As a business owner, it is important that you make sure to stand out from the rest of the companies in your industry, especially if you are an average small business. You are all trying to rank for the same keywords, so how can you get some of that traffic exclusively to your site? The answer is to create a long-tail keywords that fit into a your specific target market.
First off, I should probably start by explaining long-tail keywords. Many people throw this term around, but do they actually know what it means? This type of keywordtells what frequency the topic occurs, as well as its demand (usually 3-6 words long). Below are the two terms that you should be familiar with before you begin your research:
- Head – The head of a long-tail keyword should target a large group of people and has a high level of competition. This part is usually the extremely popular among your industry. For example, if you sell Halloween inflatables, your head would probably be “Halloween Inflatables.”
- Long-tail – This keyword is much more specific, and a little longer. Going back to the Halloween inflatables example, your long-tail could be “Monster & Mummy Halloween Inflatables.” This is much more refined for search.
Long-tail keywords allow you to target your specific audience, which will, in turn, exponentially increase the likelihood of your content being seen. It is extremely imperative that you can create a title that has a very specific keyword. Throughout this post, I will talk you through the different ways you can go about identifying these.
1. Google Suggestions
Google Suggest is a really great, simple tool for trying to find long-tail keywords variations. All you have to do is start typing your primary keyword into the Google search box and see what variations Google suggests. If it comes up in one of these suggestions, you know right off the bat that these are phrases people are often searching for.
2. Google Related Searches
This is very similar to the above, but instead of being in the search bar, Google will suggest some related searches that people have made recently at the bottom of the page.
Using this method, you will get a little more suggestions. Google’s suggest will give you about 4 ideas, whereas Google’s related searches will give double that or more. They will also be a little more personalized than suggest.
3. Look Into your Analytics
Your analytics is a great place to start looking for some or all of the keywords that are bringing visitors to your site. You will be able to see some keywords that have been driving leads to you that you can expand on and optimize further for. To locate these specific keywords, locate your organic keyword referrals.
4. Browse Question & Answer Sites
These websites can be a good source for ideas. Questions make great long-tails and it could not be more obvious that people are looking for answers to these questions. Some examples of these usuable sites are Quora, Yahoo Answers, Answers.com, etc.
5. Wikipedia
When doing some research about a base term, try checking its Wikipedia page. It may give you the keywords you are looking for. For example, the table of content is a great place to start. A lot of the headings translate into these keywords. You can also do a page search (Ctrl + F) for your primary keyword and it should come up with some great ideas.
6. Look at Competitors
When you are chasing keywords, it is always a great idea to check out your competitors and see what they are optimizing for. Search Goolgle for the head term you are trying to rank for and look at the first couple of results to see what keywords they have come up with. It may just spark some creative ideas.
7. Additional Tools
Some additional research tools include Google Trends, Social Media Tools, as well as Wordstream’s Free Keyword Tool. These will help you see what is trending currently to help you better refine your long-tail keyword research.
If you are looking for some guidance when it comes to creating long-tail keywords for your SEO efforts, contact our inbound marketing company, Revenue River, at 303.945.4341 today.
