Choose the right keyword with simple research and the best free tools. An understanding of these will make your selection profitable
Long-tail keywords, what are they, and how to use them
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Table of contents
Many years ago a single word would yield search results however you must now construct a phrase that will be as close to a question or even a voice search on a mobile device.
Every phrase or Longtail word will have an audience however not every search will yield results.
With nearly three million blog posts being loaded every day the job of the writer has changed.
If you don't get your keyphrase right you don't get read. Sorry to be so blunt but it is a competitive world out there and you need to be right on top of your game.
Every Key phrase has some traffic and a bunch of competition that you need to get in front of.
It is far better to have less traffic and little competition but how do you know this.
First of all, you have a lot of tools that hold the answer to this question so a simple search will yield an idea of results. These tools use a variety of parameters and will never quite line up so it is just a good estimate. At the bottom of this page, I have included the Jaaxy tool that I use consistently.
The traffic and competition dilemma in Keywords
Let's be clear here and make sure you understand that only page one of a search term matters, few people ever go past page one in a Google search and those that do might try one more but that's about it.
Getting to page one is not easy it takes time and will depend on several inputs.
As a general rule, high traffic will generally mean high competition, however high competition does not always relate to traffic.
Therefore you search for a balance of these to choose a word that will deliver results.
Choose the right keyword with simple research and the right way
How to find the right keyword to use
Most people find this a very hard task and battle the elements only to lose the race.
You can do better than that.
| Search Wikipedia | This will give a host of ideas |
| Use Reddit or Quora | Find out what others are asking |
| Ask Google | Google knows the answers |
| Finally, use the Keyword tool | And maybe start again |
You could write about dogs as an example. However, this is an extremely broad term and you could never rank for it because of competition that has been around for years.
Wikipedia will give you all sorts of history, breeds, history, origins, and some vital information to think about. “Why are dogs colour blind ” is a simple one that I chose to write about.
Reddit dogs, funny Reddit dog owners, Reddit dog training, Reddit dog gifs, Reddit dog videos, and Reddit dog pictures.
From this simple list, you can get ideas for your post. It might start with a breed and answer a question like; “Why are people so scared of American Pitbulls'
You may be promoting dog food, grooming aids, or cheap toys however you will get readers to your site this way.
Google search.
Google makes the rules so using a Google search makes sense however we can do much more.
We can search dogs.
These are other options that Google offers as search choices.
Now after the search term dogs leave a space and type the letter A
This will give you a whole range of new choices.
Then continue working through the alphabet until you find something that suits you or what you are writing about.
By now you should have a list of key phrases that have some potential. As a quick example, I have extracted just three however you may have a hundred or so
- Your Wikipedia list————————-Why are dogs colour blind
- Then the Reddit ones———————Funny dogs
- finally Google recommendations—–Dogs and cats online deceased
Using a keyword tool
Next, we move to a Keyword tool like Jaaxy.com or Neilpatelubersuggest.com
Traffic = the number of searches on page one of your site
QSR = the number of sites with an exact match of the keyword
KQI = Keyword quality indicator, Green is good through to red bad
SEO = A balance between traffic and competition. A number close to 100 is best
A simple shift in spelling from color (USA) to color (UK) makes a difference and would indicate a better choice.
Now I searched Dogs to show the difference.
This has a huge amount of traffic however 300 sites are ahead of you on the list. That is about page 35 or as far away from being found as you can be.
My point is that using a keyword like dogs will make sure you fail in being searched. However, ad a long tail or phrase to it and you can get to the top quickly.
There are other elements to this and I discuss this further in a recent blog on time to get to the top
Using more Keywords
You will note that I use a variety of keywords in my subheadings throughout the article. Google will often pick these up and rank you for that as well thus getting you closer to the front.
In my keyword research, I found that these phrases could be used as subsidiary search terms however I picked the best for my focus keyword.
Conclusion
The keyword subject is the most important one that you will understand to achieve a page one ranking. If you ignore this then only blind luck can be your friend.
It took me a long time to fully understand the magnitude of impact that this can have.
The traffic on a Tool is not exact and often it is well out particularly showing fewer searches than there are. Your Google analytics will show you a lot more on this as you begin to check the results.
Finally, it takes time for your page to rank. It could be as little as seven weeks or out to a year depending on a range of factors and words.
Consider the time factor and don't get anxious when you are slow to rate. It will happen over time.
Keywords are important so treat them well.
Choose the right keyword with simple research by Peter Hanley
