-tail ones that we are all accustomed to. Because of its specifics, it often gives you a low search volume.
- Low competition
Since people are not keen on using long-tail keywords to search for things on search engines, it causes low competition online.
The less popular a search term is, the low competition it gets. But it is not always the case as some long-tail keywords have a different line of competition for top ranking spots.
Long Tail Keyword Example
As we continue to have a better understanding of long-tail keywords, here are some examples of words to guide you through.
- How long-tail keywords work
- Long-tail keywords in SEO
- Characteristics of long-tail keywords
- Log-tail keywords conversion rate
- Long-tail keywords benefits
What Is So Great About Long Tail Keywords?
You might be wondering what makes it one of the most sought-after strategies for keywords. Here are some reasons to consider.
A lot less competitive
Based on the distinct features we mentioned, one of the most common reasons long-tail keywords are attractive is their less competitive nature.
If you are using keywords with high search volumes to drive more traffic to your website, there is a slim chance that your content will hit your target to rank better online.
Popular keywords are the main target of everyone that understands the ropes of how SEO works. Learning how to position your long-tail keywords can help you stay competitive online, as not everyone seems to like to gamble on incredibly hard to rank keywords.
Easier to address.
Creating content for long-tail keywords requires less effort as it is pretty straightforward to fit the searcher’s intent.
Content writers will understand that the more general the search query is, the more details they need to supply to build a piece of more substantial information for readers.
However, if the search query is clear and specific, content creators can produce brief but concise blogs to satisfy their readers.
Have a higher conversion rate.
Long-tail keywords tend to gain a higher conversion rate compared to that short-tail keywords.
As we have mentioned earlier, because of its specific nature, a big chance that search results will match the searcher’s intent closely. This means that search engines will show exact results to users who enter the long-tail keyword.
The Two Types of Long Tail Keywords
Yes. Not all long-tails are the same. They come in two types: supporting keywords and topical keywords.
Supporting keywords
Supporting long-tail keywords, from the name itself, supports a much broader topic. It is not a specific type of long-tail keyword.
If you are using Ahrefs when checking for your keywords, you will notice that there’s a part there that shows you a Parent Topic. Your long-tail keyword could have multiple variations as people frame their queries differently.
Parent Topic shows you what the popular search query a page is ranking for. If you happen to rank for that search query, chances are, you will rank for its supporting long-tail keyword as well.
Topical keywords
Topical keywords focus on a specific topic.
This type of long-tail keyword is the one you should be targeting. They have low search volume, are highly specific, and are way easier to rank for, unlike the previous type which covers wider topics.
How Do You Use Long Tail Keywords in Content?
The best way to use long-tail keywords is to categorise them into clusters according to the search intent they serve.
So, when you create an article, you have all the long-tail keywords to incorporate into your content, and you’ll know how you strategically position them.
You may think that this can affect the search volume of the articles you are crafting, but it can also give you a favourable amount of traffic.
How to Find Long-Tail Keywords?
Use keyword research tools.
The most obvious thing you should do to help you find a suitable keyword is to use keyword research suggestions tools.
Available keyword research tools online can help you thoroughly analyse any keyword that you are eyeing to include in your SEO and PPC campaign. It also directs you to possible keyword opportunities, and one of the most essential elements of this is it assesses keyword competition in the market.
Check what your competitors are ranking for
Since we are on the mission to outrank our competitors, one way to get ahead of the race is to check what long-tail keywords they rank for on their content.
Identifying what long-tail keywords are bringing traffic to their site is an edge for you can bank on it as well and incorporate it into your content moving forward.
Stay patient to track and check their sites for this might require your time and effort. Though there are online Competitor Analysis SEO tools that can help you mine enough long-tail keywords, quality is still vital in this process.
You will have a 360-degree view of your competitor’s organic and paid promotion strategies.
Use Google Autosuggest
If you have a paid Google Ads account, you will get better data and information than the free ones.
Your Google Ads account features a Keyword Planner that helps you, “Discover new keywords,” and “Get search volume and forecasts.” with these features, you can check insights into the different search terms and see estimated clicks and impressions.
You may also use this for your keyword research as it comes with filters to help you trim down and target your desired long-tail keyword ideas.
Use Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) Feature
Another clever way to strengthen your long-tail keyword research is to refer to Google’s People Also Ask Feature.
Checking these sections of the search results can give you an idea of what people are usually typing to look for answers online.
