Let’s take a look at a search for “jeans.” It’s worth noting that there are different specificity levels, and you can’t just categorize all keywords as either short or long and call it a day.
![how to identify long tail keywords how to identify long tail keywords](https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Resized-RECPC.jpg)
Long-tail keywords have searches with a clear and unambiguous intent. I’d categorize “short-tail” keywords as generic searches without a specific intent. While long-tail keywords are usually three to five words long, short-tail are, as the name suggests, shorter at one or two words.Īs I’ve mentioned, I disagree with this historical categorization. The phrase “long-tail” is due a revamp as Google has become better at understanding how different queries have the same intent. But the intent is the same as “storing bananas,” which isn’t long-tail, but they ask the same question. Historically, long-tail keywords are regarded as at least three words long.īut long-tail isn’t about the length it’s the specificity of the query.įor example, “how to store bananas” is a long-tail keyword. In the example above, the intent is to buy “12 red roses.” As you’re serving up specific pages that match the intent, the user is more likely to convert.
![how to identify long tail keywords how to identify long tail keywords](https://static.semrush.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1010/blog/uploads/media/e8/64/e864b8080189dcb8b3dcd095e03d3547/Long-tail-keywords-scheme.png)
Outside of the SERP, it also impacts your conversion rate. The extra information in this search enables Google to show better-matched results in the SERP, resulting in higher CTR. This isn’t usually the case when using long-tail keywords.Īn example of a long-tail keyword search is “12 red roses bouquet.”Ĭompared to a short-tail keyword search of “roses,” the intention is much clearer - the user knows what they want. When we search with just one keyword, the chances are that while we know what topic we’re searching for, we don’t know exactly what we’re searching for. Long-tail keywords are typically phrases 3-5 words long.
![how to identify long tail keywords how to identify long tail keywords](https://nichesiteproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Longtail-keyword-percentage-search-volume-graph.png)
How to identify long tail keywords how to#
In this article, I’ll dive into what long-tail keywords are, how to find them, and how to use them best. If you’re in a highly competitive niche, long-tail keywords may be your only way to get traffic, especially if you’re competing with higher authority domains. Long-tail keywords are associated with lower search volume and often dismissed as lower value, but this shouldn’t be the case. When you think of your target keywords, you’re likely to think of a 2-3 word phrase, otherwise known as a short-tail keyword, and you wouldn’t be wrong.