Long Tail Keywords Definition

The term keyword, as it relates to search engine optimization (SEO), is data that represents a single word which a site operator might be interested in ranking for. A long tail keyword is a phrase of keywords, typically containing at least two or three words.

It’s important to understand that precise definitions for the terms keyword and long tail keyword don’t necessarily exist as some degree of flexibility exists among digital marketers. You might see the “keyword” used to represent one or two words of a search string, while some may consider any phrase with more than two words a “long tail keyword.”

Practically applied, all that one needs to understand is that a long tail keyword is longer than a keyword. Long tail keywords generally represent more detailed search queries, thus fewer people are likely to search for them—however, since the search is more specific, long tail keywords can be very valuable to rank for, since people looking for more granular information are more likely to be further along the buying cycle and the keywords themselves tend to have much lower competition.

Long Tail Keywords Example

A business decides to capitalize on “long tail SEO” and begins compiling a list of long tail keywords relevant to their business. If “weight loss” can be considered a keyword, then “weight loss tips for men over 50” can be considered a long tail keyword—if relevant to the business, a long tail keyword offers an opportunity to present more tightly targeted marketing content to visitors. The business optimizes their website for their selected batch of long tail keywords, making sure that they appear naturally throughout their content.

Why are Long Tail Keywords Important in Strategic Marketing?

Content Creation

Content created with long tail keywords in mind can help customers discover answers about more specific questions and bring in traffic that may be more prone to buying.

Continuous Improvement

An important part of continually improving one’s website, long tail keywords can generally be discovered and optimized for throughout the lifetime of a business.