{"id":3743,"date":"2019-11-13T16:57:09","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T16:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.serplogic.com\/?p=3743"},"modified":"2022-04-22T06:29:05","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T06:29:05","slug":"long-tail-keywords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digicrest.com\/CLIENTS\/SERPLOGIC\/WP\/tutorials-case-studies\/long-tail-keywords\/","title":{"rendered":"10X Your Organic Search Traffic Quality by Focusing on Long-Tail Keywords"},"content":{"rendered":"

Targeting long-tail keywords in your SEO campaigns can deliver amazing results in the form of highly qualified \u2018buyer-intent\u2019 traffic, which generates more leads due to higher conversion rates.<\/p>\n

Far too many people are focused only on the search volume of a particular keyword and they completely ignore the relevance and intent behind the keyword. Having thousands of visitors hitting your website every day sounds great, but if they aren\u2019t converting they are completely useless.<\/p>\n

So, what is a long-tail keyword? Let me give you a quick example.<\/p>\n

We will use a weight loss clinic in Los Angeles, California as an example.<\/p>\n

Keywords like \u201cweight loss doctors\u201d and \u201cweight loss clinic\u201d will have high search volumes. According to Google\u2019s Keyword Planner, \u201cweight loss doctors\u201d receives upwards of 10,000 searches a month and \u201cweight loss clinic\u201d is upwards of 100,000 monthly searches.<\/p>\n

Now, the odds of ranking for those keywords is slim to none — that is without a multi-million dollar content marketing and SEO budget.<\/p>\n

So, to be competitive and pull in organic traffic, you have to think long-tail. Keywords like \u201cweight loss doctors near Los Angeles\u201d and \u201cweight loss clinic in Los Angeles\u201d are still going to be competitive, but they are going to be more realistic in terms of ranking potential.<\/p>\n

Also, they are going to deliver a higher quality visitor. Even if you were able to rank for those terms with massive search volume, the traffic isn\u2019t going to convert highly. Unless the person is local to Los Angeles it\u2019s useless.<\/p>\n

Targeting long-tail keywords has a slow ramp up phase, but once you get going and develop a system it can lead to a snowball effect. Ranking number one for a keyword that attracts 10 searches a month doesn\u2019t sound appealing until you learn that it converts at 10%, delivering one client.<\/p>\n

Then, when you start to scale, and rank for 100 of those type of terms, all converting highly, you see that long-tails are not only easier to rank for, but they drive the highest possible traffic, quality-wise, to your website. Good content and solid onsite SEO combined with a few high quality links<\/a> is usually all it takes to rank these high converting terms too.<\/p>\n

Trust me, you want to make long-tail keywords part of your SEO strategy now more than ever. Let me jump right into why this is the case.<\/h2>\n

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Voice Search Makes \u2018Real Language\u2019 Long-Tail Keywords Highly Lucrative<\/h3>\n

As how we use the internet evolves, so does the strategy we implement in order to continue to be found in Google\u2019s search results, as its algorithm is always changing.<\/p>\n

But, as the internet evolves, so do the way we search along with the devices we use to access information. Voice search is so convenient, so naturally consumers are going to quickly adapt to it<\/a> and as more people try it they will see how much easier it is.<\/p>\n

There is no need to open a browser on a mobile device and type. You just talk into your phone, as a question, and see the results. It\u2019s seconds faster, and every saved second is a reason to opt for a voice search over traditional Google searches. So, in addition to optimizing your SEO for long-tail Google searches, you need to optimize for long-tail voice searches. Let me explain.<\/p>\n

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Along with Google You Need to Focus on Alexa and Siri (Voice Search)<\/h4>\n

When someone performs a voice search they aren\u2019t using short \u2018exact match\u2019 keywords. They are using sentences, as in real conversation sentences. So, when you create content you need to optimize it for Google search terms, as well as long-tail complete sentence searches, which is designed to target voice search.<\/p>\n

The good news is that most voice searches are location-based, so it\u2019s much easier to create long-tail purpose content that satisfies traditional and voice search optimization needs. Now, don\u2019t mistake this for me claiming that voice search is going to make traditional search obsolete, because that won\u2019t happen anytime soon.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just important that you understand how you can focus on long-tail keywords and search phrases to help you attract quality traffic from multiple platforms now. Search has more human-elements now than it ever has.<\/p>\n

No longer can you build links and optimize for a keyword like \u201cflower shop\u201d for a local florist in Dallas, Texas. Traditional search needs to target long-tail keyword variations like \u201cflower shop in Dallas\u201d or \u201clocal florist in Dallas,\u201d while voice search is going to me more conversational-style long-tails like, \u201clocal florist in Dallas that sells roses\u201d and \u201cflower shop in Dallas that is open on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Future of Voice Search is Gray so Preparation is Key<\/h4>\n

