What are Long Tail Keywords?
As webmasters or SEO consultants, we work on keywords almost every day. During these studies, we can see that very different keywords have very interesting search volumes. However, we can say that as the number of keywords in a query increases, the search volume decreases proportionally, with some exceptions. Keywords that generally have a high search volume and consist of one or two words are called short tail keywords. Keywords other than these keywords, which generally consist of three or more words and have lower search volumes, are called long tail keywords. However, although the search volumes of these keywords are low, research shows that long tail keywords make up the majority of Google queries.
To explain with an example, while the query “ shoes ” is considered a short tail keyword, the query “ nike men’s sneakers ” can be given as an example of a long tail keyword. When we examine our employment database example, we see that the search volume of the query “ shoes ” is quite high and the competition in the relevant query is also quite intense, while the user intent is more apparent in the query “ nike men’s sneakers ” and the search volume is at a level that can be evaluated, although it is lower than the query “ shoes ”.
Why Are Long Tail Keywords Important?
When doing keyword research for a website and taking action after the research, it may not always be the right strategy to focus on short-tail keywords with high search volume. Especially for a non-authoritative or new website, focusing on these keywords with high search volume and competition at the first stage can make it difficult to achieve success. Therefore, it may be a logical start to focus on long-tail keywords where competition is relatively low and user intent is much more clearly stated. Let's examine together why long-tail keywords are important.
1) Low Competition
Long-tail keywords have lower search volumes than shorter, more generic keywords. A relatively lower search volume usually means that the competition for that keyword is proportionally lower. As you can see from the sample keywords below, as the number of keywords increases in user queries containing the same words, the search volume decreases proportionally.
The lower search volume compared to shorter words may cause the relevant word to lose its appeal for many people. However, in addition to the lower search volume, the competition in the relevant keyword may also be lower. Lower competition also helps to achieve the desired success in a shorter time after the right moves. The image below clearly shows that as the number of keywords in the relevant query increases, fewer results will be in the race.
2) Conversion Rate Advantage
Long-tail keywords, as the name suggests, allow users to provide more details about their queries because they contain more words. The intent of users who search in more detail is also more specific than other queries. For example, the user intent in the query “ internet ” can be easily distinguished from the user intent in the query “ internet packages without home phone ”. In short, since the user intent is more specific in long-tail keywords, the desired conversion rates can be achieved more easily with correct targeting and optimization work.
