The term “SEO” is tossed around the digital marketing world. SEO stands for search engine optimization. An excellent SEO score can optimize visibility on search engines. It means, more people can hear your brand name, visit the website and you can generate better organic traffic. Ultimately, you can improve your revenue.
There are several SEO techniques to perform for making your website even better. It includes keyword analysis, creating curated content, backlink building, promoting on social media and more.
Now let’s have a look at how long-tail keywords can strengthen SEO for digital marketing.
Words!!!
If you’re a digital marketer, you might understand the true importance of words. Many people say “Words are powerful”, the phrase is exactly true. Words mean a lot, they can control your website ranking on search engines.
Keywords can be anything, it can be one word or phrase. In digital marketing terms, keywords can be short-tail keywords and long-tail keywords. Based on the requirement, marketers use them accordingly on their content, social media posts, podcasts, advertisements and more.
Don’t just blindly fill your content with keywords. You need to research the keywords using tools available online. Make a note of the keywords and place them in the content.
You might still wonder why you need to use keywords in your content. Here is the answer for you. Potential customers might use a few words to search for the required product or service. For example, if a customer searches for “mobiles under $100” when your content has this phrase, there will be a high chance for your website to rank in top positions. The effective keywords are those who spend time on research and place them at the correct place.
Concentrating on long tail keywords can be one of the best SEO strategies. These keywords will be more specific compared to short tail keywords. Though long-tail keywords’ search traffic will be less, they will have a high conversion rate. Because they are usually longer and more specific.
It’s no surprise that long-tail keywords will help your business when there is massive competition.
In this article, let’s discuss what are long-tail keywords, how to find long-tail keywords and how to use long-tail keywords in an efficient way.
Page Contents
What are long-tail keywords?
When the keyword phrase has three to six words, those keywords are considered long-tail keywords. These keywords are clear and specific compared to generic terms. These keywords mainly concentrate on the niche. Simply put, long-tail keywords can target your niche demographics. Yes, you’ve heard it right! For unpopular phrases, the competition and search volume will be low for the long tail keywords. But, you can attract better traffic to your website. These phrases might be searched less every day or month as these phrases are more specific. These keywords are counter-intuitive at the initial stage. But, these keywords will be definitely valuable when you know how to use long-tail keywords.
People or customers will phrase queries in several ways. When you’ve such phrases on your website or content, the sales graph will be increased. During the target customer journey, long-tail keywords play a prominent role. Customers will begin their search with the simple phrase, search engines will guide the customer to provide solutions to the pain point. As a result, searches will be even more specific. Here long-tail keywords will come into the picture. These keywords will separate your products or services from your niche competitors.
Hope you’ve understood what are long-tail keywords. So, what next? Let’s discuss why long-tail keywords are important for your SEO. The answer is here!
Are long-tail keywords important for SEO?
Did you know that more than 70% of the search queries are constructed through long-tail keywords? Yes! These keywords are
Over 70% of search queries are made using long-tail keywords. Generally, people use voice search while searching for a query. So, they will be more likely to be specific about their search. All they do is hold the Google speaker and perform searches. With long-tail keywords, you can draw target customers towards your brand and start the customer journey process.
These long-tail keywords or phrases can be composed of 3 to 5 words that will make them specific. It means the website owners and search users will get accurate results. When brands use generic or short keywords, they might receive irrelevant customers. But with long-tail keywords, brands will receive relevant traffic that is more likely to convert. Customers will also receive content that is related to their search goal. Ultimately, customers will be even happier.
The speciality of the long-tail keywords – low competition, more conversion value. Brands can easily customize their long-tail keywords according to their products or services.
Why should brands focus on long-tail keywords?
Ranking on search engines will be easier using long-tail keywords than generic keywords. When you place long-term keywords on your content, it’s easier to rank for such long-term keywords. Focusing on long-tail keywords will result in better traffic and conversions.
Another key benefit of focusing on the long-tail keywords is, the search volume will be low, customers can find your brand and are more likely to purchase your product or service.
For example, the customer may begin their search with “mobile phone”. If the customer is looking for a budget-friendly mobile phone, they might start searching for a “mobile phone under $100”. Now, customers can get a list of websites that are having “mobile phone under $100 term in their content. With the help of long-term keywords, users can find new search research that is closely related to their search intent. Here the chance of buying a mobile phone will be increased when the search query is more specific.
How to find long-tail keywords?
Long-tail keywords are worth your time. When you target low-competition keywords for your website, you can easily drive potential customers organically. Targeting specific and less competitive keywords will help your business in the meanwhile.
Whatever your size, age or type of business, you need to understand that every long-tail keyword needs to be a key component of SEO strategy. The keywords that you find must be used in several places i.e title, heading, alt text, infographics and more. Sometimes, you can use those keywords as variations for optimizing every article better. For example, you can use the primary keywords in your image names.
If you’re running any marketing campaigns, long-tail keywords will definitely be your good friend.
You might be wondering how to find long-tail keywords? Follow these simple steps and get started.
