Focus on Long-Tail Keywords
In November of 1996, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Green Bay Packers by a score of 21-6. Most football fans would suspect that those scores were made up by 3 touchdowns for 7 points each by the Cowboys and 2 field goals for 3 points each by the Packers. In this painful (I am a Packer fan) game, it wasn’t the big touchdowns that won the game, but rather the smaller field goals. The Cowboys scored 7 field goals to the Packers 1 touchdown (with a missed point after attempt). Just because those 3 points were smaller, the multitude of them still won the game. The same holds true in search engine optimization.
So often when small businesses look for keywords, they will focus on the big payouts or the keywords with very high search traffic each month. For many reasons, the focus instead should be put on the long-tail keywords, the field goals of SEO.
What is a long-tail keyword?
When exploring SEO keywords, there are two main statistics to examine. The first is the search volume (the number of times each month the search is performed), and the keyword difficulty (how tough it will be to rank for that keyword). Typically with keywords, the higher the volume, the higher the difficulty. Similarly, the lower the volume, the lower the difficulty.
Long-tail keywords are simply keywords that are often longer than a general keyword. For example, “Used Car Dealership” has a search volume of over 22,000 searches per month. Being as it is a very vague keyword, the difficulty is 100%. For any business not wanting to spend well over $1,000,000 per week in SEO activities that keyword is out of reach. If we expand that keyword to be “used car dealerships in Green Bay WI” the search volume per month drops down to 390 but the search volume drops down as well to 34. At that difficulty a small business with a good website and SEO effort could rank highly for that keyword.
Less Competition, Better Results
While this lower volume might seem like a disadvantage at first glance, it’s actually an opportunity in disguise. With fewer businesses competing for these specific keywords, your small business has a better chance of ranking higher and attracting quality traffic to your website. The one long-tail keyword that you focus on might have enough volume to suffice for your business goals, but there’s no limit to how many long-tail keywords your site can have.
Targeted Audience, Higher Conversions
One of the key benefits of long-tail keywords is their ability to match specific user intent. When someone searches for a long-tail keyword like “best affordable organic skincare products,” they are likely looking for detailed information or a specific solution. By targeting these precise search queries, you can connect with an audience that is already interested in what you offer, leading to higher conversion rates.
Because these long-tail keywords will likely have a more specific target audience, it is a good idea to include plenty of Call To Action options on these pages. Often these searchers are actively looking for a product or service and we don’t want to risk losing them while they’re looking throughout the page for a button to click to get in touch with you.
Implementing Long-Tail Keyword Strategy
To leverage the power of long-tail keywords effectively, consider the following steps:
- Keyword Research: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify relevant long-tail keywords related to your industry, products, or services.
- Content Optimization: Incorporate long-tail keywords naturally into your website content, including titles, headings, meta descriptions, and body copy. Ensure that your content provides valuable information that addresses user queries.
- Monitor Performance: Track the performance of your long-tail keyword strategy using analytics tools. Monitor rankings, traffic, and conversion metrics to assess the impact of your efforts and make adjustments as needed.
- Stay Updated: Keep an eye on emerging trends, new search queries, and changes in user behavior. Continuously refine your long-tail keyword strategy to stay relevant and competitive in the ever-evolving SEO landscape.
Unlock new opportunities
By focusing on long-tail keywords in your SEO strategy, you can unlock new opportunities to connect with your target audience and drive results for your business. Touchdowns might be the goal for any NFL offense, but the game can still be won with field goals. The same holds true for SEO and long-tail keywords.
