If you’ve been trying to improve your ranking efforts recently – you might be asking yourself if there’s a different way. Thankfully – there is. And that’s with long-tail keywords. Far too many people are trying to rank for those broad, highly searched terms.
While the thought of getting ranked for something with 100,000 monthly searches might seem great – the reality is often much harder. In this article, we’re going to look at how long-tail keywords could be the right solution for you and your ranking efforts.
What are long-tail keywords?
Long-tails are simple additions to the beginning or end of a keyword to fine-tune your audience. While those broader terms do have more monthly searches, they’re also super competitive. That means you could spend months trying to get on the first page for a certain highly-searched term without any success. In that same time, you could rank for a number of niche, longer tail keywords.
Why are long-tail keywords easier to rank for?
The more niche the term, the fewer monthly searches. It goes without saying that these sorts of terms will be easier to rank for because fewer people are trying to do it. As you’re probably aware, you really need to be on the first page of Google for any specific term, or you might as well be nowhere. With long-tails, you can target niches that have far less competition.
You might be concerned about the smaller markets you’re tapping into, but sometimes it’s actually better to target these terms with lower searches.
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Why is it better?
Think how long it could take you to try and rank for a term with 100,000 monthly searches. Let’s say after a few months work you still can’t get into the top 10. Even if you’re in 11th place (first on the second page) – you might only get 1% of clicks for that search. That’s 1,000 clicks a month. Compare this to a niche term with only 5,000 searches. Let’s say this term is much easier to rank for (as it should be) and you manage to get first place on Google. That could get you around 34% of clicks for that term, or 1,700 clicks.
See? The long-tail works better in this instance, and that’s ignoring that you might actually be able to rank for multiple long-tail niche terms in the time it takes you to rank for one broad one.
Also, if you do finally manage to get on the first page of Google for a broad term, you’ll always be under threat from your competition. You might be on the first page one day and then bumped down the very next day.
Another important factor to remember with long-tails is that they can actually deliver more of the right sort of visitor, one that’s already fine-tuned and pre-selected for your niche. And one that’s more likely to spend money.
Why do long-tail keywords provide more of the right sort of visitor?
When you try and rank for those generic terms, lots of people who arrive at your site won’t actually be looking for what you’re offering. You’ll be trying to get as many people to click as possible, but a lot of this will be wasted bandwidth. With the right long-tail additions, you’ll be able to get more of the right sort of visitor.
If someone searches for a really specific search term, they might think that there’s a low chance they’re really going to find what they’re looking for. When they see that your site fits their exact niche search, they’ll already be switched on to your message and have a level of loyalty towards you.
Not only that, but certain long-tail terms actually deliver people who know they’re going to spend some money. These are the sort of active terms you’ll want to target, ones that deliver people who know they’re about to spend some money rather than those who are looking for a free ride.
What are some good long-tail keyword additions?
Try adding something like “discount”. People who search for that know they’re going to spend some money, they just want to see if they can make a saving. If you can offer the saving they’re looking for, you could make a sale. These are the sort of active keywords you want to target.
Another good addition is “review”. People also like to add the current year to their search as there’s so much old, outdated info out there.
Another one you could try is “scam”. It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but people like to search for this when they first hear of a product to check it’s not a scam. Be there to reassure them (as long as you’re sure it isn’t) and this could work.
What are some long-tail keywords to avoid?
While “active” keywords are good, “passive” ones aren’t. People who search for things like “free” are often not looking to spend any money, so these are the sorts of keywords you’ll want to avoid.