Google suggestions
Google is everybody’s best friend. Don’t you agree? Of course! Google suggestions or recommendations are an excellent source to find long-tail keyword variations with ease. All you need to open Google and type a primary keyword, you can find out multiple suggestions or variations below.
For example, if your primary keyword is “mobile phone”, the Google suggestions could be
- mobile phone offers
- new mobile phones with price
- mobile phones 4g
- mobile phones price
- mobile phones under $100
Google’s related searches
It works similar to Google Suggestions. Yes, you’ve heard it right. The Google Suggestion will display when you’re typing the primary keyword on the search box. But, Google’s related searches will be displayed at the bottom of your search results. Scroll down the pay, you can find suggested related searches. These suggestions can be more personalized.
For example, if your primary keyword is “mobile phone under $100”, you can get related searches as
- Amazon mobile
- best smartphone under $100
- best phone under $100 in UK
- best camera phone under $100
- top 10 mobiles under $100
Keyword research tools
Few marketers rely on a single keyword research tool to find short or long-tail keywords. When you want to find long-tail keywords, relying on one tool every time might not sound great. Use multiple keyword research tools and give a good start. There are several keyword research tools available online. The popular are
- Google keyword research tool
- WordStream’s free keyword research tool
- Uber suggest
- Google trends
- Social media tools (YouTube keyword tool, Twitter search, etc)
Keyword research tools play an important role as they can display vital data to grow a business. Simply put, using these tools, you can know what users are searching for, competition and more. With this information, you can create an excellent marketing strategy to improve your traffic, rankings and revenue. The more keyword research tools you use, the more long-tail keyword variations will be identified.
Mine search query reports
This can be a good idea for the one who is looking for how to find long-tail keywords? When you’re running any PPC campaigns in Google AdWords, never ever skip using search query reports. These reports will display several search queries that enable users to click on ads. On the other hand, you can have a list of keywords that are driving more conversion. Using high-converting keywords in your content, social media posts, blog posts and web pages are worth chasing.
Have a look at Q&A sites
Browsing Q&A sites will be an excellent source for finding long-tail keywords with ease. There are several Q&A sites available in the market. The leading platforms are Yahoo Answers, LinkedIn Answers, Answers.com, Askville by Amazon and more. Check out these Q&A sites because questions can make worthy long-tail keywords. Because users might want to know the information about a certain product or service. Keep a note, the questions you find out on Q&A sites are useful for you. But, spending time on these Q&A sites can give you a list of long-tail keywords.
Steal from your competitors
Whether you’re running a new or existing business, you will definitely have a set of competitors. You need to keep a close eye on your competitors when you’re listing down long-tail keywords. Check their website, blog posts, ads and more. List down what keywords they’re using the most. Use them on your content accordingly. Checking Wikipedia can be a worthy option for you. Because Wikipedia will have keywords for every business – mobiles, electronics, fashion, furniture, services, food, travel and more.
Hope you’ve discovered how to find long-tail keywords? Without further delay, use these steps while finding long-tail keywords to boost your business.
A question for you! How do users or customers find you?
There are several ways, if you’re a top player in the market, users will just type your brand name and go head. Few users click your website using long tail keywords. Both the users can be a great bonus for your brand. It’s important to understand how to use long-tail keywords in an accurate way that help you in many ways.
Continue reading!!! Know how to use long-tail keywords for better.
How to use long-tail keywords?
Long-tail keywords are important for all businesses. Whether you’re running a business for 6 months or 6 years, you cannot ignore long-tail keywords. This is something essential for your overall business growth.
You might find long-tail keywords through keyword research tools, Q&A sites, competitors, Google suggestions and more. Now, you need to play the game wisely by placing them into your website content. Because modern SEO is all about providing the customers with an excellent user experience. In order to make your customers happy, you need to place long-tail keywords in accurate, relevant and high-quality content.
It’s simple to say “Add long-tail keywords for SEO”, the million-dollar question is “how to add long-tail keywords’ ‘, this can be a different scenario. There are a few rules while adding long-tail keywords to your content that will make SEO practices worthy.
If you’re aware of how to use long-tail keywords in your content, continue reading…
Use long-tail keywords in meta descriptions
It would sound obvious! Because adding long-tail keywords in your meta description can be the best practice for your SEO. A meta description is a simple summary of your content. When you place long-tail keywords in your meta description will help Google and other search engines to better filter the results. You can add a maximum of 2 important long-tail keywords in the meta description.
Your meta description doesn’t exceed 160 characters, give a short description of what the page is about. This meta description can be visible when a user searches for long-tail keywords on search results.
Insert SEO title tag
Many people assume the SEO title tag as their main title. The SEO title is the title tag that can be appeared to your users on search results. This is similar to your meta description. When the user clicks on the title tag, they will redirect to your website.
Similar to your meta description, the title tag needs to be a few characters, it should not exceed more than 60 characters. Therefore, you need to limit the title tag to primary keywords along with your brand name. Make sure your title tag is clear and SEO-friendly.
