Understanding Long Tail Keywords

Long tail keywords are keyword phrases from users that are highly specific, and the opposite of a common keyword search.  For example, the average person might type in “silver coins” into a search engine and find 10 top ranked articles offering silver coins and related information.  These top ten search results returned would most likely be popular websites and effectively optimized pages.  Companies know that that these search phrases are highly valuable for business.

However, long tail keyword search results actually bring out a different audience.  These are users who are looking for something specific.  They don’t want general ideas or general information, but specifics about a topic of their own choosing.  They might type in something highly specific such as a “1933 Double Eagle coin,” and only customers who are interested in a very specific coin would look for the page and find it.  So what you’re actually doing when writing content for long tail keywords is further targeting your audience—and that’s always a good thing.

There’s another reason to consider long tail keywords.  Many website owners and affiliates blindly compete for very popular terms.  In their minds, it’s a smart strategy…but Google and Yahoo aren’t impressed.  The major search engines realize that the competition is intense, and the “top” websites have longevity and popularity on their side.  So if you actually want to infiltrate the crowded market your best bet is to focus efforts on longer phrases and more specific terms.

Long tail keyword phrases can be created by adding words or by asking for suggestions by a keyword research tool, such as the Google Adwords tool.  As you search these longer phrases, you will notice that they have lower—though still formidable competition—as in 18,000 searches compared to one million.  How practical is this?  Well, let’s see…could you benefit from 18,000 people asking about your products?  How about just one thousand?  Of course!

Remember to try and think like your customer, not just rely on your own instinct.  You can use the research tool, or your own guesstimates (though keyword research comparisons are recommended) or perhaps even scout competing websites, or customer forums.

This is just a matter of simple logic—why compete with a huge crowd when you can make more income by niche marketing?  Well, long tail keywords are like a form of niche marketing for the web.  Go after more specific keywords and find a targeted customer who’s far more likely to buy.