The Difference Between Long Tail & Short Tail Keywords | Kelsey Reidl, Marketing Consultant
Short Tail vs. Long Tail
Creating specific website architecture that’s going to enhance your Search Engine Optimization.
Before getting started on this blog, be sure to read part 1 and part 2.
In part 1, we are making sure you have identified at least 10 SEO-Optimized Keywords or key phrases you want to rank for.
In part 2, we dive into the 10 Essential Technical SEO Elements
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This blog will take you about 5 minutes to read through.
If you’re short on time and would rather download a resource to help you Choose The Right Keywords for SEO, then get your FREE 10:00 Training, right here. It’s free!
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In this blog (part 3), we are going to chat about how to create specific website architecture that’s going to enhance your Search Engine Optimization.
When you are thinking about your website structure, it’s important to remember that your website is your digital home on the internet!
People come to your site to explore different rooms (pages) and to have a comfortable experience as they move through it.
Before we discuss site architecture, let’s first define some key terms that we will be using.
What is a Short Tail Keyword?
If you type a word like “dog food” or “nutrition” into google, those words are referred to as a short tail keyword since they don’t necessarily communicate the searchers intent.
For example, does the searcher want to:
Buy dog food ?
Make dog food ?
Do they want dog food reviews ?
Are they searching for dog food photos and images?
Short Tail Keywords generally have HIGH SEARCH VOLUME and are quite high in competition. It can be really hard for you to EVER rank on page one for these types of keywords, so for that reason we will mostly avoid them when we’re beginning our SEO journey.
What is a Long Tail Keyword?
These are even more specific and descriptive terms such as “how to become a holistic nutritionist”
Typically, these keywords have a lower search volume and less competition. Even though longer tail keywords might have a lower search volume, they are still being searched so don’t discredit their potential.
Here are some examples for short tail keywords changed into long tail keywords:
Bonus tip: If you are unsure what to write as a long tail keyword don’t forget you can use Google Keyword Planner and type the website of your competitors and see what keywords they are ranking for!
Once you have identified the keywords you’d like to rank for, it’s time to build out your content strategy.
Now, let’s get back to the site architecture.
Most websites are built with just 4 pages, which is not an ideal architecture for ranking high on Google. The average site consists of just:
Home Page
About Page
Services Page
Contact Page
There is nothing wrong with having such a simple architecture, but with such a small digital footprint you will struggle to drive traffic to your site or rank high on Google.
This is where your website architecture becomes super important.
One simple way to build a stronger site architecture is to add a blog (or several). It is the perfect simple solution to SEO!
For instance, if you are a vegan chef, starting a recipe blog is a great way to highlight culinary delights and to share your expertise with the world!
You can reflect on our SEO blog (part 1) where we showed you how to identify SEO-Optimized Keywords that you want to rank for, which will help you in creating a 12 Month Content Calendar!
Routinely posting content and thoughts to your blog can attract many viewers and generate a loyal audience of paid clients.
Just make sure that there is a clear theme to your blog, and that you’re not talking about Electric Vehicles one day and Wrestle Mania the next! This is not the most SEO friendly strategy.
If you are in fact passionate about both topics, start 2 different blogs.
One last thing, if blogging isn’t your thing. THAT IS OKAY!
There are alternative options:
Do you host a podcast ?
Do you film youtube videos
Have you had any media appearances?
All of these can be transcribed and used as notes on your website.
Now, are you ready to start planning out your website architecture aka your content?
I’d recommend using a google sheet so you can track your keywords (see part 1) and all your technical elements (see part 2) and add a column where you can put your content ideas.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. You will make posts which do not perform well and that’s okay. The first thing you want to master is showing up consistently with the schedule you have decided to follow.
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Thanks for learning Everyday SEO™ with us!
If you’re short on time and would rather download a resource to help you Choose The Right Keywords for SEO, then get your FREE 10:00 Training, right here. It’s free!
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p.s.
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I created Everyday SEO™ because I want all business owners to experience the joy and the return on investment (ROI) of a smart and simple Search Engine Strategy.
During my career as a Marketing Consultant, I've learned first hand what it takes to 2x or 10x your website traffic, to rank on Page 1 of Google, and to leverage SEO to get visible to your dream clients - all without spending a penny!
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