Key Word Research: Why Long Tail Keywords are Important
Search engine research is a huge part of SEO and it all starts with typing words in a search box. However, not all keywords are created equal. Ranking high for the right kind of keywords can attract high quality leads to your business site.
Similarly, ranking high for wrong keywords not only reduces your ROI, but also wastes searchers’ time because what they look for might differ from what you offer. If you want to know more about how to develop the right keywords for your business, please continue.
How to Judge the Value of a Keyword
How much is a keywordworth to your website? For example, if you own an online pizza store, do you make more sales if people search “pepperoni pizza” or “vegan pizza?” To determine the right keywords for your business, you need to understand the connections between keywords and customer conversation rate.
Follow these basic steps to assess a keyword’s value:
1. Ask yourself: Is the keyword relevant to your website? Are you getting quality leads or financial returns from this keyword?
2. Search for the term in major search engines: Google, Yahoo, & Bing. See what sites are ranking high for your keyword and gain a rough idea about the competition.
3. Buy a sample campaign at Google for the keywords at Google AdWords, and/or Bing Adcenter. Test and track how well your keyword performs. Track impressions and conversion rate for 300 clicks.
4. Using the data you’ve collected, calculate the exact value of your keyword. For example, if your keyword drives 500 visitors to your website, ten of them purchase your products, resulting in a $500 net profit. Then your keyword is worth $1 per visitor to your website.
Understand the Long Tail of Keyword Demand
Long tail key words are long, unique search terms. For example, for the online pizza store, a long tail keyword might be the phrase “healthy, green, vegan pizza” while a general search term would be “pizza.”SEO experts love long tail keywords because they represent 70% of all the searches. In other words, they are in a higher demand than general short search terms. This is hardly surprising given that searchers are becoming more and more internet savvy and good at getting the information they want through longer, more specific keywords.
Also, long tail keywords generate higher quality leads to your website, because they catch people in their later phase of the buyer’s journey. For example, when people just search “delicious pizza,” they maybe browsing but when they search “pizza my heart big sur,” they are ready to order and eat!
The final little secret about long tail keywords is that their competition is usually less fierce. It may cost hundreds per click to rank for “pizza” but just a few dollars per click to rank for longer, more specific keywords.
Ignore the Long Tail at Your Peril.
Additional Resources
Key Word Research & Analysis
- Google Adword’s Keyword Tool
- Google Insights for Search
- Google Trends Keyword Demand Prediction
- Microsoft Advertising Intelligence
- Wordtracker’s Free Basic Keyword Demand
- Keyword Analysis Tool
Learn more:
Please read this Moz guide to find out more about keyword research.
Still confusing? Give us a call at (805)569-0050. We’d be happy to help and answer your questions!
