A simple solution is to keep a log of your keywords and URLs in a spreadsheet software like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. That way you can more easily assess what content has already been published on a long tail keyword so you don’t make the mistake of duplicating it.
Why Are Long Tail Keywords Important?
Because there are such large amounts and infinite variations of long tail keyword searches a person might conduct, there are fewer total searches for each specific term or phrase you might be targeting for your website.
Long Tail Keyword Content Must Be Hyper-Specific
Because short tail keywords are general in nature, you never know what type of visitor you’re going to get, or what part of the customer journey (i.e., buyer’s cycle) they’re currently in.
For example, if a person was searching for a long tail query such as, “how to change brakes on a 2021 Toyota Camry”, the content must have specific instructions that apply the exact make, model, and year of that vehicle. Otherwise, the steps needed to perform the repair may not help the user complete the project.
If converting more website visitors into leads, customers, and sales is more important than general brand awareness, then long tail keywords are a better option for SEO and content publishing purposes.
Learn More About Long Tail Keywords
It’s common to see web pages focused on long tail keywords to be between 500-1,000 words in length, which is much easier to write than a web page that’s competing for a short tail keyword phrase with web pages that are 2,000-4,000 words or more.
Long Tail Keywords Can Rank Quickly
If you’re going to focus on a long tail SEO keyword strategy, then you must be prepared to write (or outsource) a lot of content for publishing.
Coming Up With New Keyword Ideas Can Be Hard
Although trillions of searches are performed on Google every year, publicly released data confirms that “15% of searches [Google] sees every day are new”.
Personalizing your content like this is a good benefit for both users and your business because you can publish the exact type of articles you need to support the various products and services your company offers.
Creating Topic Clusters Becomes Easier
Long tail keywords convert better because these keywords are more specific for the user. Long tail keywords have higher conversion rates for people who know more about what they want during a search, but the higher conversion value typically means less organic search traffic.
You should use long tail keywords when you want to rank your content in the search engines for specific keywords that have a high conversion value. Use short tail keywords when you want to rank web pages for general search queries to bring awareness to your brand or business.
Do Long Tail Keywords Convert Better?
However, while the advantages of long tail keywords are immense, there are also some disadvantages you need to be aware of too.
That means only 30% of searches at best are conducted for short tail keywords (also known as head terms) with only 1-2 words. (See long tail keywords vs short tail keywords for more information.)
Stephen Hockman is an entrepreneur and founder of SEO Chatter. He specializes in search engine optimization and digital marketing and has been fascinated with SEO since 2005. His goal is to share the best tips and news about search engine marketing to help you get more website traffic.
