Long tail Keywords are useless?!!

18 replies
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Hello everyone I am new to SEO, but I've been doing some research lately and found out that Google doesn't care for long tail keywords as it still ranks those pages which usually ranks for the short keywords, for example if a page ranks #1 for "cheap phones" it will also rank for many multiple related long tail keywords even if that page wasn't targeting or using them ! am I right on that observation?!
#keywords #long #tail #useless
  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Emmy Mh View Post

    Hello everyone I am new to SEO, but I've been doing some research lately and found out that Google doesn't care for long tail keywords as it still ranks those pages which usually ranks for the short keywords, for example if a page ranks #1 for "cheap phones" it will also rank for many multiple related long tail keywords even if that page wasn't targeting or using them ! am I right on that observation?!

    No, you're not right.

    Lumping every single longtail into one group isn't realistic.
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    • Profile picture of the author Emmy Mh
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      No, you're not right.

      Lumping every single longtail into one group isn't realistic.

      Thank you for the reply, I am trying to learn here so please don't mind it.
      Would you explain to me how some pages dominate search engine for too many keywords even the ones they don't target or use! while other pages that focus on these long tails stay in the dark ?!
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      • Profile picture of the author DABK
        They rank for keywords they're not even targeting because no competitor is doing a good job ranking for those non-targeted keywords. Which means, you've got a chance to win position #1 easily for those keywords.

        You're, essentially, complaining that you found keywords that are easy to rank for... I know, I know, you're new... But think about it:

        Say the keyword is:
        lose belly fat.

        How many people who're interested in losing belly fat search Google with one of the following:
        how to lose belly fat
        how to lose belly fat fast
        lose belly fat fast?

        Don't know, but some do. Google knows that too... So, if you're ranking for lose belly fat, absent pages specifically going for how to lose belly fat, Google's smart enough to know that a page about lose belly fat is likely to satisfy the searcher.


        Originally Posted by Emmy Mh View Post

        Thank you for the reply, I am trying to learn here so please mind it.
        Would you explain to me how some pages dominate search engine for too many keywords even the ones they don't target or use! while other pages that focus on these long tails stay in the dark ?!
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        • Profile picture of the author Emmy Mh
          Originally Posted by DABK View Post

          They rank for keywords they're not even targeting because no competitor is doing a good job ranking for those non-targeted keywords. Which means, you've got a chance to win position #1 easily for those keywords.

          You're, essentially, complaining that you found keywords that are easy to rank for... I know, I know, you're new... But think about it:

          Say the keyword is:
          lose belly fat.

          How many people who're interested in losing belly fat search Google with one of the following:
          how to lose belly fat
          how to lose belly fat fast
          lose belly fat fast?

          Don't know, but some do. Google knows that too... So, if you're ranking for lose belly fat, absent pages specifically going for how to lose belly fat, Google's smart enough to know that a page about lose belly fat is likely to satisfy the searcher.
          Actually I was complaining about Google not letting the pages targeting certain long tail KD to rank for it instead it will rank other pages that are related to that keyword but not exact match.

          For example (just an example for clarification but not necessarily to be true ) : say I posted an article about "best cheap unlocked mobile phones under $150" and that was my main keyword, Google may not rank my article for that particular KD instead it will rank another article about "best cheap mobile phones 2017" .

          I know there are multiple factors for ranking pages but keyword targeting isn't a strong factor as I thought it would be, Google is making it harder and more complicated for websites to rank first page, then with sponsored results dominating first results and after they shut down Google keyword planner for free users soon they will officially say "Pay to rank in the first page" and I am waiting for it.
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          • Profile picture of the author DABK
            Pages that get backlinks with a certain keyword can rank for it, if they have more or better backlinks than other pages, even if those other pages are better at onpage optimization.

            Keyword targeting is not just about onpage optimization, in other words.

            Originally Posted by Emmy Mh View Post

            Actually I was complaining about Google not letting the pages targeting certain long tail KD to rank for it instead it will rank other pages that are related to that keyword but not exact match.

            For example (just an example for clarification but not necessarily to be true ) : say I posted an article about "best cheap unlocked mobile phones under $150" and that was my main keyword, Google may not rank my article for that particular KD instead it will rank another article about "best cheap mobile phones 2017" .

            I know there are multiple factors for ranking pages but keyword targeting isn't a strong factor as I thought it would be, Google is making it harder and more complicated for websites to rank first page, then with sponsored results dominating first results and after they shut down Google keyword planner for free users soon they will officially say "Pay to rank in the first page" and I am waiting for it.
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      • Originally Posted by Emmy Mh View Post

        Thank you for the reply, I am trying to learn here so please don't mind it.
        Would you explain to me how some pages dominate search engine for too many keywords even the ones they don't target or use! while other pages that focus on these long tails stay in the dark ?!
        There are probably a lot of backlinks pointing to those sites with those keywords as anchor text. A site can rank for a keyword even if that word is not present on the page.
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  • Profile picture of the author manidip
    Actually the approach should be opposite.

