Why You Should Target Long-Tail Keywords

When people ask me for advice on search engine optimisation, I often say to them that ranking on page one of Google isn’t about working hard, it’s about working smart.

To explain what I mean by this, I’d like to talk to you about long-tail keywords and how they can be used to help your website rank at the very top of Google’s search results.

Let’s say that you have a dog training website in Leeds and you’re trying to get the word out about your business. Naturally, in order to attract more customers via the internet, they need to be able to find you via the search engines (which is where most online traffic emanates from).

Well, this is where using long-tail keywords can help you…

Your first thought might be to target keywords like “dog trainer” or “dog training”, for example. I mean, these are the most keywords most relevant to your business, right?

So surely these should be the keywords you target?

Wrong!

And this is the kind of mistake that many beginners make. They target keywords that are far too general to their niche, and therefore, hugely competitive. As a result, despite spending weeks and months working on their SEO strategy, building back-links and adding content, they end up languishing on page 89 of the search results, where no one will ever find them!

They’re working hard, but not smart!

Instead, what they should be doing is selecting a series of long-tail keywords relevant to their website and targeting those instead.

And crucially, these long-tail keywords will have far fewer competing websites in the Google search results. Sure, the search volume maybe lower, but their chances of ranking on page one are far higher. And they can rank on page one for a multitude of long-tail keywords too, not just one.

With this example, it would make sense to focus on “local searches” by choosing keyword phrases such as “dog training in Leeds” and “dog training West Yorkshire”. You could then conduct some keyword research to drill-down into other long-tail keywords relevant to what your business offers, and you can do this by using Google’s Keyword Planner.

All you need to do here is type in your principle keyword (such as dog training) and then Google’s Keyword Tool will spit out a huge selection of alternative and relevant keywords to target, while also showing you the global monthly search volume of each one, i.e. how often those keywords are typed into Google.

This will enable you to select a small selection of tightly focused and frequently searched long-tail keyword phrases that are particularly relevant to your business, and what you offer.

Use this tactic, and you’ll stand a great chance of ranking on page one!

Always be Awesome

Work Smart and Not Hard

Adrian Hibbert
http://www.TheSmartWaytoMakeMoneyOnline.com