SEO experts are always banging on about the importance of “keyword research”, but is it really all that?
What is meant by the term “long-tail keyword” and just how valuable are they in online marketing?
If you are tapping into the world of SEO and want to successfully market your website online, give this article a read and we’ll expand on the importance of including long-tail keywords in your broader strategy.
What is a long-tail keyword?
When you explore keyword research, you’ll come across the terms ‘short-tail’ and ‘long-tail’ keywords. But what are they?
- Short-tail keywords: a short-tail keyword (as the name suggests) is a key phrase or search term with a small number of words. For example: “SEO services”. Of course, this keyword is very broad as it applies to all of the SEO companies in the world (of which there are many). Not only that, but it’s not very specific in terms of intent. What does the user want to know? Are they looking for SEO services? Do they want to know what SEO services entail? Are they trying to find average prices? As such, short-tail keywords are quite hard to rank for (due to high competition), and have less relevance.
- Long-tail keywords: a long-tail keyword on the other hand, is a longer phrase with more specificity. For example: “SEO services Gold Coast”, or “the best SEO services in the Gold coast.” Now these keywords are getting to be more targeted, and while they tend to have much lower search volumes, they’re also far less competitive and can be much easier for businesses to rank for as a result. That, and when someone searches something like: “the best SEO services in the Gold Coast, it is very clear what it is they are looking for.
How valuable are long-tail keywords in marketing?
Long-tail keywords are exceptionally valuable in marketing. The fact is, even if a certain long-tail keyword only gets an average of 15 searches per month; if your website is listed at position #1 in a Google SERP (search engine results page), then there’s a very high chance that you’ll attract that traffic to your website and some of it will convert into business.
Out of those 15 searches per month, even if only ONE person converts, you will be making a return on your investment.
Not only that, but long-tail keywords allow you to diversify your online marketing efforts. If you were to only focus on very broad, short-tail keywords, you’ll have to invest a lot of time, money, and effort into ranking your website against such fierce competition. However, with a healthy combination of both short and long-tail keywords, you can start attracting more traffic to your website from a multitude of sources.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, long-tail keywords are awesome! Here’s a quick summary of why you need to include them in your online marketing strategy:
- Lower competition.
- Higher conversion rates.
- Increase content visibility.
- Help to rank new pages quickly.
- They contribute to short-tail keyword rankings as well.
- Optimise your blogging strategies.
- More personalisation of your content (e.g., targeting Gold Coast residents’ / business owners).
- They work well with voice search.
- They cost less.
All in all long-tail keywords can bring exceptional value. Of course, don’t neglect short-tail keywords! Just make sure that you have a healthy balance in your online strategy.
