Long Tail Keywords - Explored

Long-tail keys are something of a unicorn in online marketing. They’re more obscure than short keywords, which is one reason that people don’t utilize them. However, longtail keywords are often worth the research effort precisely because the competition isn’t focusing on them. When everyone focuses on short keywords, it’s nearly impossibly to rank highly. Of course, that’s not the only benefit of longtail keywords.

Where Short Keywords Doesn’t Help

Before we detail the benefits of longtail keywords, let’s take the time to point out how short keywords might not be as helpful as you think. It takes a lot of effort to rank number one for a keyword, but is it worth it? Open your analytics service and you’ll see that, while searchers use many keywords, they don’t necessarily add up to the bulk of your visits. When you do the math, your short keywords might bring in more traffic individually, but longtail keywords win out as a group.

Longtail Keywords and Click-through Rates (CTR)

These longer keywords lead to a higher click-through rate, because there are fewer entries on the search results page. If a search only brings up ten results, and yours is one of them, you’re more likely to receive a hit. On the other hand, a search that reveals millions of potential matches lowers the likelihood that you’ll see the traffic at all.

Another CTR benefit of longtail keywords revolves around the fact that these are very specific search queries. There’s no doubt what your visitors are looking for, and this allows you to tailor a landing page for those visitors when you participate in pay-per-click advertising. You provide exactly what searchers want, and they go to your website. Everyone wins.

Conversation Rates for Longtail Keywords

This leads us directly into our next point. If consumers know exactly what they want, they’re probably further along the purchasing process, and you’re more likely to see a higher conversation rate. For instance, someone who is searching for a “bed and breakfast in Seattle” have specific requirements that you might meet. On the other hand, someone searching for general accommodations in the location might prefer a cheap motel over a B&B, but you wouldn’t know, because you can’t read their mind.

This point rings true, even if you’re not selling anything. For example, someone who is searching for a forum where they can discuss a certain book wants a focused community and isn’t searching for a community about reading in general. If your site meets that requirements, longtail keywords are helpful and encourage registrations. If you focus on generic keywords, your website might pop up in the SERPs, but searchers may not actually want what you offer.

Longtail Keywords Do Require Effort

One of the things we mentioned in this article are landing pages. Short, generic keywords are more likely to let you create a general landing page. However, if you think your company will benefit from more specific keywords, then you might find yourself with many landing pages. Is this more effort? Absolutely. Creating and editing the SEO for multiple landing pages takes more time, but if it has a greater return on investment, don’t you think that it’s worth it?

Think About the Long Run

Obviously, benefiting from longtail keywords is a long-term goal. You might not see results right away, and you may have to play with your PPC methods to find the best ROI. Remember, the higher ROI isn’t necessarily the highest income. Compare the money and effort you put into the project with the results. You might be surprised how longtail keywords pay off.