If you’ve looked into the world of SEO, you know what keywords are. We think of them as pretty straightforward – they’re what you want your copy to be filled with to make your page more searchable, right? But what about long-tail keywords? While head terms and common keywords are important for your page, they may not be the most productive way for you to turn clicks into money. Let’s walk through why long-tail keywords are more effective for your SEO in the long run. 

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What Is a Long-Tail Keyword?

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First things first:

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A long-tail keyword is not a word but rather a phrase users type into their search bar. For example, “Improving SEO” would be a head term or popular keyword. A lot of people use these words, making the competition to rank for it extremely high. Alternatively, “improving SEO for cute animal GIF pages” would be a long-tail keyword. 

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It seems clear, considering the longer phrase is typically going to be your long-tail keyword. However, it is essential to note that a long-tail keyword isn’t based on its length but its rarity as a search phrase in Google. What makes your page stand out is that the long-tail keywords you’ve chosen are unique and specific to that user’s search. In fact, long-tail keywords have often never been used as a search before.

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How Are Long-Tail Keywords Advantageous?

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More specific searches: 

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By incorporating the specific phrases consumers use into your website copy or blog, you’re more likely to rank for that search. This comes with one significant advantage: Specific searches = more qualified buyers. These people know exactly what they want, so their clicks are more likely to turn into money. 

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Higher ROI for your page:

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Thanks to long-tail keywords being so niche, they cost a lot less per click for Adword campaigns. While your page will receive less clickthrough traffic, you’re receiving those more motivated consumers mentioned above. So less cost per click + high motivation to buy due to specificity = a greater return on investment per keyword or Ad campaign. 

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It’s in the stats:

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Basing your SEO on phrases that Google has never seen before seems like a shot in the dark. However, according to this article on Search Engine Journal, about 15% of all Google searches are brand new. Considering how many searches take place daily, monetizing even a sliver of that 15% would be huge. All in all, about 70% of searches involve long-tail keywords. That’s a lot of search power! 

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While it may take work determining which long-tail keywords are suitable for your page, the advantages of getting it right will make it worthwhile. As we mentioned in this blog post on successfully converting your content, “if you’re not [putting]... your customer’s needs first, you can’t really expect them to buy anything from you.” When you know exactly what your client wants, it’ll be easy to monetize those clicks with targeted long-tail keyword phrases for those buyers.

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