Have you heard of long-tail keywords and short-tail keywords? If yes, you must wonder what they are and whether they are important for SEO. This article will discuss the long tail keyword, an essential SEO factor that remains less concerning. 

There are two types of keywords that you can use in your content to rank on search engines. They are short-tail keywords and long-tail keywords. Generally, people believe that short-tail keywords are better than the latter. 

Hence, people try to use more short-tail keywords than long-tail keywords. 

However, that's just a myth; both keywords are equally important for your SEO. These two categories of keywords have their characteristics and usages. Depending upon your needs and requirements, you have to make a balance between them. 

Let's dig in and see how you can use long-tail keywords to derive traffic. 

What are Long Tail Keywords?

First, let's glance at the meaning of the long tail keyword and what it truly means. Usually, people think that keywords having more than 3 to 4 words are named so. However, little do they know what long tail means here. 

Well, long tail keywords no doubt have more than 3 to 4 words, but those words point to a specific query. 

To understand this, let's take an example. Suppose you have to buy a car. So if you are searching on search engines 'car', then it is regarded as a head term. As a result, you will get various random answers to your query, like various blog posts about cars or some famous cars. 

You may not get your desired results by using vague keywords. On the other hand, if you are searching 'how to buy a car' or ' where to buy a car', there is a high chance that you will get what you want.  

These keywords you have used for your specific query are long tail keywords. These keywords are usually long but are highly specific to search queries. So, the long keywords didn't get the name because they are long. 

The real reason behind this name is the search demand curve.

_{Source: Semrush}

As you can see in the above chart, the short tail keywords or head terms are the most searched. So they have high competition, and it isn't easy to rank for them. 

After them are the middle tail keywords, more specific than short tail keywords but a little less with search volume. Lastly, long-tail keywords are very specific and have very little traffic. 

How Long Tail Keywords Work?

After discussing how this keyword got its name, let's understand how it works. Now we know they are specific search terms with very little traffic. And that is so because the people who use them are very specific about their needs. Hence, these keywords are used only a few times a month. 

Although long-tail keywords have less traffic than short-tail keywords, they have a higher conversion rate. Let's see how. 

In the above example, we have seen that people who want to buy a car will use keywords like 'how to buy a car' or 'where to buy a car'. These people are already prepared to get converted. 

So whenever you use a keyword, it can fetch you less but quality traffic with high conversion rates. It depends on what you want from your users. Whether you want customers to make a purchase, call you, or visit your store.

It is also the reason why long-tail keywords are different from short-tail keywords. The latter can fetch you more traffic and increase your brand awareness. The former can boost your business by directing the right users towards you. 

Thus, you should use both types of keywords in your content. You can achieve your business goals if you target the right audience with relevant keywords.

How Long Tail Keywords Benefits Your Business 

Till now, we have understood how these keywords work, but what's so great about them? Or are they beneficial for your business? Well, let's find out.

Easy to Target

As you already know, long-tail keywords are for specific searches. So, people who are using these keywords are close to making a decision or getting converted. 

Let's discuss our first example once more. In that example, we have taken the keyword 'where to buy a car'. Anyone who is searching for this specific search wants to buy a car. That means he is already ready to make a purchasing decision. 

Now, if your business has used this keyword and got ranked for it, there are chances that users will see you. And ultimately, you will get buyers for your business. Hence, you can see that by using long-tail keywords, you can target your audience. 

Easy to Rank

Earlier, we noted that long-tail keywords have less traffic than short-tail keywords. If you use short-tail keywords in your content, it may take time to get ranked on search engines. 

Using long-tail keyword in your content may help you to get a ranking for it. And if your content is optimized, you can even achieve a high ranking on search engines. 

Targeted Traffic 

The traffic you will get on your website will be the targeted traffic, and users looking for the same thing will come to you. Although with short-tail keywords, you can attract massive traffic to your website. 

However, there are very few chances that this traffic is prepared to get converted into buyers. It may take months to turn this traffic into your potential buyers, thus having a low conversion rate. 

Long-tail keywords can bring targeted traffic to your page, meaning that the users who visit your site will likely be interested in making a purchase. On the other hand, short-tail keywords can help increase brand awareness and build relationships with customers. However, they may bring in less targeted traffic with high conversion rates as long-tail keywords, which can ultimately boost your sales.

