LongTail

Generally speaking, Long tail refers to products that are rarely available on the market due to a lack of demand, i. e. niche products that are not worthwhile for the common dealer. In SEO the longtail keyword designates those that are searched for less and consist of several words. Longtail keywords are therefore search terms or combinations of search terms with a lower search volume.

Description

Longtail search terms are generally rarely entered and generate little traffic compared to the most important keywords of a page or to generic and "single" keywords. Nevertheless, the terms in the longtail in sum are not to be underestimated. In search engines, it is more likely that searches are carried out using combinations of terms and are therefore very specific. The traffic generated by long tail search queries is usually proportionally higher than that generated by individual search terms. At the same time, the more specific the query is, the greater the chance of conversion. Thus, long tail optimization can also have a positive effect on the conversion rate.

Long tail optimization

It is not usually easy for a new website to quickly achieve a high ranking based on keywords that are often searched for. An alternative would be not to optimize based on these popular terms but rather to (also) concentrate on the long tail. It is easier to be ranked higher through terms that are rarely used as keywords by anyone. In addition, a regional reference can also be made. A user who is looking for a business in his/her town enters the name of the place when searching and, therefore, falls in the long tail category.

Whoever optimizes based on long tail should structure the appropriate text comprehensively, and ensure than many different combinations of the search terms as well as the thematic relevant terms and synonyms are present. Longer texts also produce more combinations.

Importance for SEO

In addition to on-page optimization with 2-3 keywords, it is also possible to focus on long tail. Both are not mutually exclusive as every website is optimized individually. It is, therefore, possible to optimize subpages through long tail and limit the landing page to 2-3 words at the same time. In principle, the optimization of multi-part search terms can lead to sustainable success, because the competition in this area is often lower. The disadvantage, however, is that there are theoretically infinite possible combinations. Therefore, the primary focus should not be on optimizing for individual or specific longtails, but rather on the fact that the content covers the topic of the website as broadly as possible and thus also covers many longtail search queries.