Google will not show this for all of us for nothing. So, ensure to maximise whatever points you may get from here and apply them to your content.
Use the Related Search Terms Feature
After reading this article, you may want to try out searching using one of your long-tail keywords on Google and see what kind of related searches are available.
Aside from the PAA (People Also Ask) feature, you can check the bottom part of Google which shows the Google suggestions. You will see related search terms that people use that can give you an insight on how to improve your long-tail keyword planning.
Leverage on discussions on Reddit, Quora, and niche forums
Yes. You can check forums for more diverse and fresh insights.
Browsing Reddit, Quora, and niche forums is one way to spot relevant keywords that people use when Google results seem too confusing or not convincing enough to satisfy their queries.
Many people are using these sites for discussions which are good and useful if you want to create pieces of content.
However, you need to be patient if you want to try mining long-tail keywords from these sources. Whatever results you have from here, you must check for the search volumes and keyword difficulty of each.
Use question modifiers like “what” and “how.”
We know that Google users are more into entering queries as questions. You may want to consider formulating long-tail keywords beginning with modifiers, “what,” “how,” “where,” etc.
This may help you figure out what types of queries people have and you may produce your content on these as it can pose answers for the untapped segment of your target market.
Look at your internal site search history.
One advantage of having an internal search function on your website is that you can have a sneak peek of what visitors are looking for on your website.
Keep notes on those queries as they might enter it as well on search engines. These are valuable information to add to your keyword research sheet. You can bank on these to create content or improve how you label your products.
Add qualifiers to short-tail keywords.
Adding qualifying terms to your keywords that are relevant to your niche can do the trick as well.
For example, if you are selling mugs, it would be beneficial to add on your description that pertains to their colour, shape, or size – “pink,” “medium,” or anything you deemed relevant to your products.
One good way to attract more customers also is localising it. Adding geographic information poses an increase in potential visitors leading to a higher chance of a conversion.
Use AnswerThePublic
One best tool we can recommend also is this, AnswerThePublic.
Well the name itself suggests that this site generates common questions that the public is curious about. People using this tool for long-tail keyword suggestions might generate something valuable because this offers comparison keywords that provide you with excellent opportunities to rank.
No SEO tool for keyword search is perfect. AnswerThePublic also has its fair share of downside. This tool does not provide you with search volume data. This information is critical because it can affect how you position your keywords and decide which should you prioritise more.
Overall, it is still a good place to start your long-tail keyword search.
Final Thoughts
Long-tail keywords are significant to your SEO implementations.
It matters that you know what the majority in your industry are doing in terms of their keyword strategy. So, you’ll have an idea of which angle to attack to compete.
Running a competitor’s SEO audit will help you clearly understand how they maximise and position their keywords or if they are using long-tail keywords to earn more organic traffic.
Roots Digital’s SEO services offer in-depth keyword research for your website. We know that keyword researching is an arduous task to take, let alone if you want to invest in long-tail keywords.
We will do the heavy-lifting of long-tail mining for you and your brand. Different organisations entrusted us to perform this intricate task, and we would be glad to share with you how we do it.
Let’s get this done. Book your appointment with our SEO professionals here.
FAQ
What is a long-tail keyword example?
Let’s take SEO as your regular keyword. Long-tail keywords will look like this “what is SEO,” “How to implement SEO,” or “Why SEO is important.”
What is considered a long tail keyword?
Long-tail keywords typically:
– Consist of several words (3 to 5)
– Has a low search volume in nature
– Has a low competition in SERPs
– Produces high conversion rates
What are long-tail keywords in SEO?
Long-tail keywords are essential to your SEO campaign because they can effectively drive traffic to your website. After all, you can write content that directly answers your searcher’s queries.
Long-tail keywords are way easier to rank compared to the traditional short-tail ones. Since the level of competition is not that tight. It is also cheaper to bid on long-tail keywords if you are running your ads campaign on Google.
What is a good long-tail keyword?
A good long-tail keyword is less competitive, easier to address, and ensures a high conversion rate.
Do long-tail keywords still work?
Yes. Long-tail keywords work and continue to do their job in bringing more traffic to your website. This is a highly targeted keyword SEO strategy because they serve searcher intent clearly and specifically.
How do you use long-tail keywords in content?
You can use long-tail keywords in creating your content by categorising them into clusters according to the search intent they serve.
It would be easier to create a new blog with identified and optimised long-tail keywords.
