SEO: using short or long search terms?

Long keywords (long tail keywords) have a higher conversion rate. When the keywords are very specific, customers get specific results. Long keywords also have less competition, so they often rank high in the search results much faster. On top of that, 70% of all Google searches consist of long keywords.

How does it work?

Short (short tail) searches consist of one, two or three keywords. When you only use two keywords, you’ll have a lot of competition on these two keywords. Because of this, you’ll often not make it onto the first pages of Google, because competition is very high and large companies often beat small companies. Customers like to get the most relevant results in view, which is why they often use more than three words.

Imagine this: you want to buy a new blue blouse with short sleeves online. When you only type in “blouse” or “blue blouse”, the search results won’t be very specific. You’ll then get a huge number of results, but you’ll still have to search for a blouse with short sleeves. When you type in “blue men’s blouse with short sleeves”, you’ll get fewer search results, but the ones you’re actually looking for. The customer will be more inclined to click on your link and go on to buy something.

70% of all searches therefore consist of long tail keywords. It’s therefore very important for a business that customers can find you this way.

Competitors often focus only on keywords with a high search volume, while keywords with a low search volume have less competition. What’s important to know is that several keywords with a low search volume can together represent an attractive search volume. Competitors also often use keyword tools like Google Keyword Planner. These tools often only release information about the 30% short searches, because the long searches are too varied.

How do I come up with long keywords?

First of all, it’s important to put yourself in your target audience’s shoes and ask yourself what’s on their mind. By thinking this way, you get better insight into what kind of questions they might have.

Google can also help you find long keywords. Google’s search engine, after all, has Google Suggest built in. This is a handy tool for coming up with ideas for long keywords. When you enter a search term in the search bar, you’ll automatically see several results. Your search term is, after all, supplemented with suggestions from Google.

On top of that, Google Analytics is also a handy tool you can use to come up with ideas for new keywords. In Google Analytics you can find an overview of all the search terms your website has been found on. You can combine these search terms with each other to create long keywords.