If you’ve been trying to rank for highly-competitive search terms for a while – you’ve probably noticed how difficult it is. The reality of today’s SEO industry means it can be hard to find those broad search terms with good traffic that you can actually rank for without too much work.
That’s why more and more people are turning to long-tail keywords. We’re going to look at why long-tail keywords could be what your linking strategy needs – and how targeting the right terms could give your business a boost.
What Are Long-Tail Keywords?
Instead of simply targeting “keyword” searches – long-tails add something to the beginning or end of a term(or both). Good long-tail keywords fine-tune your visitors by only getting those who are looking for that particular niche.
If you can present yourself as an authority on something so specific – you’ll already stand out from the crowd.
Here are a few examples of long-tail keywords:
Instead of just “smart phones” – how about “Sony smart phones“? Or even “blue Sony smart phones“. This can be taken even further. “Refurbished blue Sony smart phones“. Or “Refurbished blue Sony smart phones discount“.
The more you add – the more niche your term will be. While that should mean fewer searches – it’ll be easier to become THE authority on the subject, and perhaps even corner the market.
Why Are Long-Tail Keywords Easier To Rank For?
Obviously, really niche keywords have fewer searches. That goes without saying. But they’re also far less competitive. If we look at our previous example – how many sites are really trying to target that specific niche?
Most will be looking to pick up broad, high volume traffic – but a lot of that traffic will be pointless.
Sometimes, it’s a case of weight up the effort to reward ratio. Yes – you’ll get more traffic with broader searches, but they amount of time and effort taken to get on the first page of Google could be spent making 10 different long-tail pages that all rank much higher, much more easily.
Broad search traffic will also send lots of traffic to your site that doesn’t really want what you’re offering – whereas niche traffic that came to you with a long-term search will be highly targeted.
How Long-Tail Keywords Could Help Filter Your Visitors For You – And Earn You More Money
Long-tail keywords are great for filtering out your visitors so that you only get those who are highly motivated to make a purchase. It helps get rid of all those clicks who are people just looking for a free ride.
Broad search terms might have tons of traffic – but lots of those visitors will be nowhere near ready to spend money. Lots of them will even be looking for ways to avoid spending any money at all.
That’s why you shouldn’t use long-tails like “free” or “free download“. Those people are rarely ready to make a purchase.
Long-tails that provide motivated visitors include “discount” or “promo code“. These deliver visitors who know they need to spend some money – but just want to see if they can save a bit right before they do so.
If you can offer them the discount they’re looking for – you should be onto a winner.
Why A Big Piece Of A Small Pie Is Better Than None Of A Big One?
Research suggests that if you’re not on the first page of Google – you’re nowhere. 11th position could get you around 1% click through from all searches for that term.
In contrast – 1st position on the 1st page is obviously the jackpot for ranking – and it could get you around 34% clicks.
If you try to rank for a term with 100,000 monthly searches but only reach 11th place on Google – that would get you around 1,000 clicks per month.
Alternatively you could get to 1st page with a niche long-tail on a term that only gets 5,000 monthly searches. This ranking could get you 1,700 visitors. And that doesn’t even account for your niche traffic being more targeted and more motivated to spend money.
Sometimes, a large piece of a small pie is better than a small piece of a big one.
What Are Some Recommended Long-Tail Keywords?
Along with the ones we already looked at like “discount” – you could also try including the current year in your long-tail keywords. Many people will add the current year to their searches to make sure they’re getting the most up-to-date information possible. Other good long-tail suffixes include “review“.
Counter-intuitively, additions like “scam” could also work. People search for this if they’re not sure about something – as long as you’ve got a page that reassures them – this could work.
[Images – Main photo: Australian Water Dragon by Kris Olin, Alamy; other images from their respective websites and/or social platforms]
Keith Elton has years of experience advising people on internet marketing issues and sharing his wealth of knowledge on ranking for particular keywords. He also enjoys writing for a reputable tuition agency, Smile tutor based in Singapore in his spare time.
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