Long-Tail Keywords and SEO: What You Need to Know
Every guide for website blogging includes at least a chapter on keywords because they’re the backbone of any content marketing strategy. The question is, should you focus on generic or long-tail keywords?
Which approach is better for consistent website traffic?
Generic keywords sum up your business and the products you offer, so you may feel tempted to focus on them to build an online presence. But are they enough to secure a high position in search results?
Here’s the thing. Short, generic keywords apply to many businesses, not only in your niche or country but all over the world. Does it make sense to bid everything on them when you’re trying to improve your SEO rankings? If you are a big company, chances are you can get significant traffic by targeting keywords with high search volumes. People have heard of your brand, and you can afford to invest considerable resources in marketing and SEO. You draw in new customers and establish your brand further.
What happens when you’re a startup or a small business and can’t afford to spend all your cash in marketing? Can you increase SEO rankings with highly-competitive keywords? Most probably, not. And here’s where long-tail keywords can help.
The Case for Long-Tail Keywords
How many times have you made a query using a single term? According to analytics, not very often. A typical internet user types three words in a search query–desktop users might use up to six terms or even more when searching for information online.
If you look for particular information online, the chances are you use an entire phrase to narrow your results and find the topic you have an interest in. And you go through all that effort because you have a product or service in mind and want to learn more about it.
It’s not just a funny image. Here you can see why long-tail-keywords are so useful when looking to increase targeted traffic. The more specific the keywords are, the higher your chances to attract a category of clients that are interested in your product.
About 70% of all traffic comes from queries that contain long-tail keywords. And the best part is that people who search for specific terms on search engines are much more committed to buying than users who are still looking for generic information.
So, your goal should be ranking high for the keywords that people will use to make specific queries because they bring targeted traffic. People who find your website with these terms are likely to convert and generate sales.
Choosing the Right Keywords
Now that you know why long-tail keywords matter, let’s see how you can choose the right terms to target.
You should consider two elements:
- Your unique selling point (USP). To outdo your competitors, you need to know what differentiates your product from the competition. What can you offer that they can’t? Once you know what makes you unique, it becomes easier to choose keywords that matter to your ideal client.
- The intent behind queries. People look for information online for various reasons. In the beginning, they have a problem and want to learn more about potential solutions, then they start looking into specific products, and so on. You should segment long-tail keywords based on user intent and use them to optimise content for each stage of the buyer’s journey.
How to Increase Website Traffic
Long-tail keywords have low search volumes compared to the generic ones. However, they’re more likely to bring in relevant traffic, which is what matters in the long run.
In SEO, quality beats quantity. Because it’s not about the number of visitors that you get. Instead, SEO is about attracting relevant traffic–website visitors who are likely to engage with your content and, eventually, buy from you.
Still not convinced? You can give it a try with our FREE SEO AUDIT SET UP and see the results. You get ten monthly relevant keywords that you can immediately use to optimise your content and increase traffic.
