Short Tail - SEO
In Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) there are two categories of keywords; Long Tail and Short Tail. When users search for keywords within Google for example; they almost certainly will search for a Short Tail keyword first. Short Tail keywords are very broad and thus are very competitive as there will be more websites trying to target them. This is especially true for keywords like ‘Loans’ and ‘Mortgages’.
Why use Short Tail?
Short Tail searches are very competitive, and can cost a substantial amount of money to get your website ranking on the first page of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP); yet once on the first page you can expect a huge amount of traffic and can have great conversion rates (depending on website structure and functionality of course). Short Tail keywords are great for covering broad topics e.g. Chinese restaurants. A Google search on this keyword would return all Chinese restaurants indexed by Google. This would be great if you were on the first page of the SERP; but if you’re not then a Long Tail keyword like Chinese restaurants Manchester would be a better option.
Should I use Short Tail or Long Tail?
This question is often asked many times. Depending on how much money and time you’re willing to invest depends on which type of keyword you should optimise for. Other factors including your current page rank and age of the website should also be taken into consideration. If you’re relatively low ranked then aiming to rank higher for a Long Tail keyword is probably your best choice. This means you can start getting more traffic in a shorter space of time and can rank highly for that keyword. Once the website is well established and ranking highly in the Long Tail keyword searches, then target the Short Tail keywords. This means you can cover all bases and eventually traffic will increase, along with conversion rates. If money and time is not a factor, then going straight in with targeting Short Tail keywords is an option. Ranking for these keywords can take up to 12 months+ so expect a wait before any real changes occur.
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