Long-Tail Keywords or ‘Expanded Search Phrases’ is now in Fashion! Search Engine Optimization(SEO) has morphed into a 2 side battle between Searcher vs Targeting Marketer. The importance of specific search queries is now dominating the latest SEO strategies of 2015.
Let’s say we are trying to rank for social bookmarking. Now this keyword has severe competition. Ranking in the Top 10 is practically impossible. Using the power of long-tail search phrases we can easily rank for something like social bookmarking websites. However a much better long-tail keyword would be latest social bookmarking site list.
How to Identify + Target Long Tail Keywords for Your SEO Campaign
People are searching for precise search terms. Earlier users used to search for generic level keywords. Since we are now using more natural(speaking) languages in our search queries, the state of long-tail keywords is always shifting. You will have to constantly Search and Research Keywords to stay at the Top of the SEO Game.
In the above Rat-tail diagram, the 1-word keywords are positioned right on top. Followed by 2-words keywords and as we move down the number of keywords increases. Thus it’s easier to rank for long-tail keywords. At the top of the graph, the competition is huge so ranking for that 1 word, 2 word is definitely tough. It’s easier to target long-tail keywords where there’s minimal competition. However, keep in mind that the traffic volumes for each long-tail keyword might not be much. So in order to maximize the true potential, you need to create content for as many user-specific search queries. Creating a variety of pages for various user queries will give you extra emphasis in the Search Engine Result Page.
Benefits of Using Long Tail Keywords
The search exposure of any Long tail keyword is significantly higher than a generic keyword. So most SEO professionals tend to push for high-value traffic keywords. After the Google Hummingbird update, the search results have taken a major shift. Now the results are displayed as per the user’s search query. Thus if the user enters long tail search phrases then your site will have a greater chance to rank higher. Once you rank higher you will receive high-value traffic from the search engines results page(SERP) quite easily.