Long-Tail Keywords Increase Rankings?

According to a study by New New York-based SEO & SaaS company Conductor, optimization for long-tail keywords can result better ranking and long-tail keyword converted 2.5 time better than head terms. In their study they examined the effects of on-page auditing and optimization for long tail keywords versus optimization for head terms and no optimization at all. They saw a downward movement of more than two position for keywords with no optimization.

“Even in 2011 – often at executive prodding – many marketers are still singularly focused on the most searched terms in their industry that are also the most competitive and difficult to move up the search rankings," Conductor CEO Seth Besmertnik told Search Engine Watch. "As our study shows, we think there is huge opportunity in the long tail of search for the savvy search marketer to move up the search rankings more rapidly and convert at a rate that is 2.5 times greater than for head terms.”

The research involved thousands of keywords studied over a period of nine months, using the data collection and on-page recommendations of their SEO platform, Searchlight. They first segmented keywords into three groups:

  1. Keywords with shrinking on-page issues (being resolved by SEO).
  2. Keywords with growing on-page issues (not being resolved by SEO).
  3. Keywords with no on-page issues.

On-Page Optimization Crucial for SEO

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According to the research optimizing on-page elements for the keywords marketers want to rank for is critical. Keywords that are identified by Searchlight  as having on page issues consistently results to increase in ranking by average of 11.24. position. And website with identified issues without optimization show two position drop. Then keywords with no identified issues saw a less than one position increase in ranking.

 

Long-Tail Keywords Show Greatest Rankings Increases

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There are two ways marketers commonly use the word “long-tail,” they looked at query volumes and the number of keywords in a phrase as separate issues and tested twice.

First, they excluded medium-volume keywords and focusing on those with either high (head) or low (long-tail) query volumes. They found that long-tail terms were “significantly” more impacted by on-page optimization, with an 11 position increase, compared to six positions for higher volume, head keywords.

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For the second part, they separated keywords according to the number of words in the term; head keywords were one to two word queries, while long-tail terms had three or more words. Again, they found that on-page optimization increased long-term rankings more, but by a smaller margin. With this segmentation, long-tail terms rose an average of six positions and head terms an average of four.

Long-Tail Terms Convert 2.5 Times More

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The final part of their study looked at conversion rates, examining more than 7 million visits to three major retailers. Long-tail terms – those with three words or more – converted two and a half times more than head terms. Conductor said this is a great opportunity for marketers who may be disproportionately focusing on higher volume, one- to two-word search terms.

On-page optimization is one of many strategies SEOs and marketers can use to increase rankings and conversions. It’s also just good practice to make sure your page addresses the issues that brought visitors to the site in the first place.

 

Source: searchenginewatch