Since Google introduced its latest search algorithm – Google Hummingbird in September 2013, long tail keywords optimization in SEO strategy has been of more importance than ever. Its search engine is said to be way smarter when shifting its focus to the whole query meaning and decipher users’ intent behind each question. Pages that satisfy the semantic search better would rank higher than pages only matching a few words in the query. This is when long tail keywords step up to the plate.
So what are long tail keywords?
Simply put, they are keyword phrases with at least three to five words that make up a more specific query than a “head term” or broad keyword. For example, “WordPress theme” is a short tail term while “Best free WordPress themes for portfolio” or “Where to find best free WordPress themes” are the long tail ones. People often use these longer keywords to narrow down the search and get access to their desired content right away.
Why are they so important?
Firstly, long tail keywords will bring you less competition when it comes to search volume of keywords. Let’s say you are a new kid on the WordPress block, trying to grab searchers’ attention from big terms like “WordPress”, “WordPress blog” or “WordPress plugins”, how is the chance of getting noticed? I would say very little as big guys always stay on top of the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Hence targeting the right long tail keywords which are more detailed and descriptive like “WordPress blog for business” would make you the king in your own niche, avoid being crushed along the raceway and have a better chance that your site will show up on the first page of search engines.
Secondly, isn’t it true that quality traffic matters after all? Short and popular keywords may earn you huge search volume, but still they do not yield high conversion rate. People searching for “WordPress theme” have yet a clear idea of what they want and still enjoy the browsing process. People who search for “responsive WordPress theme for news site”, however, know exactly what they need and will be more likely ready to buy or engage. In other words, longer keywords would make it easier to convert your blog traffic into leads.
And lastly, if you run any Adword campaigns then using long tail keywords is more cost-effective. A PPC (pay per click) campaign can be very costly for popular keywords while they do not assure you a good traffic from target visitors. Long tail keywords are less competitive and hence mean less burden on your ad budget.
Choose your right keywords
It has always been a tough job when it comes to picking keywords for your business. No one could come to you and say “hey, this should be the right keywords for your business and you should use them”. Unless you have a thick wallet to afford hiring a SEO agency for that job, otherwise we all have to figure out ourselves. Here are some popular sources where you can rely on to find your ideal keywords.
Keyword search tools
One of the most reliable keyword tools you can count on is Google Keyword Tool. For those who are working with Google Adwords, I guess you must be familiar with this tool already. If it is not the case then you should start getting to know it today. The tool is free and come along in your Google Adwords account. Simply sign up for one and you will find this tool under the Tools menu. The tool supports 4 ways to plan your keywords strategy which are:
- Search for new keywords and ad group ideas
- Get search volume for a list of keywords
- Get traffic estimates for a list of keywords
- Multiply keyword lists to get new keyword ideas
For each method, you have options to choose your target audience and date range. Check this tool out and you will not be disappointed.
Also, you can use other WordPress plugins for keyword research such as Squirrly and Scribe. Both are integrated directly into your blog post editor and have proven to be quite accurate in their measurement.
Another trick that you can get keyword ideas is using Google Search. Everytime you type keywords in the Google search field, auto-suggestions would abruptly drop down to lend you more ideas on popular combination of words. The best thing is those suggestions are based on real searches.These suggested search terms are what users most likely search for and it’s good to follow the trend and try not to choose keywords that are so unique that no one ever searches for it.
Google also suggests related keywords at the end of each result page for your reference. It is advisable that you employ your existing short tail keywords as the major words to make up a longer terms. And remember to evaluate these suggestions and make your own judgement before using any of them.
Keywords that drive traffics to your website
This is one of the most important source to look at. Of course this only happens if your site has been running for a while. Why? Because by then you would have some value data from Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools.
Both Google Analytics and Webmaster tools provide you main keywords and search queries that users search for your site.
For Google Analytics, simply access your account and go to Reporting Dashboard, under Acquisition, click on Keywords then Organic. Here come the list of keywords along with useful statistics. Sometimes Google Analytics doesn’t give you the list of keywords however, they do provide good hints which we can dig into from that.
This is where Webmaster tools come in handy. Webmaster tools provide you a full list of search queries that bring traffic to your site. You need to focus on those that actually bring the most volume of traffic and attract most clicks to your site.
Learn from competitors
It’s wise to learn from your competitors. This is all about checking what others are doing with their long tail keywords, which keywords they are targeting, and learn from that. Either you can target the same keywords list or make out your own distinct keyword plan for less competition and more targeted results.
In Short
Settling on the right keywords is the first step and how you use and integrate them into your website content will be another story. Google loves quality content more than ever. Whichever keywords that you choose, make sure you use them wisely on your site. To get quality traffic from specific long tail keywords, we do not need a keyword-stuff content but one that engages people and succeeds to answer questions or solve whatever problems that drew users to your site in the first place.