Use in your article title
This is strictly important! You need to insert long-tail keywords in your article title as well. Because Google will identify what is your content. Many marketers believe that inserting long-tail keywords in titles will help them in both the short and long run. Be sure, the keyword is placed naturally. Sometimes, you cannot use the keyword naturally. In that case, you can use the variation that conveys the same.
Insert keyword within the first 200 words
Above the fold! The content you place above the fold is very important. Because Google and other search engines offer more weight or importance to the beginning of 200 words of your content. You might set those 200 words as an introduction for your topic. When an introduction is useful and clear, you can easily rank well on search engines. Here, don’t miss a chance to insert long-tail keywords at the beginning of your content.
Insert long-tail keywords naturally
Users should be your utmost priority. As a digital marketer, you might be concentrating on stuffing the keywords rather than focusing on information, engagement and more. Never make such a mistake, you need to use keywords in such a way that it looks natural. When the content is natural, users can easily engage with your content and gain information.
Use in headings
There are several heading tags available such as H1, H2, H3 and more. The heading is used to break up the text in the article. These are must-have tags for any content. Users don’t read huge chunks of the content. They just skip and move to another brand. Heading allows readers to concentrate on key points.
As per SEO, headings play a vital role. These headings can be used as ranking signals. Use long-tail keywords in your heading and try to rank well. When you’ve longer content i.e 5000 words, you can have more headings. This way, you can easily rank better on search results.
Use in anchor text link
If you use long-tail keywords in your anchor text link, it means you’re giving alternative information to Google. When you insert a keyword in your text link, it can help other articles on your website. Make a note, don’t use primary keywords in your anchor text link. When you do, Google might ignore your primary keyword and concentrate on the page that you’ve linked to.
Use in the image alt tag
There are few people who post the article without adding images. If you’re doing the same, please try to change your path. It’s very important to add images to your article. Because when you add visuals, there will be great chances for users to inform, educate and engage users. Use long-tail keywords in your image alt tag for good SEO practice.
How many keywords should you use?
Though you’ve got hundreds of keywords, you cannot stuff all the keywords on your page. You need to use the right keywords only. There are three key types of keywords i.e primary, secondary and additional keywords.
Primary keywords should be the key focus of your page. Make sure, your title consists of one primary keyword. When you use one keyword, you can easily drive your content forward. In the case of a secondary keyword, you can use 3 or 4 in your content. Additional keywords are nothing but related keywords or long-tail keywords. You can use a maximum of 4 long-tail keywords, based on your content.
In most scenarios, using 3 to 8 keywords can be good practice. Keep a note, while placing the keywords, you need to reoptimize based on your search engine ranking. Using 8 or more keywords can consider spammy. It can be difficult when you try to include more than 8 keywords while writing. Always find the related short or long-tail keywords that are natural and stick well on your content.
Advantages of long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are more valuable than you think. There are countless advantages for brands for using long-tail keywords.
Less competition
As mentioned above, long-tail keywords are simple to rank when compared to short-tail keywords. Because the competition for long-tail keywords will be very low. If you’re not using long-tail keywords in your content, generating traffic can be a nightmare for you. Don’t miss the opportunity to generate quality traffic for your website.
Better conversion rate
Everyone needs to agree, long-tail keywords will have more conversion value. People who use long-term searches are more likely to purchase. Consider, when a user searches for “mobile phones under $100”, that user will purchase immediately when a user searches for “mobile phones”.
High visibility
With long-term keywords, the chances of brand visibility will be increased. With the advancement in technology, Google search engines are personalizing the search results based on users’ age, location, interest, sex and more. It means, when two users search with the same intention may get different search results. Long-tail keywords will definitely optimize your site for multiple search users.
Low-authority websites may rank better
There are a few factors to consider by Google to rank your website in top positions. The key factors can be quality, relevance and authority. The top niche players will dominate rankings on search engines for high-competition keywords. Because these websites will have high authority and trust. Creating quality content and adding backlinks are the best ways to gain authority.
For example, if you’ve launched a new website, you might not have enough backlinks. This way, your domain authority might not hit the competition, even when you’ve quality content on your web pages.
No worries! Concentrating on long-tail keywords can be a strategic way to make your webpage available on the search engine. It means you’re gaining a chance to rank better by using low competition keywords even when you don’t have hundreds of backlinks on your webpage or blogs.
Help you rank better for short-tail keywords also
It’s obvious that long-tail keywords will include short-tail keywords. This combination will make it easier and simple to boost your rankings on search engines. It means you can improve your rankings for short-tail keywords as well. When you can rank for both short and long-tail keywords, you can get better organic traffic.
Wrapping up
Hey! You’ve reached the end of the article. Here is a quick look for what are long-tail keywords, how to find long-tail keywords and how to use long-tail keywords. These are the search queries that might have less competition and fewer searches every month. But, these keywords can bring you a better conversion rate. When there is less competition, it means these keywords can rank better on search engines. Spend time on researching the right keywords and placing them in the right places. Don’t just stuff long-tail keywords throughout your content. Depending on the length of your content, use the keywords accordingly.
