This article will tell you everything you need to know about long-tail keywords, including the difference between long-tail keywords and short-tail keywords. For more help with long-tail keywords, contact SEO Design Chicago today!
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Long-Tail Keyword
A long-tail keyword is a group of words that make your search more specific. These words usually result in less results, but the results themselves are more precise to what a person is searching for. An example of long-tail keywords would be searching for “Italian paintings created in the 1600’s in Milan,” instead of just searching for “Italian paintings.”
Long Tail vs. Short Tail Keywords
A short-tail keyword is using only one or maybe two words to generate a search. By using only one or two words, a person can turn up a lot more results, but they will be much less specific, and can lead to results the user may not have been looking for.
Short-tail keywords end up vying for much more web traffic, as they are more likely to be used than long-tailed keywords are. A person is much more likely to search simply for “cake”, than a specific kind of cake, like “ice cream cake.”
Since short-tail keywords are highly competitive for attracting advertisers, a better strategy is to invest your advertising budget into a greater number of long-tail keywords, as this can lead to more views for a less amount of money.
Short and Long-Tail Keywords for SEO
When using search engine optimization, or SEO, one’s goal is to direct as much web traffic to your website as possible. This in turn generates more clicks and exposure to a website, which can help sell more of a company’s product. A short-tail keyword can help to begin a search if a person is unsure of what they are looking for. Simply typing in “food” will yield a massive and diverse list of every kind of food out there. This will result in options ranging from fast food, to sit down restaurants, different recipes, grocery stores, and more.
Now, if a person knows that they want fast food, they can type in “fast food,” which is still a short-tail keyword, and will result in every fast food establishment in the area popping up. This still leaves the searcher with a huge amount of options, and makes it hard to narrow down the focus of the search.
This is where long-tail keywords would come into play. By typing in something such as “Mexican fast food near me,” the only results you will get are fast food restaurants that serve Mexican style cuisine near you. This makes choosing a potential restaurant to eat at much easier, as you do not need to sift through all the fast food restaurants in the area to find the ones serving Mexican-style food.
This is why search engine optimization tends to focus on long-tail keywords, as they are more like to give you a higher return on investment. This is important because if you are utilizing search engine optimization, then you want to spend the least amount of money to generate the best results.
Why Choose Long-Tail Keywords?
The best way to get an optimal return on investment is to choose the best long-tail keywords for your website. Then, tailor your website to feature those words the most, in order to generate the most traffic to your website. When someone attempts to Google your business, you want to have your website feature the most amount of words relevant to what business they are searching for.
Using the most effective keywords is the best way to accomplish that. By featuring a good volume of long tail keywords throughout your website, you can generate a good amount of traffic for your website. A short-tail keyword is a great starting point for a website, but you must then add onto it in order to distinguish yourself from your competitors.
The Benefits of Long-Tail Keywords
The benefits of using long-tail keywords are that they attract more website traffic when compared to using short tail keywords. The search demand curve dictates that long-tail keywords make up around forty percent of the total monthly search volume by everyone on the internet. That is a massive number, and demonstrates why using those keywords is an effective method of attracting people to your website.
The more specifically you tailor your website and web pages to a specific search category, the much less competition you will have. For example, if you run a massage clinic that focuses on acupuncture, and you design your website to highlight words such as acupuncture, needles, dry-needling, or Eastern medicine, you would be more likely to gain web traffic then a business who simply puts massage on their website, as there is less competition you would have to work against.
In order to maximize this, you can add additional pages to your website featuring popular words or phrases that are currently being searched on the web. For example, during the summer time, a clothing company may add pages to feature more specific styles of swimsuits or discounted ones, so when people type in blue and white shark design bathing suits, they are more likely to be led to your site’s page which features said suit. All of this combines to generate more traffic to your website, which is the end goal for all websites.
Long-tail keywords are also very effective if you operate a niche business. They can help direct users who are looking for a specific and obscure product right to your website, instead of a short-tail keyword sending them somewhere that does not match their product needs at all.
The Benefits of Long-Tail Keywords in Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click advertising is a form of digital marketing strategy that means you only pay for an advertisement you place when someone clicks on it. The advertisement is displayed when the keywords associated with that advertisement are typed into the search bar. This means that choosing the right keywords is absolutely crucial in generating clicks on your advertisement. This is where long-tail keywords come into play. By choosing the right combination of keywords for your advertisement, you will be able to generate the most traffic for your advertisement.
Long-Tail Keywords in Google Ads
One form of pay-per-click advertising is Google Ads. These are the first results that pop up when you run a Google search. They say “ad” in bold black lettering next to the search result.
Because they are the first results to come up, they are a very good way to draw traffic to your website. This is because people will usually click on the first couple of options when searching for something. There are three different keyword types when it comes to using Google ads. They are broad match, exact match, and phrase match. What all of these keyword types have in common is that they are some form of a long-tail keyword. They all lead to more clicks generated for your website.
Get A Return on Your Investment with Long-Tail Keywords
Using a combination of long-tail keywords is the best way to get a large ROI, or return on investment for your advertisement. A return on investment is simply how much revenue you earn compared to how much money you spend on an ad campaign.
Google Ads draw the most possible views and traffic for your website. On average, Google Ads generate two dollars for every one dollar spent. Ads on Google are a very effective way to generate interest in your business. Many people use Google to search for everything from local businesses, restaurants, tourist destinations, and everything in between.
Find Your Niche
The best way to become more visible on Google Ads, and general pay-per-click advertisements, is to utilize long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords help find the best niches that people search. This is why it is best to focus on long-tail keywords, rather than short-tail keywords. There is much more competition for short-tail keywords. You would have to pay a lot more money for their advertisements, which is not a good strategy for running a successful advertising campaign.
Your search engine conversion rate goes up the more specific you are with which words you are targeting for Google searches. This means more clicks and more views to your website. After you decide what you want your website to primarily focus on, then you can tailor your long-tail keywords accordingly.
Find Your Target Audience
A great way to find which long-tail keywords will work for you is to find out who your target audience is. Then, you can personalize advertisements directed specifically at that target group, which results in a more effective campaign. Long-tail keywords are a crucial part in accomplishing this, and in online advertising in general.
Contact SEO Design Chicago today
SEO Design Chicago is a great place to learn how to choose the best long-tail keywords for your site. Contact SEO Design Chicago today for help choosing your long-tail keywords!
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