How to Boost Google Ranking with Long Tail Keywords

Do you want to get more traffic to your blog? If you depend on social media to get more visitors to your website, that still works. But imagine if your blog was found in the top Google search results?

Your website traffic would increase dramatically!

I have a few blogs and get the majority of my website traffic from organic Google search results.

Generating qualified visitors that convert to paying customers is very doable when you focus your content around long tail keywords.

There is never a guarantee that your blog will appear in the top Google search results. However, using long tail keywords coupled with in-depth, value-driven content will help increase traffic to your blog.

What are Long Tail Keywords?

Long tail keywords are search queries that include three, four, or five very specific keyword phrases. These searches have very low search volume. People use these exact phrases when they are looking for information about something very specific.

For example, if you were searching for “weight loss”, that would not be considered a long tail keyword because it’s too broad. This searcher is looking for general information. The competition for this keyword is so high that you would never rank for it.

Searching for “losing weight in a week without exercise”, represents an extremely specific search and is considered a long tail phrase. The search competition is so low you can compete for this keyword. A person performing this search is ready to make a purchase if you can provide the solution they are seeking.

Some long tail phrases have NO search volume at all. With so many more people searching for specific things on Google, nearly 20% of all Google searches are first time search queries.

I did a case study a while back which further proves this point. I wrote a blog post focused around a specific topic that had zero search volume. It was about a new product launch that was planned which was very unique. I wrote the post, answering every question about this new product that I could possibly think of.

I was rewarded after the product launched with traffic trickling into my blog post. It turned into a large trickle within a few month as the product gained popularity and I made sales.

That’s just one example. If one person is searching for a unique long tail phrase that has never been searched before, eventually others will search for it too.

Although the traffic may be low, these type of posts are usually high converting. Right? You want to convert your traffic to cash!

You can cash in on that traffic!

Why are Long Tail Keywords Important for SEO?

Long tail keywords are important for search engine optimization so users can find your website in Google organic search results. Since 41.7% of all searches are 5+ words in length and organic search results make up 64% of all website visitors, these type of keywords can give your website an huge increase in traffic.

Using SEO with long tail words gives you the best chance to be included in those results. This strategy also helps your visitors engage with your posts regardless of where they found you because your content will address something very specific.

 

How does Google Search Work?

Over the years, the Google algorithm continues to change to better serve their customers. The way people search for information has evolved. For example, with voice search available on mobile devices, people are asking very specific questions.

Google then looks at all the possible matches to their questions and shows content that is most relevant to the user.

Google’s search algorithm is based on over 200 ranking factors that we don’t need to go into. What’s important is that Google makes a determination about which blog content is most relevant to a user’s search query. That’s where your long tail keywords become important. You want YOUR content to be most relevant to that search query.

Video: Content Market Tips about Keywords

How to Identify Long Tail Keywords

Long tail keywords are typically four or more words that make up a phrase. I would go for 5 or more since Since 41.7% of all searches are 5+ words in length! People are performing searches with specific questions, which results in very specific phrases.

For example they are not merely searching for : fitness

They are digging deeper and searching for something like:

How to get fit at home without equipment

If you wrote content around the word “fitness,” you would never rank in Google because the competition is too high and the topic is too broad.

If you wrote content around the long tail keyword, you have a chance to rank because the competition is very low and the topic is very specific.

Here is a fairly new blog I created to test out the long tail keywords vs broad keywords. You can see that the traffic started increasing after I implemented the new strategy last Fall. I no longer keep it updated and created it for testing purposes. I know, I’m a geek!

That brings us to the ingredients that makeup long tail keywords:

• Very specific
• Low search volume

I know exactly what you are thinking right now. Why write content focused on very low search volume? Am I right?

The fact is the long tail keyword searches account for about 40% of all search queries. You can actually compete there and get traffic to your blog!

