Long-Tail Keywords: The Long and Short

For years, SEO specialists have concentrated on high search volume keywords in their optimization efforts. If you could rank in the top three entries on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) for your head keyword (i.e. product keyword) you were living large. Unfortunately, the competition is and remains fierce for those top spots. Enter long-tail SEO (queue divine background music). Long-tail SEO strategies have proven to increase conversions, allow sites to rank higher for less competitive keyword phrases, and best of all, long tail keywords go hand-in-hand with what all the kids are talking about, semantic search. But what it is and how can you use it to your benefit?

Defining Long-Tail Keywords

Basically, long-tail keyword research includes a primary keyword(s) chained together with other words that make the query more discernible. So, instead of searching for just “dog food” which is sure to have a large search volume, be highly competitive and mean all sorts of things, we can instead target “low-cost dog food online.” Granted, the long-tail keyword example given will not have a high search volume, but if we rank for it the phrase will speak to those users who are looking for affordable dog food online. This has multiple implications: not only will we witness higher conversion rates from those driven to our site via our long-tail keyword phrase, but we should be able to rank higher because of the lack of competition and in doing so will be targeting the online dog food niche. It’s also at this juncture that we find ourselves connected to the new rave — semantic search. This connection isn’t due to our locality, stored search data or even trust we have garnered through other transactions — all of which play significant roles in semantic search — but rather because long-tail keywords, just like semantic search, focuses on user intent.

How to Optimize your Long-Tail SEO Strategy

So how does one go about optimizing for long-tail keywords? The best place to start is the Google SERP itself. The simplest method is to look at the terms that appear in the Google search field when you start typing in your query. Google’s auto-complete or predictive search function is a great way to see the most popular keywords people are searching for, including long-tail SEO keyword phrases. In a similar vein, be sure to take a look at your competitors. Look at the ads in the SERPs and see if your competitors are incorporating any long-tail SEO phrases to catch the eye of potential customers. Additionally, I’ve even found some good long-tail keywords by merely looking at the competitor’s Meta data keywords on their landing pages. Some, possibly out of habit, still fill in target keywords in the Meta keywords field of their landing pages, so why not look and get some ideas? Also, don’t forget to scroll down and check out the related searches Google provides at the bottom of the search results page. And if you are really eager, try the same methods on other search engines like Bing. These are all a great place to start when devising your SEO keyword strategy. However, the steps mentioned are only the beginning. If you want more information on how to go about optimizing your long-tail SEO then check out some of Neil Patel’s work on the Quick Sprout blog and more specifically his post on how to increase your revenue with long-tail SEO keywords. Another resource of note is Jayson DeMer’s piece on the resurgence of Long-tail SEO on Search Engine Watch. Both offer valuable insight on how to optimize for long-tail keywords.

What are some long-tail SEO strategies you’ve incorporated to boost your website’s search results? Have you seen an increase in sales? Let us know in the comments below, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.