    Focus on ranking long tail first and gain Google's trust. Then focus on
    main traffic volume keywords.

    There are many factors though - Site Age, Domain Authority, Page Authority, On Page factors, etc. That's why you are getting those
    results with keywords which are ranking for short tail keywords
    are also ranking for long tail.

    Grouping keywords and bifurcating them into respective categories would be a smart approach.
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  • Profile picture of the author michaelkoehler92
    For me long tails are the one which tend to rank faster and have buyer intent. Its true if you dont target long tails and you are ranked then for sure long tails will rank on its own.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    Many people here nailed it. Sites that already have a lot of authority and rank well for main search phrases tend to rank for long tail ones that they do not specifically target because nobody else is really targeting those phrases,

    We like to go for a mix of medium and long tail and the longer they are, the easier they usually are to rank for. Remember that each page of your website is a unique opportunity to open a new doorway, targeting a completely different keyword phrase. That means there are usually tons of opportunities that people are throwing away for long term phrases.
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  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    From root to long tail there is a trail of terms IE

    Belly Fat
    Lose belly fat
    How to lose belly fat
    How to lose belly fat fast
    How to lose belly fat fast for men
    How to lose belly fat fast for men in Austin Tx

    The sites that are targeting "Belly Fat" depending on the need by google to show relevant pages may present itself through the entire list. Ive actually seen where it goes the other way, and the pages targeting long tail show in the root term search results.

    The fact is all of these terms have the root term included.. it comes down to how some math ( Googles Algorithm ) scores each page, and determines is best overall placement to be viewed.- and its not always as straight forward as it would seem.
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  • Profile picture of the author emmval
    Some really great responses on here already. When it comes to ranking, we can all agree that it's far more complex than going for simple vs. long tail keywords. (I mean, use both, but know there's a lot more going on in the algo.) Loved this quote from a recent article:
    One of the reasons that SEO correlations are so poor is that sites can rank for a variety of reasons. Various types of queries (navigational, informational, commercial, etc.) and different kinds of keywords (from one-word big brands to long tail gibberish) return result sets with different characteristics. Correlation studies attempt to bulldoze over those differences, pretending that all #1 ranking results are equal, as are #2 ranking results, and so on.
    Full article is definitely worth a read if you have time. All to say, long tail keywords aren't useless, they're just a part of your overall strategy. And good luck - I'm relatively new to SEO myself, but really enjoying what I'm learning so far.
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  • Profile picture of the author tytonmedia
    Long tail keywords are the most important keywords there are! Did you know about 60% of searches are new (never before searched) keywords?
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  • Profile picture of the author siddeshmalhotra
    Longtail keywords are very useful & most of the searches in Google has been done on longtail keywords only. You can't judge what people are thinking and what they will type to get the answer of their searched query within an instant. As Google fetches millions of results within a second, it crawls the keyword phrases & delivers the result as per it. Longtail keyword is very important for ranking your website in Google.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jhelum Sen
    Long tail keywords are more genuine and relevant for any user. Think from the perspective of a user. Whatever you have in your mind, you will right each and every word on that search tab and try to find the answer. So, long tail keywords are better. Google also prefer those factors that are beneficial for the users.
    As you were saying that results are appearing that are not relevant with the keywords but still they are ranking, it is not so. You have not noticed but they must have mentioned those keywords somewhere in the entire text, in metatags or somewhere in the page. That is the reason those results are appearing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Don Mann
    When looking to do long key words, for Google ranking. Make sure to include misspelled words too. Because people will do this by accident, when searching for something.
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  • Profile picture of the author Emmy Mh
    Don't you think that Google is getting smarter to decide which results is best and highest quality in terms of the topic rather than which result is more related in terms of the keyword use!!

    I mean if someone for example is looking for best smartphone to buy he may write a query such as "where to buy the best smartphone" Google will show him the most recent best high quality detailed 4000 words buyer guides or top 10 list rather than an article that is just discussing "where to buy the best smartphone", go to Google and try it yourselves and see how the results are topic-wise rather than keyword-wise.
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  • Profile picture of the author Emmy Mh
    Thats how a website is ranking for thousands of longtail keywords without stuffing them all anywhere in their post or anchor text, just by writing a single article that is high quality and covering all aspect of a certain topic then it will rank for most or all topic related search queries sometimes without the need of any backlinks if the competition is law for that topic.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aditya Bajaj
    I am a little late to this conversation but the more long tail keywords you can rank for the more emphasis you will get for your short tail keywords.
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