Think of a toolbox. Most toolboxes contain general-purpose tools, such as a claw hammer or a wrench. Some toolboxes may also contain more specialized tools, such as an Allen key or a diagonal cutting pliers.

Short-tail keywords can be thought of as general-purpose SEO tools, while long-tail keywords are tools designed for specific tasks. You may not use a specialized tool as often as a general-purpose tool, but when it comes to getting the job done right, it can be very useful.

What are long tail keywords?

Long-tail keywords are very specific search terms, usually 3-5 words long, that have relatively low search volume. While there are no official search volume standards, long-tail keywords typically have less than 1,000 monthly searches (MSV).

On the other hand, short-tail keywords, also called "head keywords," "head terms," ​​or "broad keywords," are short, common search terms. For example, "dutch oven" is a short keyword, while "blue enamel dutch ovens for sale" or "how to choose a dutch oven" are long-tail keywords.

The most notable characteristic of long-tail keywords is their low search volume. The name "long tail" refers to the far end of the search volume demand curve, which contains many potential keywords with low search volume. Therefore, long-tail keywords tend to have less competition, lower keyword difficulty scores, and higher conversion rates than short-tail keywords.

Long tail keyword examples

SEO strategists build long-tail keywords around seed keywords. Seed keywords are the basic terms that are used to start keyword research, and they are terms that do not include keyword modifiers such as “best” or “near me.” Seed keywords are used as a starting point to discover relevant keywords and create content to optimize for search engines.

Related long-tail keywords can include seed keywords or related keywords like “car” instead of “auto.” Long-tail keywords often include keyword modifiers like “better” or “best,” which increases the specificity of the search query.

Here are some examples of long-tail keywords extracted from Google Keyword Planner, centered around the seed keyword “makeup”:

Long tail keywords	Monthly search volume	competition
How to put mascara on your bottom lashes	10–100	Low
Makeup tips for zoom meetings	10–100	Low
Concealer for hyperpigmentation	100–1,000	High
Vitiligo makeup cream	10–100	Low

Topic (long-tail keyword) and auxiliary (long-tail keyword)

Long-tail keywords can be divided into two types: topical long-tail keywords and supporting long-tail keywords. Supporting long-tail keywords are less common variations of popular search terms, while topical long-tail keywords represent unique search topics.

For example, "my tire is completely flat, what do I do" (100-1,000 monthly searches, low competition) is a secondary long-tail keyword because it is related to the shorter keyword "changing tire". Search engines will rank the same page for all secondary long-tail keywords related to the same parent topic, so this type of keyword may be more competitive to rank for.

Benefits of Using Long Tail Keywords in Your SEO Strategy

• Less competition
• Low keyword difficulty
• High conversion rate

Implementing a long-tail keyword strategy can help you reduce your paid search engine advertising costs, improve your organic search engine rankings, and more easily target consumers with specific search intent. This strategy will help you increase relevant search traffic and ultimately increase conversion rates.

Less competition

Keyword competition refers to the level of competition among advertisers for a particular keyword in search engine marketing, and is measured by factors such as search volume and number of competing pages. Generally, the more competitive a keyword is, the higher the bid you will need to bid to get your ad to appear on the search engine results page (SERP). Long-tail keywords tend to have less competition than short-tail keywords, making them a cost-effective choice for paid search engine marketing campaigns.

Low keyword difficulty

Long-tail keywords typically have a low keyword difficulty score. This score is a number that indicates how difficult it is for a particular keyword to rank in organic search engine results. For keywords with a high difficulty score, it may be difficult to rank for them simply by creating high-quality, relevant content. Top-ranking pages tend to have comprehensive content and lots of high-quality backlinks (links from other websites to your site), and it can take a lot of effort to outdo them.

Low-difficulty keywords are easier to rank for. Businesses that target long-tail keywords can perform well in search engine rankings without having to create longer content or acquire more backlinks. Building relevant backlinks takes time, so You can use long-tail keywords to quickly improve your search engine performance, while investing in long-term strategies to increase your domain authority (your website's search engine trust score).

High conversion rate

Long-tail queries often have more clearly defined search intent (what a user is trying to achieve when performing a search query). Long-tail keywords allow you to target more likely consumers, which can increase the relevance of your site traffic and improve conversion rates.

For example, someone searching for “outdoor fire pit” might be looking for DIY options, trying to style an existing fire pit, or wondering if outdoor fires are dangerous. However, someone searching for “cast iron outdoor fire container nashville” is likely planning to buy an outdoor fire pit in the Nashville area.

Consumers also become more specific as they follow the marketing and sales funnel. They tend to use long-tail keywords. Users might search for “outdoor fire pits” in the initial research phase, “best medium outdoor fire pits” after they’ve decided to buy, and “solo stove for sale Nashville” just before they buy.

How to find relevant long-tail keywords

1. Using Keyword Research Tools
2. Review site analytics
3. Take advantage of search engine autocomplete

SEO strategists estimate that more than 90% of all searches use long-tail keywords. That means there are a lot of options to explore. Here are some popular ones: Here are three long-tail keyword research strategies:

1. Using Keyword Research Tools

Most keyword research tools are great at finding popular online searches and displaying search volume to help you find long-tail keywords. Google Keyword Planner and Moz are popular free tools, but there are also paid options like SEMRush, Ahrefs, and Surfer SEO. Some keyword tools, like Long Tail Pro, focus on suggesting long-tail keywords. While each tool has different features, they typically provide a list of related keyword ideas and keyword data like difficulty and monthly search volume when you enter a seed keyword.

Keyword research tools analyze competitor sites to generate traffic to similar businesses. You can also use it to find long-tail keywords, which are likely to be relevant to your target audience. For example, if your main competitor is ranking for the keyword “How to Style Ballet Flats in 2024,” you can write blog posts around this target keyword to compete for organic search traffic, and hopefully outrank your competitor in search engine rankings.

2. Review site analytics

Use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to track your site content. You can find long-tail keywords. Google Search Console shows you the keywords you are already ranking for, and Google Analytics shows you the search queries that are driving traffic to your site. Then, you can use Google Keyword Planner to cross-check search volume and identify long-tail keywords that are included in each platform’s results.

Using these results, the existing Create additional content around long-tail keywords and create new You can brainstorm long-tail keyword ideas. For example, if you sell baking supplies and find that 5% of your site traffic comes from queries that include the keyword “how to choose the best cupcake pan,” you can write a blog post that explicitly targets that keyword.

You can then use keyword research tools to test search volume for related keywords like “how to choose the best bread pan” and “how to choose the best cake pan” and build corresponding pages tailored to relevant keyword matches.

3. Take advantage of search engine autocomplete

Search engine autocomplete (e.g. Google Autocomplete) suggests popular or relevant search queries as you type in the search box. This can help you find relevant long-tail keyword phrases. For example, typing “earrings” in the Google search box will produce a drop-down list of “earrings for sensitive ears”, “earrings with flat backs”, and “earrings for men”, each with potential These are long tail keywords.

The autocomplete feature provides the most common searches related to a given item, so suggested search queries can have a high monthly search volume. Suggested keywords Use a keyword research tool to determine if a keyword has a low enough search volume to be considered a long-tail keyword.

You can also experiment with phrases and partially typed words to generate more specific options. For example, typing "best earrings for d" will generate a list of "best earrings for diamond-shaped faces", "best earrings for double piercing", and "best earrings for double chin".

Long Tail Keyword FAQs