Use Long Tail Keywords To Increase Traffic
When website traffic is up, owners can experience greater sales or increased ad revenue. Knowing this and actually making it happen requires a little strategizing. This is where the use of long tail keywords can be extremely helpful.
The idea that gave birth to the use of long tail keywords came from an article Chris Anderson published in Wired Magazine. Anderson put forth the notion that the collective sales of niche products could outpace the sale of popular products – especially since so much competition exists on the popular front. This idea has since been applied to the Internet and methods for driving traffic to sites.
Before diving into the concept, it helps to understand what long tail keywords are. They are nothing more than longer keyword phrases that people use during their Internet searches to help them find sites of interest. Rather than single keywords that most website owners and managers are used to optimizing for, the long tail involves the less frequently searched keyword phrases. These keywords tend to be more focused and targeted than a single world search. They also tend to reflect exactly what a searcher needs to find. So, in essence, they are the “niche.”
This theory basically plays off of how people actually use search engines. Rather than looking for “bread”, those looking to learn how to make it would likely type in more defining terms. For example, “bread recipes for kids”, or “bread making instructions” would be used. While these terms might not have the search engine ranking the more popular single terms do, they can play to a website owner’s advantage. Since they don’t have the competition out there that more popular words do, obtaining a high ranking is generally easier.
The perks of using long tail keywords in addition to or instead of more popular search words are many. The reality is that long tail keywords can drive a whole lot more traffic to a website over the long haul than going for more popular words. The advantages of this strategy include giving a website the potential to rank higher for its terms, increasing traffic slowly but surely and even increasing revenue and sales conversions. Simply said, long tail keywords work by tapping into a lot of smaller streams of traffic rather than trying to compete where there is much competition.
To make long tail keywords work for a site, they have to be chosen and put into action. There are a few ways to select the right keywords.
There are tracking programs that can be used to help website owners and managers figure out the right long tail keywords to use for their sites. One popular tool is HitTail.com. The function of this program is to analyze a particular site and make suggestions on the phrases that would work best for it. It can be useful, but they don’t always make the best, most detailed suggestions. With this in mind, some sites are optimized by using phrases typed in by visitors themselves when they use keyword research tools like Ad Word Analyzer software.
Other options for optimizing traffic with the right phrases exist. They include looking at the competition to see what long tail keywords they use and even just allowing a natural development to take place. The latter involves simply adding more content to a website on a regular basis, using core keywords and phrases as the backbone.
Making long tail keywords work for a particular site will take a little time and study. One of the most commonly suggested ways to get the ball rolling includes starting out by looking at what other, similar sites have done. The next step involves picking out the right keywords and working them into the optimization process. The phrases should go into titles and copy.
Increasing traffic on a long-term and steady basis takes work. It’s not necessarily a snap, but it is ceratinly worth the effort. Long tail keywords can make this happen.