When working on their first search marketing campaign, most beginners mistakenly chase after high-volume, popular keywords instead of ‘rank-able’, relevant phrases. However, time and experience have taught us that it can be difficult, if not downright impossible, to rank for high-volume keywords.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have key phrases that don’t have much competition, are easier to rank for and attract traffic in much more palatable timeframes?

Well, that’s long-tail keywords for you!

These are longer and a lot less common – with a little more work, they can account for most of your search traffic. Also, long-tail keywords make up 70% of all web searches. So it pays to use them as a part of your search marketing strategy.

So for instance, if your general keyword is ‘men’s fitness’, further hone it to ‘men’s fitness tips’. From there, refine it further to long-tail keywords like ‘men’s fitness tips for over 50’ or ‘men’s fitness tips from experts’ etc.

All The Reasons Why Using Long-Tail Keywords Is A Good Idea

Long-tail keywords are the ultimate weapon in a digital marketer’s arsenal. These can help you rank higher and far quicker without any sweat and tears (mostly!).

With experience, you will find that some long-tail keywords also convert better than short-tail keywords since they’re a lot more precise and focused.

Here are five advantages of long-tail keywords:

1. Lower Competition

Consider this:

Men’s fitness    –             1,230,000,000 results found on Google

Men’s fitness tips for over 50     –             436,000,000 results found on Google

Men’s fitness food tips                 –             About 380,000,000 results found on Google

So the longer a phrase is, the less competition it has. By using a long-tail keyword, you will rank higher and stay on top for longer – in other words, don’t waste your time on generic or short keywords.

2. Better Targeted Traffic

While long-tail keywords don’t increase traffic by much, the resulting conversion rates are often astronomical.

Think about it; would you rather have 50 people walk into your store and have 15 of them buy something or have a 1000 people walk-in only for 5 of them to buy?

The fact of the matter is that visitors who end up on your site after typing in a long-tail phrase are probably just the ones you are targeting.

3. Long-Tails Also Target Your Head Words

Bidding on long-tail keywords is an excellent idea because your nuclear terms are already included and you aren’t paying extra. For example, ‘Men’s fitness tips for over 50’ contains ‘Men’s fitness’ anyway.

When you try to rank for a long-tail key phrase, you are killing two birds with one stone.

4. All You Need Is Google Analytics

Don’t worry about where you’ll find these keywords – simply go to Google Analytics (GA) to see what particular phrases and terms people use to end up on your site.

Your GA dashboard will also tell you which phrases were used how many times and which ones are the best for conversions.

5. On-page Optimisation Is Easier

Long-tail keywords are easier to optimise for as you don’t need many of them and they also sound more natural when incorporated into your content. This enhances readability, leads to a better user experience and ultimately helps with conversions.

In Conclusion

Now you know that there are many reasons to optimise your website and content for long-tail keywords. Remember, these keywords rank easier, convert better and have less competition.

Let us know how you’ve used or plan to use long-tail keywords and how these have had a powerful impact on your bottom-line.