The Power of Long-Tail Keywords For Sustainability

Many people focus their SEO efforts on optimizing for short, competitive keywords. However, leveraging long-tail keywords can give you a distinct advantage in SEO and make your sustainable product or service shine.

What are long-tail keywords?

Long-tail keywords are more specific internet search terms (usually longer) than a standard search query. They tend to have a higher conversion (i.e. make more sales) because the search intent is more straightforward (e.g. a user searching for “best organic shampoo” is more likely to buy than someone searching for “shampoo”). Long-tail basically means it’s more specific than a standard search term. This usually means they have more attention invested in the search results and are thinking about doing something with their result.

Characteristics of long-tail keywords

• they consist of more words (which means they are more specific)
• they usually have lower search volume, but also lower keyword difficulty
• they tend to have higher engagement and conversion
• they are responsible for most of the organic traffic (about 70%)

Long-tail keywords are used for specific online searches. For instance, someone might search for “easy vegetarian recipes for beginners” to find detailed cooking guides. Other examples of long-tail keyword include:

• biodegradable packaging solutions for small businesses
• solar panel installation for homes
• sustainability consulting services in Singapore

Why Long-Tail Keywords Matter

There are several reasons why long-tail keywords deserve more attention:

1. Easier to Rank For. With less sites targeting long-tail versions of popular searches, you stand a better chance of ranking high.
2. More Targeted Traffic. People searching long-tail queries have specific intent to purchase or take action. This means higher conversion rates.
3. Expand Your Reach. Optimizing for one short keyword limits potential visitors. Long-tail keywords bring in traffic from many related searches.
4. Rankings Are Stickier. Short tail terms fluctuate more from Google algorithm changes. Long-tail rankings remain more consistent over time.

How to Research Long-Tail Keywords

Follow these steps to find valuable long-tail keywords to target:

1. Identify Base Keyword Terms. Think about key products/services and how customers describe what you offer. These are base terms to build long-tail keywords from.
2. Leverage Google Suggestions. Google shows related queries – long-tail variations of base terms.
3. Use Keyword Research Tools. Input base terms into your SEO tool to surface more specific, long-tail keyword ideas.
4. Check Existing Analytics. See what long-tail terms you already rank for on page 2+ of Google.
5. Ask Customers for Feedback. Survey customers on what terms they used to find your site if possible. Target similar long-tail versions.

When using your SEO tool, Scroll through the list and tick any phrases that are:

1. Relevant to your base term
2. Likely to be searched by your target customer

Here’s what that looks like for the base term “sustainability consulting:”

What Are “Good” Long-tail Keywords?

You could pick from billions of long-tail keywords, as you’ll see during the keyword research process.

How do you know which you should home in on; those with the most value? Generally, a “good” long-tail keyword has 3 characteristics:

• Popularity (search volume)
• Keyword difficulty
• Relevance

A “good” search volume depends on the industry you’re in. (For example: 3,900 people search for “b2b sustainability strategies” versus 450k for “vegetarian recipes”.)

Generally, for keywords with a search volume of…

• <50: Avoid or group together (unless you’re trying the Keyword Golden Ratio technique)
• 50-250: Group similar terms together
• 250+: Use as a standalone focus keyword

Keyword Difficulty

Keyword difficulty shows how challenging it will be to achieve high rankings for a given keyword. Phrases are assigned a score from 1-100 – lower numbers represent easier keywords, while higher scores mean more effort is required to rank on page one.

An appropriate keyword difficulty target depends on your site’s current size and authority. Small, less established sites should begin with keywords on the simpler end of the spectrum. These terms face minimal competition, making it easy to rank.

Bigger sites boasting greater SEO clout can pursue keywords with medium or higher difficulty ratings. Having already cultivated trust with Google, they stand a better chance of outranking rivals for these competitive terms. Ultimately the ideal difficulty score to aim for correlates to your website’s existing presence and trust with search engines.

Source: Mangools

Search Intent

When targeting long-tail keywords, it’s not enough to just write a blog post. You must first determine the right type of content based on the search intent of the keyword. Search intent, as categorized by Google into four types – know, go, do, and buy – helps you understand the searcher’s motivation and guides you in crafting your content accordingly.

Source: Google

Conclusion

Long-tail keywords are specific search terms that are often longer and more detailed than typical keywords. They are easier to rank for in search engines, bring in more focused traffic, and lead to better conversion rates. Researching them involves understanding your base product or service, using tools like Google suggestions, and considering customer feedback. A good long-tail keyword is popular, not too hard to rank for, and relevant to your content. It’s also important to match your content with the searcher’s intent behind the keyword.