The assault is on. You have your list of premium keywords for your industry – the ones that literally make your mouth water. You’ve optimized for them organically and you are banking your PPC campaign on them, too. These perfect keywords are not going to come to you without a fight; there’s just too much competition, but, what else can you do?
Grab it by the Long Tail.
While others are participating in a virtual feeding frenzy over the most coveted keywords, I always advise my clients to expand their marketing using “Long Tail” thinking. This concept, first introduced by Chris Anderson in Wired magazine in 2004, describes how the Internet has made it possible for a company to generate as many sales from “fringe” products that aren’t bestsellers as they do from their bestsellers. These sales come in over a longer period of time (hence the term “long tail”), but can eventually equal half of the total company sales. The Internet makes it possible for a company to have limitless virtual shelf space, whereas a brick-and-mortar business would end up telling the customer, “I’m sorry. We don’t stock that item.”
How do
es “Long Tail” apply to your keywords?
Many SEM companies focus exclusively on tracking 10 to 20 top keywords, thinking that 80% of their clients’ sales will come from them; but a closer look at actual site analytics paints a different picture. Site analytics shows traffic for the most used keywords first and filters down to the least used ones. There is always a dramatic drop in traffic between the high numbers for the optimized keywords and all the other keywords.
These “lesser” or “long-tail” keywords, often hundreds of them, form a long list of search terms visitors regularly use that goes unnoticed and untracked. They slip in quietly under the radar – a few visits per keyword every day – drip…drip…drip. When you add them up, this group of overlooked keywords can actually be responsible for as much as 80% of your clients’ sales.
Track your long-tail keywords.
Start tracking your long-tail keywords’ connection to actual sales. The results will be eye-opening. You will uncover key search terms of untapped, niche markets that you can begin to optimize and easily dominate. Use these overlooked keywords to expand your thinking about your overall marketing. It can revolutionize your business and your SEM results for your clients.
