Long Tail Keywords - What are They?

Increase Relevant Website Traffic by Targeting Specific Phrases

© Loreena Walsh

Jun 15, 2009
Keyword Tools for Webmasters, Loreena Walsh
Using relevant keywords is the number one way to draw targeted search engine traffic to any website. Long tail keywords can get your website on the traffic highway fast!

The goal of any webmaster or business owner is to increase targeted traffic to their website. There is so much talk about website optimization and search engine optimization that it can be easy to drown in a sea of acronyms, abreviations and strange words.

Cutting through the confusion is easy, there are a few important terms that can make all the difference to the targeted traffic arriving at any website.

What is a Keyword and Why are they Important for Web Masters?

First of all, it's important to understand what a keyword is, and the reason every webmaster should be interested in them. To understand keyword fascination it's easiest just to think about the most basic internet usage habits. If a consumer ia searching for something, think about what they would type into a search engine.

For example if a consumer is looking for a website designer in Sydney they would type in "website designer sydney" Those 3 words are their chosen keywords to find the result they are looking for. So it's as simple as that, the keywords that any webmaster chooses for their website should always be based on what their target customers or readers would type into a search engine in hope of finding information.

Long Tail Keywords and The Advantage of Using Them

Gone are the days where people come online and type in one word to find the answer to what they are looking for in a search engine. Many years ago there were so few webpages online it was much easier for consumers to find the information they were seeking by using short keywords.

Now the reality is that if an internet user wants to find specific matches for their internet search for a web designer for example, searching "web designer" will return millions of matches and many won't be relevant to the answers they are seeking.

So, with so much to sort through, searching on the internet using short tail keywords just isn't practicle. By simply adding a word or two to a search phrase, internet users can target specific results based on long tail keywords.

A long tail keyword is generally classified as a keyword phrase containing 3 or more words that is used by internet searchers to find results in search engines. Often the more words a person uses, the more specific their results become cutting down on wasted time.

How to Use Long Tail Keywords for Your Website?

Understanding what keywords for websites are, and why keywords are important is the first step. Learning about the benefits of long tail keywords is the next, implementing long tail keywords into a website and search engine optimisation strategies is the final step to success.

It's not as hard as it sounds, to get started, think of all the words a potential customer might use to search for information related to their interests online. Be specific, use the basic description and then add details such as company location, product names or other important details. Create a list, and these will become the base list to use as targeted long tail keywords.

It is important that webmasters include the chosen words scattered throughout website content or blogs. When obtaining links or writing articles for backlinks, webmasters should always try to focus on a chosen long tail keywords to be included, this will increase the chances of the website appearing in search engines in front of the people who really could become readers and customers in the future.


The copyright of the article Long Tail Keywords - What are They? in SEO Tools is owned by Loreena Walsh. Permission to republish Long Tail Keywords - What are They? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.


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Comments
Aug 9, 2009 4:50 PM
Guest :
Hi Loreesha,

Completely agree that targeting long-tail searches such as "asp website designers sydney" can achieve significantly better results than chasing after the generic, short-tail searches such as "web designers".

I recently did some research on PPC searches containing different numbers of words (i.e. short, medium and long-tail searches), and found that long-tails often rank better because they have less competition. What's more, since people making long-tail searches are often further along in the buying cycle and are therefore more motivated to buy, conversion rates are often much higher. En masse, long-tail keywords can be extremely profitable.

http://www.alanmitchell.com.au/techniques/benefits-of-long-tail-keywords/

Although the research was carried out with more of a PPC focus, the general principles still apply for SEO.
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