Now imagine if you wrote 100 articles over the course of a year that all focused on long tail keywords. Your traffic would explode over time. Conversely, if you only wrote content based on topics that were too broad, your chances of ranking in Google page 1 are slim to none.

Where can You Find Long Tail Keywords?

You can find keywords anywhere that you can perform a search. Although  Google Keyword Planner is a popular tool to get research done, there are other methods that are less widely used where you can find the golden words.

1 – Use Google’s “Searches related too..”

If you perform a Google search and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will find the golden words under “Searches relate too…”  I love using these as a foundation for getting ideas that I can research even further.

1. Go to Google and perform a simple search.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and see the “Related Searches.” These are gret ideas!
   
3. Note that a couple of these keywords do not include the original search term. These are the ones you want to research further! You can now take the terms that you like and keep repeating searches for search volume and competition.
   

2 – Use Answer the Public’s Free Search Tool to Find Question Keywords

AnswerthePublic is a free tool that automates the gathering of questions. These questions are the insights that you need to create better content that addresses the needs of users. You enter a keyword term in the search box and you’ll get content ideas. Here’s how to use it:

1. Type in a search term.
   
2. Click country to choose the country whose results you want to see.
3. Click Get Questions.
4. Check out the results!
   

This is just one portion of the search results page. You’ll get another visual results with prepositions instead of questions and the entire list broken down by letter of the alphabet.

3 – Use Soovle.com Free Search Tool to Find Keywords from 5 Sources

Soolve.com shows you keyword suggestions results from seven different sources:

• Google
• Wikipedia
• Yahoo
• Bing
• YouTube
• Answer.com
• Amazon

Soovle is super easy to use and gives you quick access to the source search engine if you want to continue your search there.

1. Go to Soovle.com and type in a simple search term.
2. The results page includes an incredible list of long tail search terms, each categorized under their original source for further investigation.

OK, so when you use tools like Soolve and AnswerthePublic, half your work is already done!

4 – Google Webmaster Tools

Another great source of muliple phrase keywords is your own website. Head over to Google Webmaster tools and check the keywords that you are already ranking for.

You may be surprised to see that you are ranking for phrases that you didn’t know about. These results are a great way to find pages on your website that are ranking out of the page one results for a search term. You can then tweak that blog post to further optimize it for a page one result!

How to Include Long Tail Keywords in Blog Content

Before writing any content, remember that Google is only interested in serving their customers the content that is most relevant to their search query.

1 – Include your keywords in your blog post headline in a natural way. Of course we are mere mortals and coming up with a compelling headline does not come naturally.

There are plenty of free tools you can use. I wrote a post about them here. Great headlines will make all the difference when your post shows up in Google search results. Will a user click your headline or another?

2 – Write your content around user intent. Although keywords are crucial to search queries, Google is really focused on the intent of the user.

Your blog content should be focused around providing answers to these user queries. In our example of the keyword query:

How to get fit at home without equipment

Your content should provide a comprehensive answer to that query. Make your content worth reading. Long-form content that provides a lot of value to your audience is key! Remember, your content is about your audience needs and wants, NOT YOURS!

Certainly you can include the keyword phrase naturally in the post, but Google is really looking at whether your blog content satisfies the query of the user.

3 – Be sure to deep link within your own website. Internal links can help boost your SEO and help with navigation on your website. They also keep your audience on your website by giving them more relevant content to read.

Video: Boost Website SEO with Internal Link Building

Final Thoughts on Using Long Tail Keywords to Increase Google Rankings

If you are not doing keyword research and writing content around it you are missing out on a TON of organic traffic from Google! I get the majority of traffic to my blogs from Google and enjoy it very much!

I don’t have to spend too much time promoting in social media and don’t have to depend on it. I get new customers and email subscribers every day and I owe it all to ranking in Google for thousands of keywords across my websites.

Start implementing these strategies today and you will reap the benefits! Not only will your blog posts get found in Google search, but your traffic will be very targeted. Targeted traffic is easier to convert!

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