Answered by
Oliver Hall
Long tail keywords are highly specific keyword phrases that typically consist of three words or more. They're called 'long tail' as they make up the longer, thinner part of a distribution curve representing search term popularity. These keywords often have less search volume, but they also tend to have lower competition and higher conversion rates.
Here's a step-by-step approach to identifying long tail keywords:
Start with your main topic: Identify the main topic or concept related to your website, product, or service. This is usually a broad term. For example, if you run a fitness blog, you might start with 'fitness tips'.
Use keyword research tools: Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, Keywords Everywhere, etc. help you find long tail variations of your main keyword. Input your main keyword and look for keyword ideas that consist of 3+ words.
Analyze your competitors: Use SEO tools to find what long tail keywords your competitors are ranking for. This helps you understand which keywords you should target for better visibility.
Look at autocomplete suggestions: When you type your main keyword into Google or another search engine, look at the auto-completed suggestions. These are often longer phrases that people are actually searching for.
Check 'People also ask' and 'Related searches' in Google: These sections on Google's SERP provide other commonly searched questions and phrases related to your main keyword.
Think about user intent: Understand what your audience is likely to search for. Consider their problems, needs, and goals related to your product or service.
Use Google Trends: It helps you to understand the popularity of keywords and provide related long-tail phrases.
Remember to analyze the search volume, competition level, and relevance of each keyword before deciding whether to target it. Ideally, you want keywords that are relevant to your business, have a decent amount of search traffic, but not too much competition.