Long Tail Keywords: What are They and How to Use Them

Writing fun and informative content can turn your website into a treasure mine for your target audiences.

However, attracting your target audience requires more than just great content. You also have to tell search engineswhat searchers want (SEO).

Search engines scan keywords that align with what users type into search engine queries. When a search engine finds keywords in your article, it recommends them on its results page (This is a simple explanation).

This article will explain long-tail keywords, why they are worth considering and how to use them.

What are long-tail keywords?

Long-tail keywords are search terms that tend to get a small number of monthly queries. They are typically longer and more specific than their main keywords and have a lower search volume.

They also increase conversion since the searcher is more intent on making a purchase or decision.

For example, For the keyword “iPhone charger,” the searcher might be researching the different types of iPhone chargers on the market, so the long-tail keyword version might be “best iPhone charger for iPhone 13 Pro Max.” That is a specific query term that shows the searcher intends to make a purchase soon.

Why are they called “long-tail” keywords?

Long-tail keywords are at the tail end of the “search demand” curve. A small number of main keywords account for most of the search queries.

At the tail end, you have specific keywords that only provide thousands, hundreds, or even tens of search queries per month.

What makes a search query a long-tail keyword is its search volume in relation to the “head” keyword.

How long should a long-tail keyword be?

Long-tail keywords get their identity by their search volume and not their length. There are long keywords that get millions of monthly searches.

On the other hand, there are one-word keywords that get less than 100 searches in a month.

What makes long-tail keywords so great?

Long-tail keywords are worth the attention they get. Here are four reasons you should include a long-tail keyword in your SEO strategy.

1. Long-tail keywords are generally easy to rank for

If your blog is in the early stages, you are better off targeting long-tail keywords. These keywords are easy to rank. Why? Because there’s a lot less competition for the keywords.

So, if you just launched a blog on “running shoes,” you are better off targeting long-tail keywords like “the best affordable running shoes for men in Canada.”

With this approach, you can get on the first page of the search results quickly and get some traffic to your site.

As you build your site credibility and trustworthiness, you can begin to aim for other competitive keywords.

2. Long-tail keywords are easier to generate content for

“Running shoes” might seem like something you can address quickly. But if you check the top-ranking pages for that keyword, you will find top eCommerce and fitness brands populating the first three pages. Plus, over half a billion web pages are competing for that keyword.

But when you use a long-tail keyword like “best affordable running shoes for men in Canada,” the competition drops to about less than a million.

What does this mean for your content?

If you’re competing with 500 million web pages, your website content and SEO features must be near-perfect to rank. Besides, it may never happen, why?

Because you’re competing with big brands that have spent years building their website’s authority and SEO. That means, you may never be able to beat Nike or Amazon web pages regardless of how great your content is.

However, with less than a million competitors, you can get by with above-average content and SEO because you have lesser competition. Therefore, for long-tail keywords, optimizing your website content and SEO requires less work.

3. Long-tail keywords provide a lot of options

There are thousands of long-tail keywords in each industry. Although they might not pull massive traffic on their own, they can compound your website traffic.

With basic SEO techniques like link-building, you can redistribute the traffic you get from long-tail keywords to other articles on your site. As your website gains ranking, you’ll continue to rank high for all the long tail keywords you target.

4. Long-tail keyword allows you to target more than one keyword

Most times, long-tail keywords will include your primary keyword. So, by writing around them, you’re also targeting your primary keyword.

For example, say you optimize for “the best affordable running shoes for men in Canada” instead of just “running shoes.”

Then you’ve optimized for both keywords because the main keyword is contained within your long-tail keyword.

How to find long-tail keywords

There are many ways to find long-tail keywords. We will explore four simple ways if you discover and implement long tail keywords.

1. Use the BuzzSumo Keyword Research tool

To use BuzzSumo’s new keyword research tool, you need to have a list of the main keywords you want to target.

Say you are targeting “running shoes.” Type in “running shoes” into the BuzzSumo keyword research tool, and you will find many long-tail keywords.

You can then incorporate these keywords in your article title and content.

2. Use BuzzSumo Question Analyzer

Having an optimized long-tail keyword is not enough to get the first page. You also need to provide content that solves people’s problems.

With BuzzSumo Question Analyzer, you can figure out how the questions people are asking.

Type in “running shoes” through the BuzzSumo Question Analyzer, and you will get thousands of topic ideas. You can also switch to the “Related Themes” tab to get more ideas on the topic.

3. Use the KWFinder Long-Tail Keyword Research Tool

The KWFinder tool provided by Mongools is an excellent way to find long tail keywords and other information like top competitors and search volume.

Run your search term by the KWFinder long-tail keyword research tool and go through the results to find words that are relevant to your search and likely to be used by your target audience.

How to use your long-tail keywords

After researching your long-tail keywords, the next step is using them on your website. When search users use search queries related to the long tail keywords in your article, the search engine believes that your website is relevant to the visitor.

However, avoid overstuffing your article with keywords. Search engines can detect keyword stuffing and will penalize you for it.

Instead, write your articles naturally based on the long-tail keywords you target. Incorporate the keyword in crucial elements such as the meta heading, meta description, headings, paragraphs, and alt text.

You should always be mindful when creating your content around your keywords. If you use long keywords like “the best affordable running shoes for men in Canada,” it would be weird to use them more than five times in the same article.

You can use a content optimizer like Clearscope to determine how optimized your keywords are. You can also use AI writing tools like Jasper.ai to create compelling and optimized content quickly.

Here are some ways to use long-tail keywords

·      Sales-based long-tail keywords

Suppose your content/website is aiming to encourage visitors to make a purchase. In that case, you must incorporate long-tail keywords related to a product or service.

For example, “men’s blue Adidas running shoes discount.”

This keyword is best suited for product pages and price comparison articles.

·      Location-based long-tail keywords

These keywords are best for businesses in a physical location. So, if you operate a shoe store in LA, you could use something like:

“Best affordable running shoes in LA”

If you are a shoe blogger without a store, you can produce a review of the best shoe stores in the area to rank for that term.

·      Knowledge-based long-tail keywords

This type of keyword works best if you are providing solutions to problems. Keeping with our example, you can target a long-tail keyword such as:

“What is the best Adidas running shoe for beginners?”

This keyword is excellent for comparison articles and buying guides.

·      Action-based long-tail keywords

Action-based long-tail keywords are for people who want advice on how or why to do something.

Example: “how to care for running shoes”

You can make this into a detailed step-by-step guide.

·      Group similar long-tail terms keywords

Suppose you have a list of similar long-tail keywords. In that case, you should incorporate them into a single post instead of making individual posts for each.

With a single post, the Search Engine knows how to rank your content with other similar scopes.

When you have three pages on the same topic, the Algorithm may not know which to give higher priority, so it doesn’t rank any of the three.

Conclusion

Long tail keywords are fantastic because they help you tell search engines and your audience that you have valuable information for them.

With the tips in this guide, you can fine-tune your SEO strategy and get consistent subtle growth in search traffic to your site.