In search engines the long tail applies to the large number of unique key phrases that send you traffic in little quantities. The beauty about these phrases
- Highly qualified
- Little competition (easier to rank)
- Can add up to the same volume as your main keyword phrase
- Cheap to purchase in Google adwords
Long Tail Examples for Photographers
Let’s say you’re a wedding photographer in Sacramento, CA. Trying to rank for that term in your city may prove to be difficult at first, especially for a new blog or an SEO beginner. This is the perfect time to optimize for long tail search phrases still within your niche such as:
- suburbs of your city (Roseville wedding photographer)
- wedding venues (Arden Hills wedding)
- more specific phrases for your industry (Sacramento wedding photojournalist)
Each of these are easier to rank for than the original main term, and will still provide qualified leads to your business from search results. All you have to do is write a blog post about the long tail phrase you want to rank for.
The truth is that you will rank for most long tail phrases without even trying. Every time you write a new blog post, that is a dedicated page on your niche topic that Google will index and potentially rank. For the few people per month that search on the phrase, those searches end up at your site, and if you have tens or hundreds of posts the small volume of searches add up quickly.
Check it Out in Analytics
See what I mean by looking at your keywords report in an Analytics package. In the last could months there has been traffic from over 1,000 different keywords sending my site traffic. Obviously I didn’t intentionally optimize for all of those – that is the long tail at work.
The Trick to the Long Tail
The trick is to be conscious of the long tail so that you can optimize for a select few that can be the most beneficial to your business. Go for terms that are easy to capture, that your competition is not actively optimizing for, and that will likely convert searches to new clients for your busienss.
Read the full post I contributed over at MCP Actions.
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Excellent advice. Our search rankings are much higher using long-tail keywords (of course). We try to think how brides will ‘search’ specifically for their wedding photographer. -JasonG
I think that using long-tail keywords is a great idea, and I am so happy I stumbled upon this blog! I’m sure it wasn’t an accident! I am amazed at the tips and generosity of knowledge given in this blog! Thank you!!!
I’ve been reading and absorbing your advice for over an hour now. Thanks for the great advice. I’m off to optimize my wedding and portrait photography blog!
As the boudoir photography market is coming more crowded, I am finding the long-tail at great way to keep my phone ringing. Love all the SEO tips you provide, thanks so much.
I think people forget that all these small searches add up to surpass the big 4 or 5 keyword terms. I really to work venues into long tail.