The Short Tail and Long Tail of Keyword Use

Let's say that you sell gardening tools at your website. The keyword phrase "gardening tools" should bring you steady traffic, right? After all, it's searched for over a hundred times a day. With a lot of search engine optimization work, including getting hundreds of inbound links, you might make it onto the first few pages of search results for that keyword. But be prepared to put in plenty of time — even the site currently at the bottom of the second page of the search results for it has over 1300 inbound links. General keyword phrases such as "gardening tools" are short tail keywords. At the other end of the spectrum, or the long tail, are very specific keyword phrases that are usually several words long.

How searchers use short tail and long tail keywords

Our fictional character Gloria is looking for gardening tools for her backyard garden or for a gift for someone. She does a search for "gardening tools" and finds that the results aren't specific enough for her needs. She gets more specific and searches for "hand gardening tools." She's getting closer now, but she still hasn't found exactly what she wants. Or perhaps she's still in the process of deciding precisely what she wants to buy.

She narrows her focus more and searches for such keywords as these:

• English gardening hand tools
• garden pruners
• garden pruning tools
• hand pruner ratchet
• pruning tools for grape vines

Although she doesn't realize it, her search has gone from short tail to long tail keywords. And since the long tail keywords bring her to exactly what she's looking for, she's more likely to spend money when she goes to sites optimized for those keywords.

Short tail or long tail keywords: which are better?

Both have value. If you can optimize your site well enough for short tail keywords, they'll bring you more traffic individually than long tail keywords will. On the other hand, while long tail keywords are searched for less often, those who arrive at your site by using long tail keywords in searches are much closer to the point of buying..

Since fewer sites are optimized for long tail keywords, having your site appear high in SERP (search engine result positions) is relatively easy. As more website owners become aware of the value of long tail keywords, however, competition for these keywords may increase.

In addition, a range of keywords exists between short tail and long tail keywords. When you optimize your site for the whole range of keywords, you can attract a wider range of searchers.

How to use short tail keywords

Most websites won't gain anything by being optimized for the most general keywords. Even if you could get your site on first page of search results for a generic word such as "gardening," how many of those potential visitors are searching for what you offer? They may be looking for gardening tools, gardening tips, gardening supplies, herb gardening, or something else.

But within long tail keywords are often short tail keywords that you can use as well. All of the above are popular keywords that are less general than the generic keyword "gardening." They can also be used with more specific or long tail keywords. Use short (but not too short) tail keywords, and where you can, use them within long tail keywords. Include them in page titles, headings, alt tags, navigation links, and throughout the content.

For local services, include geographical terms with your keywords. For example, "San Diego organic gardening" is searched for several times a day.

How to use long tail keywords

Long tail keywords can be used in the same places as short tail keywords can. To further optimize your site for them, write a page for each one with the keyword in the page title and heading. A page about pruning tools for grape vines may bring only a few people a day, but those site visitors know what they want. Such people are more worthwhile to attract than people searching for "gardening" but who are looking for something that you don't offer.

If you use keyword advertising, long tail keywords are well worth targeting. In addition to the more focused consumers they'll bring you, they cost less than short tail keywords do.

How to do long tail keyword research

An easy and free keyword research tool to use is Digital Point Solutions' Keyword Suggestion Tool. Start by entering a short tail keyword, and the results will lead you to longer tail keywords. Also search for the products and services your site offers to find the keywords that people are using to find those products and services.

Look through your site stats to find the keywords that bring just a little traffic to your site. Are those keywords specific to what you offer? If so, optimize your site for them so that they can bring more traffic.

Whether or not you plan to use keyword advertising, tools such as Google AdWords Keyword Tool tell you the advertiser competition and search volume of keywords you enter (if they have data for them). When you enter a few keywords, it suggests additional keywords to consider. You can also search for keywords related to your site content by entering the URL of your site.

A lot of possible keywords to use are in the long tail. Each of them may bring only a few visitors, but in addition to their being targeted visitors, their numbers can add up. Don't settle for just a few long tail keywords. Optimize your site for as many as you can, study your traffic stats and fine-tune your keywords if necessary, and watch for your sales to increase.

Related blog articles

The following blog categories have more information about search engine optimization and keyword research:

• Keywords
• SEO and Search Engine Optimization