To put it simply, the difference between long and short-tail keywords comes down to their difference in popularity. More people search for short-tail keywords, while fewer search for long-tail keywords.
Because of that, long-tail keywords are easier to rank for and they attract users with very specific intent. This fact has made targeting them a popular and widely used SEO tactic.
So, should you do the same and prioritise long tail keywords at all times?
Before we get into that, below are two types of long-tail keywords that you should know about first.
Supporting long-tail keywords
These keywords are less popular variations of more popular search engine queries. Basically broader topics in disguise. An example of this could be some people searching for the term “chest of drawers” while most people just searching for the term “drawers”.
According to Ahrefs, both terms have similar keyword difficulty, proving that, in this instance, at least, using supporting long tail keywords as primary keywords may not be the best idea. In this case a better idea would be to use topical long-tail keywords, which we will get into now.
Topical long-tail keywords
Topical long-tail keywords are not only the most popular way to search, they are topics in themselves and not topics in disguise, as seen below.
Image source: Ahrefs
How to tell the difference between topical or supporting long-tail keywords
1. Google the search term and look at what the top-ranking pages talk about.
2. Use the parent topic feature in Arefs Keyword Explorer to see if the keyword that you searched for is the same as the parent topic. If it is, then you are dealing with a topical keyword.
Strictly speaking, the “parent topic” or “seed keyword” is the most popular keyword that the top-ranking page ranks for.
Knowing whether your keyword is topical or not is very helpful when doing keyword research because, if you manage to rank for it, you’ll most likely also rank for the less searched-for, supporting long-tail keywords as well.
Which keywords are better, long or short-tail keywords?
If you can believe it, neither… This is because both types of keywords each have their pros and cons.
Yes, short-tail keywords have loads of competition, but it’s not impossible to outrank pages within the top 10 search results. It may just take years of refining your content and building backlinks, but once done, you’ll most likely receive a ton of traffic from those short-tail keywords.
Oppositely, long-tail keywords are great for other reasons. This is because:
- They are less competitive
- There are loads of them
- They are mostly specific (which means that you can attract visitors with specific intent).
The only thing with long-tail keywords is that you need to rank for a lot of them in order to bring in a good amount of traffic. But that shouldn’t deter you, as long as the traffic you are receiving is positive for your business, that should be all that matters.
Let’s take a look at the below example to understand more.
Let’s say someone searches for left-handed scissors. From the get-go, we can assume that there won’t be very many searches for this term because it’s considered a long-tail keyword. But that’s okay because long-tail keywords usually have high search intent which means that they have high commercial intent.
In other words, long tail keywords signify a strong intent on the part of the searcher to complete a transaction. Whether it be to buy something, inquire about a service, or another type of action that leads to the strong possibility of a sale being made, as seen below.
Image source: Search Engine Journal
The bottom line? It’s a good idea to target both long and short-tail keywords if you want to be the “go-to” shop or resource for your niche. Just make sure that you target topical long-tail keywords rather than supporting long-tail keywords.
How to find short-tail keywords
There are many keyword research tools out there like Ahrefs, Moz, Semrush and more that will help you to find a list of short-tail keywords.
Most of them sort the keyword results by volume. The results at the top of the page with the highest volume are considered your short-tail keywords.
If you don’t quite know what to search for in the beginning, try:
- Looking at topics that people talk about on social media
- Analysing your competitors’ keywords
- Using research audience tools like Answer The Public
How to find long tail keywords
To find long tail keywords just change the filters on your chosen keyword research tool. In Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, for example, you can start by:
- Entering a broad topic
- Going to the matching terms report
- Setting the volume and traffic filters to a max of 300
- Clicking show results
How to analyse competitors’ keywords
Analysing competitors’ keywords will involve a similar process if you end up using a tool like Ahrefs Site Explorer.
To find the long tail keywords that your competitors are using:
- Enter the URL
- Navigate to the organic keywords report
- Set the volume to max 300
- Click show results
Conclusion
It’s important to remember not to just target keywords because they are long or short-tail keywords. Instead, find keywords with search traffic potential and make sure you create content that aligns with search intent.
When choosing keywords, make sure that you can rank for them and make sure that the keyword in question has “business potential”.
