Why Are Long Tail Keywords So Important? - page 2

by James Woolley, 2/28/2007

That basically explains why long tail keywords are so important in relation to SEO, but I should also point out that these longer terms are also good selling terms, and therefore convert very well. This is because these longer terms often better convey exactly what the searcher is looking for.

For example, let's say your site collects leads for a particular dentist in San Diego. Now a page optimized for the term 'San Diego dentist' would obviously have very high conversions, whereas a page optimized for the broader term 'dentists' would receive a lot more traffic (if ranked highly) but would see minimal, if any conversions. So this is another reason why you should target those long tail keywords.

This also ties in with pay-per-click advertising because while most inexperienced advertisers will target the highly searched broader terms, the advertisers who are cleaning up are those bidding on the long tail keywords that get less traffic, but are far more targeted and have far less competition.

So to conclude, if you have any kind of website and are only optimizing your site and it's respective pages for the most popular, and most competitive search terms, then you are missing out on a lot of free and targeted traffic from the search engines. This is equally applicable to pay-per-click advertising, so the importance of long tail keywords cannot be underestimated.

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About the author

James Woolley is a full-time marketer who runs a website and newsletter dedicated to helping people make money online through internet marketing and website promotion.

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