Long Tail Keywords

Have you built a great website but nobody is coming to visit? Many people are looking to make an income on the internet, but cannot understand why they are not getting traffic. This is where long tail keywords are so important. A few years ago a good site with a prominent main keyword was all that was needed, but not any longer. In those days you may have been competing with a few thousand other sites, now it could be a few million. That does not mean that you cannot succeed, after all millions of new people are coming online each year, so even though the competition may have increased, so has your possible traffic, if only you can reach them.

Long tail keywords are nearly always 2-4 word phrases related to your main topic, but narrow and specific. Try typing "stroller" into a search engine, it will return about 14 million sites, but if you type "red tandem stroller", only 161 thousand sites are returned. This could not really be described as a long tail phrase as the competition is still high, but it does show how, by using more specific keywords, you can cut the competition and improve your chances. It is easier to rank on the first pages of a search engine and get traffic with long tail phrases, than popular phrases.

One big advantage of using a long tail keyword is that you are likely to provide exactly the information the searcher is looking for and if you are supplying a product the potential for a sale is much greater.

Long tail keywords will not have has many searches as the more popular keyword and this is where thorough research is required. You should be looking for phrases that have a reasonable number of searches and very little competition from other sites.

There are a number of software programs you can use to find long tail keywords. Some you buy outright, others have a monthly subscription. If you are just starting out and cannot afford any of these programs then Google's keyword tool will give you a list of keywords associated with a popular keyword and a guide to number of searches and competition.

So if you are having trouble getting traffic, stop trying to complete with the big boys and find some good long tail keywords, there's plenty left if you just look for them.

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