SEO can be overwhelming especially when you do not understand the terminology. A keyword is, essentially, what you type into Google or any other search engine to find your desired result. There are two types of keywords: long tail and short tail. The best way to think of these types of keywords is that they are like a siren. The head (short tail) gets all the attention while the tail ( long tail) may only be noticed if it is split in two. Short tail keywords are generalized words to get the gist of the search. Long tail keywords are expanded or lesser used keywords crucial to your SEO. When a customer is close to the point of sale, they tend to get more specific. This means they already have done their research, know exactly what they want and are looking to buy. Long tails key words can help you get a sale instead of more traffic that short tails can bring.
The typical buying cycle for a customer is as follows:
- Potential client has become aware of a product or service.
- Potential client begins researching the product to see if it fits into their pain points.
- Potential client seeks alternatives within the product range such as pricing and features.
- Potential client begins to ready themselves to make a purchase and pulls out their debit or credit card.
- Potential client receives goods and decides whether to initiate a return.
Short tail keywords are priced higher due to the demand curve. More businesses want to have the most popular search terms in their arsenal. Let’s say you have a small business offers content creation like Siren Publications does. If you were to have the short tail keywords of content, then you would be competing with content mills. You will have a harder sell if you are not more specific or use long tails.
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As you can see above the various keywords yield different results. The more specific your keywords are the better. You can use short tail keywords, but you would be going up to bat with the big boys. Now the great news is long tail keywords are cheaper than short tails. Long tails target your potential clients who are closer to the point of purchase alongside being easier to rank.
This all goes back to the idea of quality traffic. You may have more visitors with short tails, which does not always covert to sales. Long tails are highly targeted leading to buyers. Another plus is that highly selective markets can turn into niches. Small sales from these communities can lead to big profits. To explore your long tail options go to http://www.wordstream.com/keywords and explore your options with long tails.
