Everyone keeps talking about these long tail keywords and how great they are for SEO, PPC and conversions but what does it all mean and how to I take advantage of this?
Long tail keywords are keywords that are longer than one or two words. As you can see in the above graph the longer the keyword the more likely you are to rank and convert for it from both an SEO and PPC perspective.
So now you know that there are these magical keywords that will mean you can rank and and convert more leads. I’m not going to talk about how you can research long tail keywords but you can read Neil’s guide here which will explain everything. I’m going to teach you how to write an article that will rank for a long tail keyword.
Using the keywords in your page or article
When using long tail keywords a common question that people have is do they need to be sequential or can you write them spaced out? Long tail keywords do not have to be sequential, however it can help to ensure that the search engine understands the topic and what it is about.
As you can see there are a number of factors that determine how the top search engine Google ranks a keyword. When looking at how Google ranks keywords you can see that there is a significant portion of ranking signals on on page keyword usage.
So What Do I Do To Rank For Long Tail Keywords
Use Synonyms
Search engines are getting smarter and smarter the use of synonyms are absolutely crucial for ranking for long tail keywords. Consider how you would convey the message if you were having a conversation and write for the reader not the search engine. Using relatable terms lets the search engine know the topic and the message you are trying to send.
Use pictures
People love visual communication and using pictures will mean they stay on the page for longer. Make sure that you tag the pictures using alt tags that are exact match or similar to your long tail keyword. For example the images on this page are called “how to rank for long tail keywords graph”, “how long tail keywords can turn your business around” and “how to write so you rank for long tail keywords”. This lets the search engine know what you are writing about and what to rank your article or page for.
Worry about the quality of your content
Writing for search engines is dead. I could sit here and write the same word 50 times but it wouldn’t get me anywhere good anywhere fast. If you are looking to rank for a particular term write so that your work is shared and linked to. If the reader can understand what the article is about they are likely to create a link with good anchor text to help you build authority and rank. Search engines will penalise you if your content quality is not where it needs to be.
Think about your headline and crafting click heavy content that is relevant
When writing a new article or creating a new page think about your headline. This is the thing that most people will be clicking through for and can also be a modified title tag or direct title.
Understand the impact that click through rate has on your rankings is crucial to understanding your lead volume and likelihood to rank for a particular term. Understanding what will stimulate interest and keep readers interested is the key to ranking well. Always aiming to reduce your bounce rate will make more of a difference to your ranking than any other factor.
While your readers are happy they are boosting your ranking signals. In addition to this the more your readers like your content the more likely they are to link to your post and share your content on social media.
Your ready to start ranking and generating traffic
Go out and write quality content with a goal of helping your readers. This is the key to long tail keywords and business profitability. The more that you can help your users the more likely people will like and want to work with you.
Consider this simple example where you want to hire a marketing consultant:
- you find one that helps you by giving you answers to your questions with quality content which you can implement yourself to improve your business without you even having to ask!
- you find a marketing consultant that says “yeah I can help just pay me for this, this, and this”.
Which one will you trust more? Which one do you think has a better understanding of what your business needs.
If you are looking for more information on how you can take advantage of SEO strategies talk to one of our consultants today by clicking here!