Hey there, friend! Buckle up because you’re about to discover the secret weapon to skyrocket your traffic: long-tail keywords!
The Shocking Truth About Short Head Terms (and Why You Should Ignore Them)
You might be tempted to chase after those short, generic keywords, also known as head terms. Think of words like “tomato plant” or “indoor succulents.” These terms might seem popular, but they’re actually a trap. Why?
- High Competition: Head terms have massive search volumes, meaning everyone else is trying to rank for them. If your site is new, you’ll likely be swallowed by the competition and never see the light of the top search results.
- Low Conversion: People searching with short keywords often aren’t sure what they want. They’re just browsing. This means even if you rank for a head term, the traffic might not be very valuable because they are not ready to convert.
Long-Tail Keywords: The Unsung Heroes of SEO
Now, let’s talk about the real game-changers: long-tail keywords. These are longer, more specific search phrases that people use when they have a clear idea of what they’re looking for.
- Example: Instead of “tomato plant,” a long-tail keyword would be “why are tomato plants turning yellow”.
- More Specific = More Traffic That Converts: While they might have lower search volume than head terms, long-tail keywords attract a highly targeted audience with high conversion rates. People using long-tail keywords are actively searching for solutions, products, or information.
How to Find Long-Tail Keywords That Will Send Your Traffic Soaring!
Okay, so now you know why long-tail keywords are essential, but how do you find these gems? Let’s dive in:
- Start with Head Terms: Think of the main topics related to your website or business. For example, let’s say you want to write about “indoor succulents”. This will be your head term.
- Use a Keyword Research Tool: Tools like Keywords Everywhere (as shown in the source) can reveal long-tail keywords related to your head term. The tool shows you search volumes and related keywords.
- For example, the tool showed long-tail keywords related to “indoor succulents” such as: “how to care for indoor succulents”.
- Don’t Just Look at the Volume: While volume is important, remember that your main focus should be on a good mix of search volume and relevance. The tool may show you that a long-tail keyword such as “how to care for indoor succulents” has a much higher search volume than the head term, but you still need to check that the long-tail keyword is actually good for your specific topic.
- Analyze Top Ranking Pages: Look at the pages that are already ranking for your potential long-tail keywords. What keywords are they ranking for?
- You can use tools to see the keywords that drive traffic to specific URLs, including their search volume, the position they are ranking in search results, and the estimated traffic they generate.
- Look for Patterns: Identify patterns in successful long-tail keywords. Do they share modifiers? For instance, for the keyword “indoor succulents”, many successful long-tail keywords included the word “indoors” at the end, such as “how to care for succulents indoors”. This shows you that including “indoors” at the end of your long-tail keyword would be very beneficial.
- Think About Intent: What is the person searching for? For example, if you want to rank for content about succulent care, do you want to target people searching how to care for succulents in general, or do you specifically want to target people searching for how to care for indoor succulents?
- It might be helpful to create content targeting both! You could have a page about how to care for succulents in general, and then link to your other page about how to care for succulents indoors.
Case Study 1: The Curious Case of Indoor Succulents
Let’s explore the example of “indoor succulents”:
- Head Term: “indoor succulents” (low monthly search volume – around 30).
- Initial Long-Tail Keyword: “how to care for indoor succulents” (higher search volume).
Using a keyword research tool, we discover a treasure trove of long-tail keywords, many with much higher search volumes than the original head term. Analyzing the top ranking pages shows that:
- “How to care for succulents indoors” is a top performing long-tail keyword with good search volume.
- The modifier “indoors” is consistently placed at the end of the phrase.
Key Takeaway: The initial long-tail keyword, “how to care for indoor succulents,” wasn’t the best option. Instead, “how to care for succulents indoors” is better because it’s more aligned with what people are actually searching.
Case Study 2: Unmasking the Secrets to Losing Belly Fat
Let’s consider another example: “how to lose belly fat”.
- Head Term: “how to lose belly fat” (high monthly search volume – around 14,800).
- Initial Long-Tail Keywords: “lose belly fat exercise,” “how to lose belly fat overnight,” etc.
While the head term has a high volume, the source recommends to investigate the long-tail keywords associated with the head term. By using a keyword research tool we discover that the long-tail keyword “how to lose belly fat overnight” has a good search volume.
Analyzing the top ranking pages shows that:
- “Overnight” is a common modifier: Many top-ranking keywords include the word “overnight” at the end.
- “How to lose belly fat overnight” is a great keyword to target.
- “How to lose belly fat naturally in one week” is another potential long-tail keyword to target by creating a new article specifically for it.
Key Takeaway: By analyzing the long-tail keywords and seeing what pages rank well for these, you can find the best long-tail keywords to target.
Turning Keywords into Content
Once you’ve found your goldmine of long-tail keywords, it’s time to create content. Here are some tips:
- Create Dedicated Pages: Don’t try to cram all your keywords into one page. Create dedicated pages for each primary long-tail keyword.
- Use Long-Tail Keywords Naturally: Incorporate your main long-tail keyword and related keywords into your page’s title, headings, and body text. However, make sure that the keywords are used naturally.
- Don’t Forget the Modifiers: As shown in the case studies, certain keywords such as ‘indoors’ for the succulent example, and ‘overnight’ for the belly fat example, should be placed at the end of your main long-tail keyword.
- Mention other relevant long-tail keywords: Make sure to include other relevant long-tail keywords that you found when doing your research. The body copy of your page should mention these keywords.
- Internal Linking: Link your pages together. If you have a page about “how to care for succulents” link to your page that targets “how to care for succulents indoors” and vice versa.
Conclusion
The world of SEO might seem overwhelming, but mastering long-tail keywords will allow you to get ahead of the competition. Stop wasting your time targeting head terms that are too competitive. Instead, focus on long-tail keywords, which will bring targeted traffic with a high conversion rate. By using a keyword research tool, analyzing the top ranking pages, and identifying patterns, you can discover valuable keywords that will take your content to the top of search engine results.
FAQs
Are long-tail keywords always better than head terms? While long-tail keywords are generally better for driving targeted traffic and increasing conversion rates, head terms still have value. Head terms can be useful for understanding the general topic of your content, and you can use head terms to find the best long-tail keywords to target. It’s important to use a mix of both when deciding what keywords to target.
How many long-tail keywords should I target on a page? It’s best to focus on a primary long-tail keyword and use other related keywords naturally in your content. Don’t try to stuff too many keywords into one page. Instead, create individual pages for each target long-tail keyword.
How can I find even more long-tail keywords? Use a keyword research tool, and then look at the top ranking pages. These can be a great place to find more keyword ideas. Also, remember to think about what the user is trying to find when they search for a specific keyword. By analyzing top-ranking keywords, you can get new ideas about the best long-tail keywords to target.