17 Apr Long-Tail Keywords – How to Use Them to Improve Your WordPress Site’s Seo

If you want to rank well on Google, you already know that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy and the use of keywords are essential. Yet, there’s certainly a difference between long-tail and short-tail keywords. It may seem like there’s not much to it, but it can make quite a big difference. Therefore, let’s see why and how you should make long-tail keywords a part of your content strategy:

• What are Long-Tail Keywords?

Unlike short-tail keywords which are usually one or two words long, a long-tail keyword usually consists of three to six words. For example, if a person is searching for advice on how to care for a dog, he/she might simply write ‘dog care’, which is a typical short-tail keyword. On the other hand, the long-tail keyword alternative would be ‘how to care for a dog’.

• Why Focus on Long-Tail Keywords?

Generally speaking, most of the focus of SEO advice goes to short-tail keywords. Why? Because short-tail keywords target the widest audience, thanks to their wide search volume. Still, long-tail keywords are far better than the short-tail ones since they are more precise and can attract your target group easily. Plus, long-tail keywords offer some distinct advantages including:

• Being more descriptive, they provide people with a clear picture of your content and topic and make them more interested in it
• Provide less competition which means that you don’t have to compete with numerous well-established sites
• Help the search engine offer your posts to the right audience, which is a great SEO advantage and benefit
• Are easily and naturally included in your post content

Yet, this doesn’t mean that you should focus on either long-tail or short-tail keywords. You may also decide to include both of them in your SEO strategy.

•  Where to Find Long-Tail Keywords?

Doing a little research is probably the best way to create your keywords. In other words, try to find what people usually search for. And, the simplest way to do so is to use the Google search engine which recommends alternative keywords. But, why are these suggestions the perfect choice for you? – Because they are all derived from factual evaluations. In the SEO Research Tab of Orbitype you can research Google suggestions for new posts, or get automated long-tail keyword suggestions for existing posts based on your SEO SERP data.

What you should do first is type a couple of words about the topic and Google will list you the options. Alternatively, you can scroll down and find out a list of related searches right at the bottom of the page. Both ways are great for finding long-tail keywords.

Another way to look for longer keywords is using Google Keyword Planner which is a special research tool designed for this purpose. What’s even more convenient is that it is a free tool that shows you the competition level and search volume for each keyword.

Similarly, you can use premium keyword research tools, which are research tools that will offer you several different techniques for discovering long-tail keywords that people usually search for.

In any case, try to find low-competition keywords which still have a good and satisfactory search volume. Yet, make sure to choose phrases that consist of three words at least.

• How to Use Long-Tail Keywords?

Both short-tail and long-tail keywords are easily manageable. Anyone with a decent experience in SEO can do a perfect job. Nevertheless, here’s a step-by-step guide to how to use long-tail keywords:

1. Find a keyword first, then build the content based on it
2. Include the keyword in places like the title, the first paragraph, one header at least, and throughout the text (don’t overuse it)
3. Don’t just stuff the keyword anywhere, instead use it naturally
4. Make sure you use the keyword in the meta description of your content and the alt text of your images.

As an added bonus, bear in mind that it is always better to track your keywords and their performance instead of ignoring them. Such information will help you choose and do better in the future.

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There’s certainly a fierce competition among popular keywords. Hence, it’s best to go for longer and more precise phrases. Believe it or not, targeting a smaller pool of people can actually attract and keep lots of them to your site. 

Thank you for reading this article. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to ask below in comments, and we will do out best to help you as soon as possible.