How To Use Long-Tail Keywords To Stand Out

Ranking high on search engines like Google or Bing is often a top priority for businesses, and one way to achieve that is by using SEO, known as search engine optimization. But it’s not enough to just pick a keyword and write a whole blog around it. Expert marketers know how to use long-tail keywords to stand out from other websites, thus helping their pages rank higher in search engines.

What Is A Long Tail Keyword?

When implementing an SEO strategy, you must pick a keyword to focus your entire page or blog post on. These could be any number of words that you want people to search you for. So if you’re a digital designing agency, some of your keywords would be design, creative, or the word digital. However those are too vague and chances are, bigger companies will dominate the search engines.

That’s where long tail keywords come in.

These keywords use a string of words as opposed to just one, to create a hyper-targeted result. So instead of using the word design like the previous example, you can use something like

“best design agency for business cards”.

That long-tail keyword will now populate in search engines when people type in that exact keyword.

How To Use Long Tail Keywords To Stand Out

Understanding what a long tail keyword is can now give you a better perspective on how you can use them to stand out above your competitors.

The secret to SEO is targeting enough users who actively want you as opposed to getting as many people as possible hoping someone will see you and convert. In fact, it’s estimated that 70% of all web traffic is through very specific searches, so you’ll have a better shot at ranking high on a search engine using more specific keywords like long tail keywords.

Your first step into capitalizing on long tail keywords is to choose the string of words that you want to rank for and that make sense for your audience. It’s easy to tell when you just “stuff” you page with keywords, so make sure that your approach is authentic yet intelligently done.

Your intent is more important than the keyword itself, meaning how you’ll be using it will rank higher than the actual keyword. So if you’re a baker, and you want to rank for the word cupcake, make sure your pages and website reflect what the customer wants. Long tail keywords such as “the best cupcake delivery in Ohio” or “the only vegan cupcake in downtown Atlanta” would be a great addition to your SEO strategy. It’s specific, straight to the point, and offers value to your audience.

Advanced Techniques To Stand Out

Now once you’ve picked your long tail keywords, you need to implement them on your website. You need to think both strategically and creatively to achieve a positive yielding result from your SEO efforts.

One of the more advanced techniques is to use your keywords in your opening paragraph for a blog post or content on a page. This is important to both deliver your message quicker as well as letting search engines know that this is the keyword you want to rank for.

A search engine will read or “crawl” your page to look for your keywords and what people are searching for. Google, in particular, will put its users above websites, so it will be searching for terms that your audience will look for and see if it matches what you have on your site.

Though it may seem simple, having a naturally flowing headline or header on you blogs and pages are also important. Keyword stuffing, as mentioned before, doesn’t work so you must create a headline that is easy to read and can provide value instantly for your reader. When used in conjunction with having your keywords in your first paragraph, you’ve created a rock solid piece of content that’s ready to be highly ranked on search engines.