A common term used in web 2.0 marketing these days is “long tail.” What the heck is it, and how does it impact your business and how do you incorporate this into a web marketing plan?
According to Google, 20% of all searches performed every day are truly unique – meaning 1 out of 5 search term queries have never been performed before. Most company’s keyword targeting and research focus on the “root” – or obvious terms of narrow focus – words that are very popular within a given niche. These keywords are easy to track and rank. But what about the long tail terms? Long tail SEO is the approach of using low volume/high converting keywords. The more specific the search word query, the more likely the website traffic will become paying customers.
So, what exactly makes a keyword combo “long tail?” The easiest way to determine this, is by simply counting the number of words. Short tail keywords are often very limited and general- between 1-3 words in length, while long tail keywords range from 3-6 words – or even more with an extremely narrow focus.
For example, a short tail keyword could be “bulldog.” The person entering this query might be shopping for a bulldog, or maybe they’re just bored at work and like to look at photos of bulldogs. On the other hand, a person entering the long tail search “8 week- old brindle English Bulldog puppies” is probably on the market for a new dog. More people might actually search the first keyword, but more people utilizing the second are more likely to put their money where their browser is.
In order to keep your keywords relevant while keeping their long tail counterparts in mind, you should develop interesting ways to include those terms on your website and in your blog posts. Hiring a company with a creative search engine optimization strategy to develop ideas for new content and functionality for your sites will expand your potential audience and increase revenue.
Long tail tracking is much more difficult, but also more of an opportunity. When most SEOs are focused on top rankings for a handful of keywords, there’s less competition and more volume in the long tail terms. What it comes down to is a cutting-edge search engine optimization strategy. Eminent SEO can help you discover these untapped long tail segments, capture and convert them into brand awareness, site traffic or even more importantly – dollars and cents.
Longer tailed keywords have always been the best for conversions. Think about it, when you are looking for something to buy online and you exactly what you want, you don’t do a general search, you type in the specific terms that make up what you are looking for. For example, my water heater just blew and I went online to look for a new one. I didn’t go search “water heater” in Google, I searched “50 Gallon Gas recirculation water heater in mesa az”. Longer tailed keywords may have less search volume, but when someone finds exactly what they are looking for, they are 10 times more likely to convert – so isn’t the lower search volume, but higher targeted term better? The answer:YES!
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