22 Mar SEO: Long Tail Keywords In Copywriting
Every day, search engines process billions of search queries. These search queries, in marketing terms, are called keywords. These keywords can either by short or long tail keywords. Usually, when a keyword has more than three words in it, it is seen as a long tail keyword.
When looking at keywords, the short tail keywords will most likely be more popular and have a higher number of searches per month, although this should not be a reason for you to think that long tail keywords are less valuable than short tail keywords.
Despite being less popular in terms of search volumes, the long tail keywords have a better conversion rate than shorter keywords. For example, instead of optimising your copy for “marketing company”, you will look at making it more specific such as “digital marketing companies in Johannesburg”. By making it a long tail keyword, you are honing the search but the chances that you will come up organically, is higher – so is that the right people will find you.
Here are some tips on how to choose and incorporate long tail keywords into your copy:
- Take a look at Google
It might sound almost too easy but utilise Google’s search box to find long tail keywords. While it is a simple solution, it still works. Go to Google and start a search for a term that is related to the copy that are you trying to write. Google will automatically suggest some search terms and those terms are ones that can work well as your long tail keywords.
For example, if you type in “ladies clothing”, long tail keywords Google might suggest “ladies clothing stores South Africa”.
- Think like your user
With long tail keywords, it is necessary to think about your user and specifically what they will type in when it comes to local context. Long tail keywords are great for local SEO; so is having your website come up in the local search results. This is especially important when you are focusing on getting local customers.
Take some time to think about what the locals in the area might be searching for and how they would type this into the search engines. It is likely that the locals will use searches with their location added to the search bar. Although these might have lower search volumes compared to other keywords (because they are specific), and the chances that you are reaching the right user is higher, these keywords can make the world of a difference.
- Be careful with keywords
There are also a few things that you need to be considerate about when it comes to keywords. It might be tempting to use keywords that are very popular but not relevant to your business. Don’t ever do this. This technique will most likely end up doing more damage than good.
And alongside this, it is also good to remember that the keywords should never be forced. If you want to utilise long tail keywords, it has to be integrated naturally into your copy. When you force
long tail keywords into your copy, it doesn’t look and sound right. The chances are also high that your reader will notice.
- Go for consistency and quality
When it comes to SEO as well as long tail keywords, it is always recommendable to go back to the fundamentals and focus on creating quality content. A few things to keep in mind for SEO are that the copy length and the keyword density needs to be optimal for the best results. With SEO, longer content is sometimes better for SEO purposes.
Along with the quality of your content comes consistency. It is a good idea to post content on your blogs and to keep your content updated.
- The other side of SEO
While SEO and keywords go hand in hand, it is important to realise that SEO is about so much more than just getting the keywords right. There are many technical off-site and on-site factors that also need to be optimised in order to get the most out of your SEO efforts.
That is also why getting experts in on the subject of SEO is never a bad idea. But with some effort, a great copy and a bit of determination, great SEO is something that is within reach of every business.