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The long and the short of
longtail keywords
By Peter Yexley
Not too long ago single keyword
searches were considered to be the most important but the internet has
moved on and internet marketing strategies have changed.
Personally, I consider the vast majority of single keyword searches
as 'vanity' searching. This means that the webmaster considers a particular
single/double keyword search to be vital to his website marketing but
in reality, the only people that use those particular keywords are actually
in that same business and are using that keyword to see where they appear
in the search engines ...hence the term 'vanity' search.
As an example let's take the word 'Chauffeur'. Would a real person looking
for a Chauffeur from say North London to Heathrow Airport expect to
find exactly what he was looking for on the first page of Google with
the keyword 'Chauffeur'? ...The answer is 'NO!!!' - equally even if
you added the word 'Services', it still would not be a viable search
term.
Let me introduce you to Long Tail keywords if you haven't heard
of the phrase before, they are 3 and 4-keyword phrases which are extremely
specific to whatever you are selling.
Some people reject these are 'lower in value' but they can be so wrong
and such a judgement can cost you dearly.
When a female is shopping for a pair of shoes, does she ask the shop
assistant for 'a pair of shoes'? - We know she doesn't.
(I mention female simply because it is accepted that ladies tend to
have a different buying method than men when it comes to such things
as shoes).
If you are shopping online for a flight to Spain - do you simply search
for 'Flights' - We know the answer is 'No' but could agree that
we might search for 'cheapest flights to Spain' or 'Bargain flights
from Manchester to Almeria'.
We naturally use long tail keywords to reduce the non-relevant results.
A customer uses a highly specific search phrase because they know what
they are looking for and indeed exactly what they are going to buy.
Very specific searches are far more likely to convert to sales than
generic short searches because single/double keyword searches tend to
be geared towards the 'shopping around' type or researching that shoppers
typically do prior to making a buying decision.
Let's take a look at what could be described as the typical step-by-step
buying process.
1. The consumer is in the market for a particular
product.
2. Consumer researches that product in preparation for possible purchase.
3. Consumer shops around for alternatives to that product based on price
and features.
4. Consumer then makes a decision to purchase.
5. Consumer completes the transaction and buys.
At any one or more of these points, the keywords used would have been
changed and got more precise. It is highly likely that the website that
gained the money, benefitted from a 'long tail keyword' based on the
consumer's search experience.
So, when you are considering opting for one or two word keywords - put
yourself in your prospective customers shoes and see how they would
search.
That's the long and the short of choosing keyword length!
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