There are many ways to drive traffic to your website.
You can use social media, pay for digital advertising or generate organic search traffic using search engine optimization (SEO).
Of the three options, SEO is the most cost-effective one in the long run.
However, it takes time and a lot of sweat equity to build an effective keyword-based lead generation program.
Trying to rank for top-level keywords is unrealistic and, let’s face it, most small businesses don’t have the budget or marketing machine to generate enough traffic to rank for a popular search term.
In this article, we’ll explore the world of long-tail keywords and how you can benefit from many small successes.
- First of All, Why are Keywords Important for Marketing Your Business?
- What Are Long-Tail Keywords?
- How Does a Search Engine Work?
- The Advantages of Long-Tail Keywords
- How to Find Long-Tail Keywords
- How to Use Long-Tail Keywords
- Wrap Up: Using Long-Tail Keywords to Achieve Long-Term Growth
First of All, Why are Keywords Important for Marketing Your Business?
Well, millions of people use Google and other search terms to buy almost everything.
From cars to paper clips, Google search generates billions of dollars of commerce.
In fact, in 2020, Google reported in their Economic Impact Report that Google search generated $426 Billion in economic activity.
With over 150 million websites, it’s important — and just a little daunting — for your business website to make it to the first page of a search engine results page (SERP).
But let’s face it: there are simply too many businesses competing for leading search terms.
So the guerilla marketing technique is to use long-tail keywords to get your content noticed.
What Are Long-Tail Keywords?
Long-tail keywords are keywords or keyphrases that focus on being specific.
They’re usually longer than most keywords, but that’s not a rule.
Think about the keyword “refrigerator”, for example. It’s a very broad head-tail keyword, with millions of searches with all sorts of different intentions.
Now consider the keyword “brastemp inverse frost free refrigerator with electronic panel”.
It’s super specific, has a few thousand searches and attracts qualified traffic composed by users with a clear intention.
Because the search volume is lower, it’s not as hard to rank for a long-tail keyword. And this increases your chances of converting.
How Does a Search Engine Work?
It all starts with someone asking a question and turning to a search engine for the answer.
➤ First, the search term is typed into Google or spoken into Alexa, for example.
➤ Next, the search engine tries to find all websites with content to answer the question.
➤ The last step is to sort and display those answers by the relevance of the content featured on the website page.
That content could be in the form of blog posts, white papers, ebooks or videos.
When it comes to long-tail keywords, this whole process could happen a lot smoother.
If a person is being very specific on Google about a product, chances are that they will find answers and make buying decisions faster.
By the way, voice-activated search is making long-tail keywords even more popular as people simply speak their questions into Alexa or any one of the many voice-activated search devices.
For instance, you wouldn’t say “laptop computers” — a head-tail keyword.
Instead, you would say something like, “Alexa, find me a store to buy laptop computers in Nashville, Tennessee”.
In this case, “store to buy laptop computers in Nashville, Tennessee” would be your long-tail keyword.
The Advantages of Long-Tail Keywords
While the top 100 keywords account for the most search traffic, long-tail keywords make up the large majority of all searches.
Even though these terms often receive low volumes of website traffic, the combination of many terms will produce excellent results over time.
Content using long-tail keywords often generates better sales leads since they are more specific and focused on the buyer’s needs.
So, while there may be only a few hundred search results per month, the people searching with that term are more likely farther along in their sales cycle.
For instance, if you typed in “what store can I buy a laptop”, you are serious about buying a laptop.
On the other hand, if you simply typed “best laptops” or “cheapest laptops”, you are still in the research stage of your search.
This targeting factor is essential for marketers to keep in mind when researching and identifying strategic keywords for content marketing campaigns.
How to Find Long-Tail Keywords
There are many free and paid tools for identifying long-tail keywords and determining which ones are the best fit for your business.
The Google SERP is a great place to start because it displays a list of potential long-tail keywords.
Just look in the “Related searches” and “People also ask” sections.
This list can be inserted into an SEO tool like Google Ads Keyword Planner to determine the amount of search traffic for the selected keywords.
This kind of tool is extremely useful to pinpoint the best long-tail keywords to use in your content.
Target the keywords that reportedly receive the most traffic, and you’ll be able to expose a larger audience to your products or services.
How to Use Long-Tail Keywords
Once a list of long-tail keywords is compiled, marketers must use these keywords to generate and post content on their website to begin building up a search history.
A website blog builds up SEO value in the same way a snowball grows as it rolls downhill.
It steadily gains momentum as it moves up the SERP ranks until it lands on the first page.
If you consistently produce excellent and compelling content, the long-tail keyword may eventually appear in the coveted top three slots.
As more content is created, more keywords will appear at the top of the search pages, and traffic volume to your website will increase.
Generating Leads
Website visitors will exchange their contact information in exchange for valuable educational content.
Typical ebooks, white papers and videos are known as lead magnets as they are used to convert visitors to customers.
In this context, long-tail keywords play an essential role in attracting buyers most likely to buy your company’s products.
Good content marketing requires solid SEO writing as a cornerstone of content writing.
Keywords should appear in the title and important headings, as well as in the content. However, there is an art to determining how often a keyword appears in an article.
They should appear naturally and do not have to be repeated in the exact same order or phrase.
Google recognizes variations of keyword phrases as well as synonyms of popular phrases.
Besides that, it is important to keep track of Google algorithm changes that occur on a regular basis.
Google attempts to create the best search results for its users. These search rules must be carefully watched; otherwise, all of your efforts to generate better search results will be wasted.
Wrap Up: Using Long-Tail Keywords to Achieve Long-Term Growth
The quest to land on the top of Google search engine results pages has long been the goal of hard-working marketing executives.
But ranking for core search terms is difficult and expensive, so the savvy marketer will strive to generate as much organic search traffic as possible.
Long-tail keywords are more specific search terms that generate lower search volumes, but when combined with other long-term searches, they can bolster a business’ inbound lead generation program.
Ready to know more about keywords?
Then download for free our Search Engine Optimization Guide!
