{"id":120289,"date":"2019-03-04T18:00:22","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T18:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=120289"},"modified":"2020-01-14T02:41:11","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T02:41:11","slug":"shortcuts-find-long-tail-keywords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/03\/04\/shortcuts-find-long-tail-keywords\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight shortcuts to find long tail keywords (and how to use them)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s tempting to go after broad, high-volume keywords with huge audiences (and equally huge competition). But there\u2019s an equally large — albeit more distributed audience — to be reached by targeting lower-competition, long tail keywords. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Imagine comets flying through the SEO solar system, if the most popular keywords<\/a> make up the head of the comets (‘running shoes’, for example), each comet is trailed by a tail of more specific keywords<\/a> like\u00a0‘long distance trail running shoes 2018’ and ‘best running shoes for flat feet’, that are useful in niche marketing.<\/a><\/p>\n

Strategically pursuing the right long tail keywords<\/a> as part of your SEO strategy can deliver several advantages.<\/p>\n

As they have lower search volumes, they are usually much less competitive, making it easier for your brand to rank highly in search engine results.<\/p>\n

Also, the specificity of long tail keywords<\/a> generally indicates that those web searchers are nearer to the action part of their customers’ journeys. As a result, these keywords tend to have higher conversion rates.<\/p>\n

Therefore, long tail keywords offer the opportunity to be discovered by your target audience when they are near their crucial decision points.<\/p>\n

If you deeply understand and satisfy their specific search intent<\/a> by providing compelling information or offers, even large competitors might not stand in your way.<\/p>\n

But knowing that you need a long tail SEO strategy is only half the battle won, you need to find those keywords which are not always obvious.<\/p>\n

Here are eight simple techniques that will help you target and find long tail keywords that align with your business\u2019 goals:<\/h2>\n

1. Let Google autofill suggest long tail keywords for you<\/h3>\n

This is as simple as it seems, type a broad search term into the Google search bar and you\u2019ll see a list of long tail keywords tuned to fit popular searches by users.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

For further suggestions, you can then enter these phrases (or variations that they inspire) and view more long tail keywords to target with your SEO campaigns. For example, inputting ‘running shoes for women’ will generate a fresh list of Google\u00a0auto-filled suggestions based around that (longer) keyword that get even longer tail still.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

2. Leverage Google\u2019s related searches<\/h3>\n

Similar to autofill, another completely free technique that leverages Google\u2019s search engine is to look at Google’s related searches. Simply type any keyword and scroll to the bottom of the search results page to view useful long tail keyword suggestions.<\/p>\n

\"Google's<\/p>\n

3. Take suggestions from Ubersuggest<\/a><\/h3>\n

Ubersuggest<\/a>\u00a0is a tool you can use to find long tail keywords. Simply enter a term to receive a list of top suggestions.<\/p>\n

\"Ubersuggest<\/p>\n

4. Generate suggestions with the LSIGraph\u00a0keyword generator<\/h3>\n

While the LSIGraph keyword generator<\/a> helps you discover latent semantic indexing<\/a> (LSI) keywords for semantic SEO, most LSI keywords can double as long tail keywords once you know how to recognize them.<\/p>\n

\"LSIGraph<\/p>\n

5. Find long tail keywords in question forms with Answer The Public<\/a><\/h3>\n

Answer The Public<\/a> aggregates results from Google and Bing to provide the most commonly searched questions related to a given term, and in a rather compelling visual format. Because valuable long tail keywords often happen to be in the form of a question, your SEO can benefit by utilizing these targets and providing content<\/a> that directly answers questions pertaining to your brand.<\/p>\n

\"Answer<\/p>\n

6. Search for relevant users\u2019 questions on Quora<\/h3>\n

Another way to source long tail keywords in question formats is to take a look at what people are asking on Quora<\/a>. For example, searching for the topic ‘running shoes’ will show questions that might be smart to target as long tail keywords (and answer with your content<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"Quora<\/p>\n

7. Check out user discussions in online forums<\/h3>\n

Forums can also prove informative by offering yet another window into the questions and interests that potential customers are focused on. You can leverage these more specific topics as long tail keywords, and choose those that spark the most active conversations. To locate forums that cover a particular topic, search for ‘<\/strong><\/em>[your broad search term] + forum’.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Online<\/p>\n

8. Use a Keyword Difficulty Tool<\/h3>\n

Inputting a targeted generic term into a Keyword Difficulty tool<\/a>\u00a0can yield numerous related-keyword opportunities, many of which will be long tail options.<\/p>\n

Tools tracking keyword difficulty usually also provide useful metrics to help you decide which long tail keywords make the most sense to target.<\/p>\n

These include relevance to the original keyword, the popularity of the search term, the level of competition you\u2019ll need to overcome in order to rank for your new long tail terms, and whether that keyword competition is within your site\u2019s competitive power.<\/p>\n

\"Keyword<\/p>\n

How to turn long tail keywords into SEO success?<\/h2>\n

Once you have a solid list of long tail keywords that are appropriate candidates to consider centering (or expanding) your SEO efforts around, you\u2019ll need to vet them with research to ensure they possess the potential to deliver value. Ultimately, they must meet the two criteria that you need to keep top of mind:<\/p>\n