Whether you’re a greenhorn blogger or a seasoned digital marketer, one thing is clear: keyword research is an integral part of your content creation process.
Identifying the right keywords is akin to unlocking a secret code that propels your content to the top of search engine results, making it discoverable by your target audience.
This guide dives into one specific type of keyword that often gets overlooked but is a game-changer for content visibility – the long-tail keyword.
Let’s begin!
Understanding Long Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are specific, usually three to five-word phrases that visitors are likely to use when they’re closer to making a purchase or when they’re using voice search.
They’re less competitive, highly targeted, and have a better conversion rate than generic, highly competitive keywords.
Why Long Tail Keywords Matter
The beauty of long tail keywords lies in their specificity. The broader the keyword, the more competition you’ll face in ranking for it.
Conversely, with long tail keywords, you’re likely to face less competition and enjoy high conversion rates because you’re targeting a specific audience who knows exactly what they want.
Tools for Finding Long Tail Keywords
Before getting to ‘how you can find long tail keywords’ it’s important to know what tools you can use to do so. There are numerous resources available for finding long tail keywords. Let’s delve into some of the most effective ones.
Google Keyword Planner: A free Google Ads tool for new or experienced advertisers, it’s like a workshop for building new Search Network campaigns. You can search for keyword and ad group ideas, see how a list of keywords might perform, and even create a new keyword list by multiplying several lists of keywords together.
Moz Keyword Explorer: This tool provides keyword suggestions, SEO competition, opportunity, SERP features, saved lists, and even your own keyword history.
Ahrefs: A comprehensive SEO tool, Ahrefs can help you find long-tail keywords related to your main keyword and give you insights regarding the volume, difficulty, and potential traffic.
SEMrush: SEMrush helps you find long tail and related keywords, provide data on their difficulty, volume, trend, and number of results in SERP.
How to Find Long Tail Keywords: The 4 Steps
Here I have explained how you can find long tail keywords step by step using Google Keyword Planner as it is a free tool available online.
Google Keyword Planner, a feature within Google Ads, is a treasure trove for marketers and content creators alike. It provides insights into search volumes, keyword trends, competition levels, and even bid estimates for advertising campaigns.
1. Use the Keyword Discovery Tool
Accessing the keyword discovery tool is straightforward:
- Sign in to your Google Ads account.
- Click on ‘Tools & Settings’ at the top of the page.
- Under ‘Planning’, choose ‘Keyword Planner’.
The Keyword Planner tool offers two primary functions: ‘Discover new keywords’ and ‘Get search volume and forecasts’. For our long tail keyword research, we’ll focus on the first function.
2. Searching for Specific Long Tail Keywords
The ‘Discover new keywords’ function allows you to enter words, phrases, or a URL related to your business to generate a list of relevant keywords. Here are some techniques for uncovering those valuable long tail keywords:
- Include Specific Details: If you’re selling a product or service, think about what specific details a potential customer might search for. For example, instead of ‘coffee beans’, try ‘organic fair trade coffee beans’.
- Use Conversational Phrases: Consider how people speak, especially with the rise of voice search. Phrases like ‘where can I buy organic fair trade coffee beans’ could be used.
Remember, the goal is not to find the most searched keywords but those that are relevant and face less competition.
3. Analyzing Keywords Difficulty
Understanding the competition and difficulty level of a keyword is crucial in determining whether it’s worth targeting.
Interpreting these metrics can guide your keyword selection:
- A high competition level might make it hard to rank for a keyword, but it also indicates high interest.
- A high top-of-page bid points to a potentially profitable keyword but also means you’ll face more competition.
- So try to find a keywords that have a low keyword difficulty, you can use semrush and other tools to check keyword difficulty directly.
4. Analyzing Keyword Trends
Google Keyword Planner also provides historical search data, giving you insights into how a keyword’s popularity has changed over time. By analyzing these trends, you can identify seasonal opportunities and plan your content accordingly.
For example, ‘gift ideas for Mother’s Day’ might peak in searches around April and May, indicating a potential window for targeted content.
Case Studies and Examples
To better understand the effectiveness of long-tail keywords, let’s look at a few success stories.
Company A used to rely solely on head keywords for their content strategy. After a strategic shift towards long-tail keywords, they noticed a 20% increase in organic traffic, and their conversion rate improved by 30%.
Company B, an e-commerce company, decided to incorporate long-tail keywords into their product descriptions. As a result, they saw a 50% increase in the time users spent on their site, and sales increased significantly.
Additional Strategies to Find Long Tail Keywords
Here are some additional tips and tricks to keep in mind when conducting keyword research:
- Analyze Search Intent: Understand what your audience is looking for when they type in a search query.
- Consider User Questions and Queries: Use question-based long-tail keywords that your audience might ask about your product or service.
- Analyze Competitor Keywords: Look at the keywords your competitors are ranking for. These can give you ideas for long-tail variations.
- Use Keyword Variations and Modifiers: Try different combinations of your primary keyword to come up with potential long-tail keywords.
- Use Google Autosuggest: When you start typing a search query into Google, it will automatically suggest popular related keywords. This can give you ideas for long-tail keywords that people are actually searching for.
- Utilize Social Media Platforms: Look at hashtags and keywords that are trending on social media platforms to get a sense of what your target audience is interested in.
- Collaborate with Your Team: Brainstorm with your team members to come up with unique long-tail keyword ideas.
- Monitor Analytics: Keep an eye on your website analytics to see which long-tail keywords are bringing in the most traffic and conversions. Use this data to refine your keyword strategy.
- Stay Updated: Continuously monitor and adapt to changes in search algorithms, trends, and user behavior to ensure your long-tail keywords are still effective.
By incorporating these additional tips and tricks into your keyword research process, you can fine-tune your efforts and stay ahead of the competition. Additionally, it is important to regularly revisit and update your long-tail keywords as search algorithms and user behaviour evolve.
Remember, effective long-tail keyword research is not a one-time task but an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and adaptation.
Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of long-tail keywords in driving organic traffic and conversions for your website. While they may not bring in high volumes of traffic, they attract a more targeted and relevant audience that is more likely to engage with your content.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, long-tail keywords can be the secret sauce that gives your SEO a much-needed boost. They may not bring in the highest traffic, but they attract the most relevant audience.
So, take time to research, explore different tools, and find those perfect long-tail keywords that will help your content shine in the crowded digital marketplace.
Happy keyword hunting!