If you’re running your own business or website, you’ll know that trying to keep up with all of the latest developments in the world of search engine optimization is pretty much a full time job, with the information that you glean one week, almost irrelevant the next.
This is why staying ahead of the game is so important in giving your website an edge, and at the moment one of the big things making waves in the world of SEO is long tail keywords.
So how exactly do long tail keywords work and what difference can they make to your own SEO strategy?
What are long tail keywords?
Long tail keywords are the search terms used by internet users to find specific results. They normally comprise of at least three or four words, if not more, and describe exactly what the searcher is looking for.
For example, if an internet user types in the phrase ‘dentist’ then a great deal of results will be displayed, whereas ‘dentist in the north London area’ will display fewer results, but ones that are much more likely to be relevant.
How can they help your SEO strategy?
Up until relatively recently many companies have stayed away from long tail keywords as they’re seen as less targeted and likely to produce fewer results.
However, SEOs have now begun to realize that if you can harness the power of the long tail keyword, you can actually achieve much better results in the long term.
For example, if you run a business that specializes in landscaping period properties in the Oxford area and someone searches for the term ‘landscaper’ a lot of irrelevant results will come up and there’s a chance that yours won’t be anywhere to be seen.
However if you’ve utilized a few long tail keywords and someone types in ‘landscaper specializing in period properties, oxford’ your site should come right to the top. And what’s more, as it’s exactly what the searcher is looking for, they’re much more likely to stay on your site and use your service.
So even though long tail key words may produce a lower volume of search results, when they do work, they normally convert searches into results.
How to implement long tail keywords
In order to implement long tail keywords into your SEO strategy, you first need to come up with a list of relevant search terms.
You can either do this by have a brain storm and writing down the results; you can use one of Google’s keyword suggestion tools and go from there.
If you haven’t already installed Google analytics to your site, do this first as the tools built into the program will help you to analyse and refine your search terms.
Once you’ve implemented the keywords, Google analytics will also help you to work out if they’re making a difference.
Try to think realistically about what users will search for when looking for a business like yours, geographic location, specialities and value for money are all normally important factors so try to fit them in to the long tail keywords.
Less competition
The great thing about long tail keywords is that, as they’re so specific, there is much less competition for each phrase, making Adwords and other targeted campaigns a lot easier.
The move towards long tail keywords can be seen as part of Google’s drive to become ever more intelligent and more human. Where once we used to search for a simple word, we can now ask Google a question and receive a fairly accurate answer to our query.
So don’t be left behind, swat up on your long tail keywords now, and get yourself some targeted Google results.
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License: Creative Commons image source- License: Creative Commons image source