Increasing sales or ad revenue is often one of the biggest concerns of a website owner. There are ways to make this happen for virtually any website. One relatively unconventional, but logical way to do this is by tapping into the power of long tail keywords.
The theory behind long tail keyword comes from a Wired Magazine article in which Chris Anderson spoke of the benefits of catering to the minority. Rather than selling high-demand products, Anderson suggested that in going for niche items their collective sales could outperform more popular products. The theory translates quite nicely for website owners, as well.
Most Internet users instinctively understand what a long tail keyword is. They are really nothing more than the natural phrases that are typed into searches to help users land on the pages they really want. The more detailed the phrase, the more likely it is for a searcher to obtain the information they really need or want.
If a person searching is looking for information on training a dog, for example, it's possible they would go beyond typing in "dog training". Their actual search might include terms such as "training a golden retriever", "housebreaking Labrador puppies", "agility training for dogs". These particular terms might not have the ranking or traffic potential that that main keywords do, but they have proven very useful for tapping into traffic in a different way. The trick here is that these phrases don't have the competition that main words might.
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.
There are some basic steps involved in optimizing a website with long tail keywords. It all begins with looking at the competition and seeing what they do. Then, take a look at the possible long tail keywords that would work for an individual site. Develop content around those keywords. For example, create pages or posts, for bloggers, that include a keyword and a phrase in the title and within the body. It is often quite beneficial to make sure content is relevant, reads well and makes sense. In short, make it long tail keyword rich, but informative, as well.
Driving traffic to a website isn't always easy. Going through the backdoor by targeting niches can be one way to make this happen. Long tail keywords are the key that can unlock it all. It is extremely important to use them.
About the author: Jeff Alderson is a Florida based software developer. He is an expert on PPC and SEO tactics. To boost sales, Jeff suggests using a keyword tool to find profitable keywords This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.
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