Long Tail SEO – What Is It?

There are a lot of confusing terms that are most likely going to be tossed at you as you are search for a search engine optimization (SEO) company. You should have a good understanding of what these phrases are before you decide which company and services to use.

In this case, we're going to take a closer look at long tail SEO. Long tail SEO is a strategy of taking lower-volume and higher-converting keywords and making them work together for a major impact.

For example, the term “cameras” gets tens of millions of Internet searches each month. That is very high volume. If you have a website where you sell cameras, being ranked highly for “cameras” will bring you a lot of website traffic. It would be much better to be ranked for “Nikon D3X” and for “Canon Rebel EOS” and other, more specific or long tail keyword terms. Someone searching for “cameras” wants to look around. Someone searching for “Nikon D3X” has their credit card out ready to buy one.

By focusing on the more specific keywords, you are able to hone in on the website traffic most likely to become paying customers. Also, the competition for the long tail keywords (Nikon D3X) is much less than the competition for the generic, large volume keywords (cameras).

For your business, think about the specific services you offer. If you offer services only to a specific geographic area, you should include a geographic modifier in your keyword terms. Someone licensed to practice law in Nevada may want to be ranked well for “Nevada attorney” or “Nevada lawyer.” However, that person would certainly rather be ranked for a more specific term such as “Nevada divorce attorney” or “Nevada accident attorney” if a specialty applied. That way, efforts are focused on those people who essentially have their credit cards out and are ready to pay.

An added bonus to focusing on high-conversion terms is that you get more bang for your buck. The terms are easier to be ranked for so they are less expensive. They convert more, so you get more money per website visitor. Dollar for dollar, long tail SEO is the way to go.

Because long tail SEO costs less, you can be flexible and go after many different markets at one time. It does not have nearly as many cash flow constraints as higher-volume and lower-converting terms.

By having your website long tail SEO heavy, you will rank higher and be the provider they choose for their needs.