The Key in Finding the Long-tail Keywords

The long-tail of search theory has helped a lot of small websites in making it big. Long-tail keywords may not be a trophy keyword if the basis is brevity or the level of competition in order to hit the ranks for it. But if all know that a successful online campaign boils down to relevant traffic that leads to conversion, long-tail keywords are definitely your most prized bombs in the battlefield.

Long-tail key phrases are unpopular, never-been-seen-before, and easy to target keywords. Disclosed from the human mind, long-tail keywords cater to a larger demand balloon as an economic theory.

If long-tail keywords are easy to target, the only challenge is how to find them. Here’s how:

Look up queries that lead to your site
Server logs can show which key phrases and real human queries that got you found by the visitor. From this data, you can actually see the types of searches your target audience is looking for in a given period. If your business is highly dependent on seasonality, you can notice the changes in the key phrases people use in finding you.

Google Webmaster Tools: Relevant Keywords
Just like your server logs, Google Webmaster Tools show the most number of queries that brought people to your site. The list may contain both short and long-tail keywords. The main point is, you will know the variations of phrases that are more likely effective in bringing traffic to your website. Plus the main key terms that Google recognizes from your site: check out the “what Google sees” tab.

Most popular searches
Hitwise can always come up with a list, but one cannot ignore the highly-populated social media sites like technorati, delicious, and whatever site that caters to people interested in your niche. These sites where social participation is involved will help you analyze what people are looking for. Some portals also have this option of showing a list of the most recent searches done in their website.

Competition Check
After getting a harvest of long-tails from these sources, it’s now time to check the battlefield. Check the competition for each individual word in your long-tail phrase, and analyze which combinations will help you find your niche. It’s always nice to have a blend of high traffic keywords combined with not-so-popular queries. It’s like hitting two birds in one stone.

Test and Analyze
This can sound too safe and can be dubbed as a last resort, but it won’t hurt to sit down and write down the natural flow of words when one is to make a search in the search engines. Think how your audience thinks. Then compare how this set of long tail keywords fared in the previous months/years. Analyze market trends, in other words.