Long-Tail Keywords for SEO Success
Posted 14th May 2013 at 02:39 PM by Tier3Marketing
Like most Internet marketers, you probably know that keywords represent the lifeblood of your search engine optimization efforts. Although site design, navigation, and links are all important for optimization, keywords can make or break your online business.
Many online marketers focus on including short, common keywords in content, Alt tags, and link text. Unfortunately, it is difficult for marketers in most niches to rank well for these keywords. Although you should include common keywords, it is more important to focus on long-tail keywords. These are longer, less common phrases that search engine users might use to find your site.
Long-tail keywords offer several significant advantages:
1) There is less competition for long-tail keywords. For example, if you target the keyword “pizza,” you will be competing with millions of other sites, blogs, and pages that contain this common keyword. Conversely, if you target the keyword “Sicilian pizza in Chillicothe Ohio,” you will likely find that there are only a few hundred other sites that contain this phrase. This makes it much easier to rank well in search engine listings and attract visitors to your site or blog.
2) Density is less important with long-tail keywords than with short keywords. You might only need to use a long-tail keyword once or twice in an article to rank highly for that keyword. If you target a short, common phrase, you will need to pay close attention to density and might need to include it 10 or 15 times in a 500-word article. This can make your content sound stiff and repetitive. The lower density requirements of long-tail keywords help you create natural content that your readers will love.
3) Long-tail keywords are highly targeted. Search engine users who conduct searches using these phrases are looking for specific information. If you own a pizza shop in Chillicothe, Ohio, you have a much better chance of converting a visitor who searches for “Sicilian pizza in Chillicothe Ohio” than one who finds your site using the keyword “pizza.”
How can you identify long-tail keywords to use in your search engine optimization strategy?
1) Use the Google Keyword Research Tool. This tool allows you to enter a word or phrase that is relevant to your business and provides you with hundreds of related keywords you might target. It also provides information regarding the competitiveness of each keyword and the estimated number of users who search using the keywords each month. You can use this information to compile a list of long-tail keywords you want to target.
2) Conduct a Google search using each of the long-tail keywords you have identified. Visit the top three or four web pages listed for each keyword and read the page content. This will give you an idea of how relevant the top pages are. It also gives you valuable information about the quality of these pages. By studying the top results, you can determine how to make your own pages better so they will be more attractive to search engines.
After you have identified your long-tail keywords, conduct split-testing. This involves creating two or more pages targeting the same phrase. Your content should be substantially different for each page. You can use different text layouts, sentence structures, and paragraph lengths. Monitor search engine results for your chosen keyword to find out which page ranks more highly. Once you have created a page that ranks near the top of the results list, you can delete the other pages.
Finding and using long-tail keywords is not a quick process; however, it can provide targeted traffic for months or even years. As you continue to build content using your keyword list, you can dramatically grow your traffic over time.
Many online marketers focus on including short, common keywords in content, Alt tags, and link text. Unfortunately, it is difficult for marketers in most niches to rank well for these keywords. Although you should include common keywords, it is more important to focus on long-tail keywords. These are longer, less common phrases that search engine users might use to find your site.
Long-tail keywords offer several significant advantages:
1) There is less competition for long-tail keywords. For example, if you target the keyword “pizza,” you will be competing with millions of other sites, blogs, and pages that contain this common keyword. Conversely, if you target the keyword “Sicilian pizza in Chillicothe Ohio,” you will likely find that there are only a few hundred other sites that contain this phrase. This makes it much easier to rank well in search engine listings and attract visitors to your site or blog.
2) Density is less important with long-tail keywords than with short keywords. You might only need to use a long-tail keyword once or twice in an article to rank highly for that keyword. If you target a short, common phrase, you will need to pay close attention to density and might need to include it 10 or 15 times in a 500-word article. This can make your content sound stiff and repetitive. The lower density requirements of long-tail keywords help you create natural content that your readers will love.
3) Long-tail keywords are highly targeted. Search engine users who conduct searches using these phrases are looking for specific information. If you own a pizza shop in Chillicothe, Ohio, you have a much better chance of converting a visitor who searches for “Sicilian pizza in Chillicothe Ohio” than one who finds your site using the keyword “pizza.”
How can you identify long-tail keywords to use in your search engine optimization strategy?
1) Use the Google Keyword Research Tool. This tool allows you to enter a word or phrase that is relevant to your business and provides you with hundreds of related keywords you might target. It also provides information regarding the competitiveness of each keyword and the estimated number of users who search using the keywords each month. You can use this information to compile a list of long-tail keywords you want to target.
2) Conduct a Google search using each of the long-tail keywords you have identified. Visit the top three or four web pages listed for each keyword and read the page content. This will give you an idea of how relevant the top pages are. It also gives you valuable information about the quality of these pages. By studying the top results, you can determine how to make your own pages better so they will be more attractive to search engines.
After you have identified your long-tail keywords, conduct split-testing. This involves creating two or more pages targeting the same phrase. Your content should be substantially different for each page. You can use different text layouts, sentence structures, and paragraph lengths. Monitor search engine results for your chosen keyword to find out which page ranks more highly. Once you have created a page that ranks near the top of the results list, you can delete the other pages.
Finding and using long-tail keywords is not a quick process; however, it can provide targeted traffic for months or even years. As you continue to build content using your keyword list, you can dramatically grow your traffic over time.
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