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Ranking for my long tail keyword article?

by inxie
9 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I'm trying to learn how to rank for long tail keywords, and experience what it really takes to rank.

I wrote an article on my blog based on the keywords:
"when is the best time to buy plane tickets"

My research shows the following:

  • Less than 1000 searches a month
  • searching in quotes shows only '28,300 Results'
  • No authority sites ranking for it


I hired someone for 3 hours to build backlinks to the post (they made 42).
The post is already indexed on Google

...but when using several SERPs checker tools, without quotes it doesn't even find my post!

The post is right here.

Have I done my keyword research wrong or do I just need a TON of backlinks?

ANY advice here is greatly appreciated, thanks!
#article #keyword #long #ranking #tail
  • Profile picture of the author jovykhan
    searching in quotes shows only '28,300 Results'
    No authority sites ranking for it
    This.

    A typical user would normally search without quotes. I searched the keyword without quotes it give me this first page results.

    FareCompare - Cheapest Airline Tickets, Cheap Flights, Travel Deals, Cheap Tickets and Discount Airfares
    Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post
    TODAY'S TMJ4 - Milwaukee's Source for Local News and Weather
    LearnVest - Where Life Gets Richer
    Fox Business | Business News & Stock Quotes - Saving & Investing
    travel.yahoo.com
    abcnews.go.com
    traveltips.usatoday.com
    travel.nytimes.com
    online.wsj.com
    Hmm, for me they authoritative websites.

    Are these 42 backlinks already indexed? Or coming from relevant/authority websites?
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    • Profile picture of the author inxie
      Every article or video I watch on how to do keyword research, they always say to search in quotes, every single time.

      If you don't use quotes then EVERY keyword phrase is flooded with competition and high authority sites anyway!
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      • Profile picture of the author jovykhan
        Originally Posted by inxie View Post

        Every article or video I watch on how to do keyword research, they always say to search in quotes, every single time.

        If you don't use quotes then EVERY keyword phrase is flooded with competition and high authority sites anyway!
        This is correct when you want to see the actual pages (competition) that contain the exact order of the keyword because the rule of thumb is targeted keywords must be included in the title of the landing pages. But this does not sums up everything about the competition.

        There are pages that rank even without the targeted keywords in their title...brand page, authoritative website for the subject and something similar.

        Most users search without quotes.
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      • Profile picture of the author paulgl
        Originally Posted by inxie View Post

        Every article or video I watch on how to do keyword research, they always say to search in quotes, every single time.

        If you don't use quotes then EVERY keyword phrase is flooded with competition and high authority sites anyway!
        Nobody uses quotes. And even if you did, google would suggest other
        stuff anyway, put it up, and you would just play along.

        Nobody uses plane tickets. I dare you to do a search for plane tickets.
        Google changes mine to flight, airline, travel, etc. They know
        what you are looking for. Plane is a nonsense word in
        that respect. Put ticket with it, and google thinks it knows
        what you want.

        Where do people come up with this stuff?

        You should realize that many so-called long-tail phrases are junk that
        google is just not going to swallow.

        Your spamming of your link on the WF may do wonders though. And
        now we know the rest of the story.

        Paul
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        If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

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        • Profile picture of the author inxie
          Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

          Nobody uses quotes. And even if you did, google would suggest other
          stuff anyway, put it up, and you would just play along.

          Nobody uses plane tickets. I dare you to do a search for plane tickets.
          Google changes mine to flight, airline, travel, etc. They know
          what you are looking for. Plane is a nonsense word in
          that respect. Put ticket with it, and google thinks it knows
          what you want.

          Where do people come up with this stuff?

          You should realize that many so-called long-tail phrases are junk that
          google is just not going to swallow.

          Your spamming of your link on the WF may do wonders though. And
          now we know the rest of the story.

          Paul
          What are you talking about spamming?
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  • Profile picture of the author inxie
    So I wont be able to rank for that keyword phrase very easily?
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    • Profile picture of the author jovykhan
      Originally Posted by inxie View Post

      So I wont be able to rank for that keyword phrase very easily?
      Based on the first page results for the that keyword I would have to say yes. You still need to build backlinks for the page.

      However, there may be other related broad matches that you will get traffic with to that page.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Most of that keyword phrase isn't important as far as keywords.

    Stop words in red:

    when is the best time to buy plane tickets
    Your also up against authority sites time.com, etc...
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  • Profile picture of the author kaytav
    The proper way is to search in quotes. It shows you the exact competition. You need to wait for a while before every backlink gets indexed. You will soon see the results.
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