Increasing traffic through long-tail keywords
What exactly are long-tail keywords and why can they be invaluable for businesses? Identifying the correct long-tail keywords and making the best use of them can maximize the visibility of your website. There are both paid and free approaches that can help you benefit from long-tail keywords.
How to use long-tail keywords for more traffic to your website
Does it seem like your website just doesn’t want to climb up the search rankings? Then it is about time for you to start harnessing the potential of long-tail keywords. Not only can they bring more traffic to your website fast, they will also give your domain overall more authority over time.
any questions?
This article is for you if you want to learn…
- …what long-tail keywords are,
- …why they can be extremely beneficial to your business,
- …how you can find the right long-tail keywords for your website,
- …how you can maximally benefit from long-tail keywords,
- …which paid and free approaches exist to profit from long-tail keywords
After this article, you will have a clear idea of the next steps you have to take to finally beat the competition in the search results.
Why do I have to use keywords to get more traffic?
Keywords are the foundation of SEO
To talk about long-tail keywords, we need to first cover the basics. We know that people use certain words and phrases to find something on Google. Those words and phrases are called “keywords”. This means that keywords are not just alone-standing words (e.g., “tomato”), but also phrases (such as “how do I grow tomatoes?”).
If you want to reach your target audience organically (i.e., without paying for advertisements), it is critical that you identify the keywords that they enter into search engines to look for the products or services that you offer. In other words: You have to speak the language of your audience.
After all, Google tries to only show results that people are searching for. And if the keywords of your target audience do not (or very rarely) appear on your website, the chances of earning a high rank in search results is low.
Keywords bring the right people to your site
If you use the right keywords on your website, you not only get more traffic, but also qualified traffic. This means that your website will attract people with a higher desire to purchase what you are offering. Moreover, having the right keywords means preventing the wrong people from entering your site. This is important as well, because they can damage your rank on Google. The reason for that is quite simple:
If someone visits your site and doesn’t find what they are looking for, they leave very quickly. And if visitors leave your site quickly, Google assumes that there must be something wrong with your website. The result: Your overall ranking on Google decreases.
It is therefore imperative for any business to use the correct keywords to be found by their target audience only.
Definition of long-tail keywords
What are long-tail keywords and why do they matter?
We have already established that keywords are not just alone-standing words. Therefore, each keyword has a certain length. “Digital Marketing” is, for example, a short keyword. “Digital Marketing for small businesses” is a longer keyword.
Here is a quick summary of the characteristics of long-tail keywords:
- They have more words (usually 3 or more)
- They are more descriptive
- People who use them search for something specific
- They have less competition
- They have lower traffic
However, it is not that simple. A long-tail keyword is not just defined by its length. They are also more descriptive and reflect a person’s specific search intent. Now, please pay close attention to this part: Long-tail keywords also generally have less competition and less traffic. That is because they address more specific topics. The next section explains why that matters so much.
Why long-tail keywords are essential for your website
Using the right keywords on your websites can lead to amazing results. However, some websites see little to no change when using certain keywords. And there is a reason for that.
It is important to understand that there are thousands of websites that try to rank for a certain keyword, such as “tomatoes”. But Google can only put a handful of them on the first results page. And only one website has the privilege to be the first result and earn more than 90% of the entire traffic for that keyword.
But how does Google decide who gets to be at the top?
There are several so-called “ranking factors” that Google’s Algorithm uses to rank websites. And one main factor is “authority”. If a website already receives a lot of traffic and satisfies people, it has more authority than a new website with zero visitors. So if you launch a new website and try to rank for a highly competitive keyword such as “tomatoes” you will not see much success. The competition would be way too high!
But there is a solution: Ranking for long-tail keywords
Denken Sie daran: If you remember, long-tail keywords are much more specific and have less competition. If you start ranking for long-tail keywords, you will gradually build your authority on Google until you are able to compete with the big websites for keywords with more traffic. It is comparable to a video game, in which you have to rank-up your character until you are able to beat the final opponent.
How do I find long-tail keywords?
To find the right long-tail keywords for your website, you only need two things: brainpower and technology. That is because the research process starts with brainstorming. Just start brainstorming topics and terms related to your website. Think about specific problems that your target audience might be searching for.
As an expert in your industry, you should be able to come up with a handful of topics. But you should also consider taking advantage of tools that can support your brainstorming process. The best tools for this will be mentioned further below in the article.
Once you have gathered a list of topics, it is time to find related long-tail keywords (i.e., the phrases people actually enter in search engines) and the respective amount of traffic and competition they have. To do this part, there is no way around technology.
There are paid and free tools that help you to do this. Which is best for you depends on your level of expertise and budget. Here is a list with all the free and paid options that you have.
List of all free and paid options
Tools for searching for long-tail keywords
Free tools to find long-tail keywords
- Use the Google search engine itself
When you enter words in the Google search engine, you receive suggestions. For example, enter the words “smartphone without” in the search engine. The suggestions you receive are keywords that a lot of people have previously searched for. Google does not provide these suggestions out of this air, but bases them on searches people have previously made. This means that Google itself is a freely available keyword research tool. The disadvantage: It does not tell you how much traffic a certain keyword has. - Use answerthepublic.com
If you go to answerthepublic.com, you can enter a certain keyword and find many related topics. You even receive all the information in a visually appealing and organized way. But this site’s main strength is assisting you during your brainstorm sessions.
If you want to identify actual keywords, it is better to rely on Google itself rather than on answerthepublic.com. - Use Google Adwords Keyword Planner
This tool was originally designed to find keywords for Google advertisements. But you can use it for organic purposes as well. In addition to keyword suggestions, you will also receive insights with regard to the level of competitiveness and amount of traffic of a keyword.
Paid tools to find long-tail keywords
The most popular paid tools for keyword research are:
- Ubersuggest
- Semrush
- Ahrefs
They only have small differences with regard to their functionality. You may want to consider using a paid option because of the amount of data they provide.
For example, using one of the three listed keyword research tools, you can gain insights into aspects like search volume, competition analysis, trend data, and keyword difficulty.
If you value detailed insights regarding your keyword’s data and in-depth analyses of your competition, a paid keyword research tool might be the right decision for you.
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