There has been so many articles published recently about voice search and optimizing<\/a> for Alexa and Siri, and while it\u2019s good to speculate, it\u2019s also important to understand that nobody knows how it will evolve.<\/p>\n

Will it be big? Will it be a game changer? Of course, but how it will all unfold is a mystery.<\/p>\n

Will voice search become so dominant that all old content optimized for traditional search becomes useless? It\u2019s possible. The best defense against uncertainty is preparation. And that includes putting a lot of effort into long-tail keywords and \u2018human language\u2019 search strings and queries.<\/p>\n

I can promise you that if you are proactive and start targeting these types of long-tail keywords and search phrases now you will be prepared and in a much better position than you would be if you sit back and wait to see how it all unfolds. Now is the time to get ahead of the competition in terms of preparation.<\/p>\n

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Locally-Focused Long-Tail Keywords Help You Compete Against \u2018Big Boy\u2019 Competition<\/h3>\n

If you focus your SEO strategy on local<\/a> keywords you can compete against the largest brands, just on a much smaller scale. Google search is quickly evolving into a more location-based solution.<\/p>\n

Just look at the local results these days, and how much they have changed over the years. Just a couple years ago there was the \u201clocal map pack\u201d and it was big news when that would change in terms of how many results were displayed on top. It bounced around, from ten, five, three, etc.<\/p>\n

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Local Search Results Even With No Local-Intent<\/h4>\n

Now, even if your search isn\u2019t local-specific, you are going to have local results returned to you. If you search something broad like \u201cbest pizza,\u201d and you are in San Diego, you\u2019re going to get local pizza restaurants in the Map results and then very local-specific articles published by local media, like \u201cTop 10 Pizza Restaurants in San Diego\u201d style articles, to various directories, like Yelp, Trip Advisor and Foursquare.<\/p>\n

They key here is that the results are all location-based, even though one wasn\u2019t specified. Google\u2019s algorithm assumes that if you are searching from San Diego, then you want to know where the best pizza is located in that specific city, and not Miami, for example.<\/p>\n

This new trend and change gives you a major advantage, across all niches and for businesses that sell services to those that sell products. The SERPs used to be dominated by the \u2018big boy\u2019 brands, like Amazon and Walmart for retail, and the major media outlets like Forbes and HuffPost for anything related to services or information.<\/p>\n

Now that is just not the case any longer, and if you look at how many of the large media sites are laying off writers and cutting staff, it\u2019s a very good indication that they are losing even more organic visibility as Google really focuses its algorithm on location-based results.<\/p>\n

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Google Search is Changing Rapidly: Be Prepared or Be Left Behind<\/h4>\n

Less organic traffic for these media outlets that once dominated, generates less advertising revenue, requiring cutbacks just to stay afloat.<\/p>\n

So, what can you do to create long-tail keywords that have location intent in them? Here are some simple ways to consider:<\/p>\n

Make sure you optimize your content by including long-tail variations that include city, state and zip code, along with a phone number. All of this comes into play, and it\u2019s going to benefit you tremendously as Google\u2019s algorithm becomes even more advanced.<\/p>\n

Example: if there are two results that the algorithm considers \u201crelevant\u201d based on the location, but one was also optimized for the phone number, don\u2019t you think Google will be smart enough to match the area code with the location? Of course it will. That result then becomes more relevant and likely to be what the user is looking for, resulting in Google displaying it above the other similar result.<\/p>\n

Speculation? Yes, a little. But when you consider how search has changed just in the last year alone you will understand that thinking like this isn\u2019t so far-fetched.<\/p>\n

Locally-focused long-tail keywords have much less competition right now because not everyone sees the opportunity or is paying close enough attention to how the SERPs are changing. I look at the SERPs daily and I\u2019m constantly seeing new changes. It\u2019s advancing at a rapid rate — unlike anything the SEO industry has every experienced prior.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m telling you — don\u2019t sleep on this. The sooner your focus shifts to long-tail keywords with location variables, the more prepared you will be for what\u2019s around the corner.<\/p>\n

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Long-Tail Specific \u2018Intent\u2019 Keywords Drive the Highest Quality Traffic<\/h3>\n

Not all keywords relevant to a specific niche, product, or service all have the same intent. It\u2019s important that you are able to distinguish the keywords that have information seeking intent from those that have conversion intent.<\/p>\n

Knowing how to categorize these will help you plan your strategy, allowing you to allocate the majority of your effort on those terms that are more likely to bring traffic that will convert.<\/p>\n

Do you want to also target information seeking keywords and search phrases? Yes, because you have the opportunity to attract traffic that might be a little cooler in terms of how ready they are to pull the trigger, but you can get them introduced to your business and maybe even get them into your funnel at the top stage.<\/p>\n

There are three stages of intent when it comes to online searches:<\/p>\n

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