Lots of Options 

People don't use mostly short-tail keywords for searches. Instead, they use more specific searches to meet their needs.

The reason is that they need what they want without wasting time checking countless pages. That is why they type whatever they want into the form of a long-tail keyword. 

So, with short-tail keywords, you will have less choice than the latter. Let's take an example to understand this. Suppose you have a shoe business. 

Now, if you use 'shoe' as a keyword, you can't get many choices, and as it is a vague keyword, you will get random traffic. On the other side, when you use keywords like 

• Comfortable women shoes

• Comfortable men shoes 

• Comfortable kid shoes 

• Shoes for football

• Shoes for basketball, and the list goes on

You will get more options for your long-tail keywords. Thus, with this keyword type, you will have more choices of keywords to use in your content. 

Less Cost on PPC 

If you are using Google Ads, long-tail keywords will also help you. First, as they have less traffic, their cost per click will be less. Short-tail keywords that have high traffic require more cost per click than the former. 

If you are using long-tail keywords for bidding, then you can save a lot. Also, they have a higher conversion rate than short-tail keywords. Thus, the former can give you more return on your investment in Google Ads bidding. 

Ultimately, it's a win-win situation for you with long-tail keywords regarding cost. 

How to Find Long Tail Keywords?

Now you know how long-tail keywords are advantageous for your business. So, the critical question here is how to find them. 

Use Google Autosuggest 

If you have used Google search engine, then you should have seen this feature. When you type a keyword on the search engine, it will autosuggest some related terms to that word. 

Now, it's on you what search result to choose based on your needs. However, this can give you an idea about the related keywords to your search query. You can use all these related keywords in your content. 

While doing so, remember that in this way, too, you have to face competition. The autosuggest keywords or terms you get on Google are already popular. So it's obvious that they must be having traffic on them too. Hence, use them accordingly. 

Use Keyword Explorer 

Many keyword tools are available out there that you can use to find long tail keywords for your content. Some helpful options are Ranklytix, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Google Keyword Planner, to name a few. 

Using these tools, you can find short tails and others. Also, you will get keywords with their search volumes and other analytics. 

Keyword Gap Analysis 

_{Source: Semrush}

Through this tool, you can identify the gap between your keywords and your competitors' use. When you use this tool, you will know the keywords your competitors use to rank. Any keyword that your competitors use is relevant to your business, too. 

So you can use those keywords for your content and get ranked for them. It will help you to match pace with your competitors. Like the keyword research tool here, you will also get information related to keywords like KD, search volume, etc. 

Google Search Features 

Apart from Google Autosuggest, you can also use the Google search feature to find long tail keywords. Whenever you search for a query at the end of the page, you can see various queries related to what you have searched. 

These are also long-tail keywords related to your search that you can use in your content.

How to Use Long Tail Keywords?

Don't underestimate the power of long-tail keywords. They are the perfect starting point to take your content to the next level. Let's dive deeper and discover their full potential. 

To benefit from keywords, include them in your content. And that's tricky because, unlike short-tail keywords, they are not random. They are specific to search queries and can only be used in that context. 

So, before using long-tail keywords in your content, determine their search intent. There are various search intents under which your keywords may fall. Once you know that, you can create your content according to that search intent using the keyword. 

In addition, you have to be strategic and creative to use these keywords. And remember, you can't force keywords in your content. 

To facilitate comprehensive traffic to your website, you can form topic clusters. It means that you link long-tail keyword pages with short-tail keyword pages. Just ensure that they are similar in topic and share a common thread. 

Do You Really Need Long Tail Keywords?

After all the valuable insights we've covered, it's clear that incorporating these specific phrases into your content can make all the difference in attracting your desired audience.  

You now know the benefits of these keywords for your business. They can get you target traffic, are easy to rank, and cut PPC costs. Also, long tail keyword comes with conversion rates, which means increased sales. 

The only thing you need is to use these keywords carefully. Unlike short-tail keywords, you can't use them randomly and must design your content accordingly. If you can do so, long-tail keywords are excellent for your business.