Many marketers approach SEO by targeting the keywords in their industries with the largest monthly search volumes, but they often neglect the "long-tail" or low volume keywords, which when combined with multiple keywords can total, or exceed, the volume of the one desirable search term, according to a study by Conductor

For example, search volumes for multiple keywords in the auto insurance industry total that of the hyper-competitive "auto insurance" query, as shown in the table below:


Focusing on multiple, less competitive search terms can generate as many visits as a single, more competitive head (short-tail) term. 

In addition, Conductor's findings support the two-pronged SEO strategy of capturing low-hanging fruit by optimizing long-tail terms, while using a long-term strategy of gradually moving up the search rankings for higher volume, more competitive head terms.

Below, other findings from Conductor's study, titled "The Long Tail of Search: Why the Fastest Path to More Traffic Might Not Be Where You are Looking."

On-Page Optimization and the Long Tail

On-page optimization, the practice of optimizing on-page elements to emphasize the keyword for which a brand wants to rank, is central to moving keywords up search rankings, Conductor points out.

Moreover, among the tactics in the search marketer's toolbox, on-page optimization often has the most immediate impact on keyword visibility, according to Conductor. That's particularly so for long-tail terms because there is less competition for them in the marketplace.

To understand the benefits of on-page optimization for long-tail queries, Conductor first established a baseline of search ranking lift resulting from on-page optimization activities for all keyword types.

The study analyzed the rank movement for thousands of keywords over a nine-month period, compiled via Conductor's Searchlight platform, which generates on-page recommendations for marketers to improve their natural search visibility. The SEO platform also tracks the rankings for the keywords and whether the on-page recommendations have been implemented.

In doing so, the system reveals the potential lift generated from on-page optimization (i.e., on-page recommendations implemented by SEO marketer) relative to keywords for which recommendations have not been followed, and keywords that have no on-page issues.

The three keywords segments are the following: 

  1. Keywords with on-page optimization: Keywords which have on-page issues, but are being resolved by SEO tactics (hence the issues are shrinking).
  2. Keywords without on-page optimization: Keywords which have on-page issues, but are not being resolved by SEO (hence issues growing). 
  3. Keywords with no on-page issues.

Keywords that had on-page recommendations consistently implemented had an average rank improvement of more than one full page in the search results (11.00 positions), compared with a downward movement of 2.46 positions for keywords that had issues not being resolved.

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Why Search Marketers Are Grabbing the Long Tail

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