How to Use Long-Tail Keyword Phrases to Improve SEO
Understanding Keywords
When a person searches for a topic or a company by using a search engine, he or she types certain words or sets of words into the search query box. Businesses can feel more confident that customers will find their websites when they incorporate these search words, or "keywords," into the text on their site.
At the same time, not every keyword is created equal. When most people perform research to find common search terms for their websites, they choose something called a "head term." For example, the owner of a computer repair service may choose head terms like "computer repair."
However, a popular head term like "computer repair" may be featured on so many websites that achieving a good Google ranking becomes almost impossible.
Long-Tail Keywords
A long-tail keyword adds additional words to a head term to make the search more focused. A matching long-tail keyword phrase for "computer repair" could be "spyware scanner computer repair technicians." Obviously, someone who enters the words "spyware scanner computer repair technicians" has a specific goal for the search, which is to find a computer repair service that can remove spyware that is disabling his computer.
Long-tail keywords are advantageous to a website because:
They're less competitive. Fewer businesses will use the terms, which means that your page has better ranking potential.
They cost less. When you're bidding for keywords related to a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign, these phrases will not deplete your Adwords account.
They're specialised. As noted above, the people searching for "spyware scanner computer repair technicians" have a specific purpose in mind. Because they want something specific that your business can deliver, these people are more likely to convert when they click the link to your website.
How to Choose the Best Phrases
A number of companies offer long-tail search tools for your business. However, a professional SEO company may have more in-depth tools to offer. SEO companies often obtain these phrases from the best place of all: your website. As a source of material, your website is relevant, up-to-date and constantly renewing itself. Therefore, a professional SEO company may develop the best long-tail keyword phrases for your business from the material that you already have on your site.
