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3 Steps to Do Long-Tail Keyword Research for Your Content Strategy

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Creating content around relevant keywords is an excellent strategy to amplify your search engine performance and generate traction online.

When you optimize your content using keywords that align with your niche, you are able to convey your message to the right people and engage the intended audience.

However, you may have to go the extra mile at times and strive to target the exact search queries that your audience uses to explore relevant information.

The use of long-tail variations of the keywords you target may do the trick and take engagement up a notch.

It helps you optimize your content without having to compromise on its quality. Furthermore, long-tail keywords open up new opportunities to improve your search engine rankings and boost audience engagement.

They complement your content strategy and enable you to score more conversions as people leveraging long-tail keywords are likely in the final stages of their buyer’s journey.

Exploring fitting long-tail keywords for your content can be tricky. However, following the steps we recommend may help.

What are Long-Tail Keywords?

Long-tail keywords represent the search queries that your audience may use to explore answers to their questions or find fitting solutions to their problems.

These keywords are a bit more specific and likely represent the transactional or commercial intent of your target audience.

The specificity may cause long-tail keywords to have lower search volume. However, targeting these keywords may serve as a viable strategy to boost your conversions.

For example, instead of optimizing your content targeting “online meeting software,” you could use something like “best online meeting software for remote businesses.”

By targeting long-tailed keywords, you can engage audience segments likely to convert and attract serious buyers.

With long-tail keywords, you optimize your content on multiple search query variations, which amplifies your search engine presence.

Hence, the use of long-tail keywords often gives you more fruitful results than targeting specific keywords.

How to Do Long-Tail Keyword Research

Now that you know about the significance of leveraging long-tail keywords, let’s go through the steps to find the ones that align with your niche.

1.  Explore Fitting Seed Keywords

To find long-tail keywords worth targeting, you need to start from the bottom and explore fitting seed keywords that align with your niche.

Seed keywords fuel your keyword research process. They encompass short phrases with an informational intent.

For example, if you offer online meeting solutions to remote businesses, you can pick seed keywords, such as remote meeting software, remote meeting tool, remote meeting solution, and so on.

There are a number of ways you can identify suitable seed keywords. You can consider brainstorming with your team, studying your competitors, leveraging Google search suggestions, social listening, and so on.

2.  Identify Suitable Focus Keywords

The seed keywords may lead you to discover countless relevant keywords for targeting. So, the next step is to identify the ones that show the most promise.

You need to keep three things in mind when picking focus keywords for your content strategy: traffic volume, keyword difficulty, and search intent.

The traffic volume indicates the visitors you can attract to your website by targeting certain keywords or search queries.

The keyword difficulty indicates the likelihood of achieving high rankings when targeting certain search queries.

The intent tells you about your audience’s action plan and their current position in the buyer’s journey.

The best way to identify suitable focus keywords is to leverage keyword planner solutions. You have a variety of options available. So, choose the one that best aligns with your goals.

3.  Expand on Your Keyword Research

This step requires you to expand on your keyword research and consider different ways to come up with fitting long-tail variations of the keywords you choose to target.

Leverage Google’s Autocomplete Feature

When it comes to finding suitable long-tail keywords for your content strategy, Google’s autocomplete feature may come in handy.

It expands on your focus keywords and displays multiple variations that you may want to consider when creating quality content.

The feature displays a list of related phrases or terms, providing you with valuable information for your content strategy.

For example, when you go to Google’s search bar and type “online meeting software,” the search engine may show you long-tail variations of the keyword.

The search queries displayed are like the longer and more specific phrases. Creating content around them may lead you to acknowledge higher engagement and score more conversions.

Hence, it’s a useful trick to find long-tail keywords for the content you create. You may come across queries that may be easy to rank on, enabling you to get more eyeballs organically.

Explore Online Communities

You can leverage online communities or Q&A platforms such as Quora and Reddit to explore long-tail keywords for your content strategy.

These platforms facilitate your access to relevant search queries and questions that users ask about certain topics.

This kind of in-depth research helps unearth long-tail keywords that uncover the exact needs and interests of your target audience.

You can optimize your copy on relevant search queries and add an FAQ section to your pages that covers the questions concerning the chosen topics.

It takes optimization to a whole new level and enables you to add more depth to your content. As a result, it becomes easier for you to climb the SERPs.

Explore Relevant Platforms

Google’s autocomplete feature may be a handy solution for finding long-tail keywords for your content. However, it just displays search queries used by its users.

It won’t display long-tail keyword suggestions for other search engines or social media platforms.

Having a multichannel presence is essential if you want to expand your reach and acknowledge high engagement.

However, it demands that you optimize your content based on the search queries used by the respective audience segments to explore relevant information.

Leveraging tools like “Answer The Public” may help and enable you to explore fitting long-tail keyword variations used by the intended audience on different platforms.

All you need to do is enter your focus keyword, and the tool will generate a list of related questions, long-tail keywords, and suggestions based on users’ searches.

Tools like these are premium solutions to your problem and charge you a certain price. So, you get a variety of recommendations, enabling you to devise a content strategy that delivers results.

Use Keyword Planner Solutions

Exploring long-tail keywords can be a daunting activity in the long run if you choose to do it manually.

It may get overwhelming for you to explore long-tail variations of all the keywords that you decide to target through your pages.

The use of keyword planner solutions such as Semrush and Ahrefs may come in handy, enabling you to improve your website’s visibility.

These tools make the process of finding long-tail keywords much easier, giving you accurate data encompassing relevant search queries.

You also get access to a variety of features. So, you don’t just get to explore different keyword variations.

The tools also facilitate your access to all the useful insights that you may need to create a stellar content strategy.

Final Thoughts

Long tail keywords are a great way to target audience segments that are likely to consider the solutions you offer.

Leveraging the long-tail search queries enables you to create an effective content strategy and engage the intended audience.

You optimize your content using different variations of your focus keywords. As a result, your pages get more search engine visibility and generate more traction for you.

You can choose to explore fitting long-tail keywords manually or use keyword planners to do so. Leveraging online communities may also be useful, enabling you to explore the questions that people seek answers to.

Following the steps we suggested here, you can start leveraging the power of long-tail keywords effortlessly and create an impactful content strategy.

About the author

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Thomas Griffin

Thomas Griffin is the co-founder and president of OptinMonster. He is an expert software architect with a deep knowledge of building products for the mass market and consistently works to delight his customers.