SEO
Game-Changers for Your Website Traffic and Rankings
Keywords, as we all know, are the bread and butter of SEO. They are how potential customers find us online and are what we build entire strategies around.
But targeting the best keywords for your business is tough. Short tail keywords are attractive, but are often too competitive, too high volume for most to fight for—so what is the alternative?
Here’s where long-tail keywords come in. They provide an untapped opportunity to drive more relevant traffic to your website and connect with customers further along their purchase journey.
In this article, we’ll dive deep into the essence of long-tail keywords, examining their importance, advantages, and—most importantly—how to incorporate them effortlessly into your content strategy.
What is a Long-Tail Keyword?
Long-tail keywords in SEO are keyword phrases with more than three words that are extremely focused and specialized. These keywords are more targeted and reflect users’ exact search intentions than generic or broad-based keywords. They can also provide users with a more customized search experience.
The Power of Precision
When you are conducting keyword research, you can specifically target the wants and demands of your target market. You may draw readers who are more likely to convert by including these certain terms in your article.
For instance, if you own a running shoe business, it will be very difficult to rank at the top for the keyword “best running shoes,” much less gain much traffic from your efforts.
If, however, you decide to target the keyword “women’s running shoes for wide feet” instead, then you are more likely to draw highly interested customers who are looking for that exact product.
After all, when someone enters that very long, very specific keyword, they are demanding one thing: the kind of product that they just searched for on Google.
By positioning yourself as someone who can answer their demand, you grab their attention, answer their search question, and ultimately bring in users who are more likely to buy your product.
There is a value of precision that specific keywords provide. You may attract people who have a precise aim and are inclined to become clients by using such focused terms.
Less Competition=Less Cost
Though these keywords often have lower search volumes since they are more specific than short tail or broad keywords, there often are fewer opponents for this from other websites.
In that sense, you can also easily rank at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) for these keywords, and attract more customers by focusing on untapped niches in a crowded online market.
So, this level of specificity of the keyword not only helps you reach a particular target audience but also distinguishes you from your competitors who may only optimize for broader keywords like “best running shoes.”
By catering to the needs and preferences of your audience, you also position your website as a trusted and reliable source for those looking for that particular product.
Providing people with exactly what they’re looking for will allow you to gain traffic almost effortlessly in a less competitive space, and drive conversions on your website.
What is an Example of a Long-Tail Keyword?
To further comprehend the idea of what a long-tail keyword is, let’s look at an example.
Consider a bakery that specializes in making desserts and sweets without gluten.
Instead of optimizing your website for a short tail keyword like “dessert,” an extended keyword example you might consider is “gluten free chocolate chip cookies.”
This phrase is extremely particular, addressing the dietary needs of a smaller audience looking for a particular type of dessert.
Aside from dietary needs, another way to find long-tail keywords is to look at the preferences of a potential customer. Things like flavor, color, or size can lead to a long-tail keyword. A customer might look for “mini chocolate frosted cupcakes,” which is another area you could target.
In short, almost every descriptor or variation of the products you offer is a long-tail keyword that you can potentially target.
Why Should You Integrate Long-Tail Keywords in Your Blog Posts?
Using long-tail keywords doesn’t just have to be on your website pages—it’s a great strategy for your monthly blogs, too.
Integrating these in your blog posts can have a significant impact on both your entire content plan and SEO efforts.
Focused Traffic
As I said earlier—these keywords reveal users’ intentions when they look for certain knowledge, goods, or services.
You can draw readers who are more interested in your content and offers by including long-tail keywords in your blog entries.
These users are also often further along in the purchasing process, which increases their likelihood of becoming customers.
You can direct targeted visitors to your blog and improve your chances of accomplishing your conversion goals by tailoring your content to their particular demands.
Enhanced Relevance
By focusing on writing for long-tail keywords, you can produce content that is incredibly relevant to the particular wants and needs of your target audience. You can satisfy their expectations by providing them with useful and informational blog entries by answering their specific questions.
This can also position your blog post as a reliable source of information in SERPs—usually in the form of a featured snippet or rich result for that search query.
Improved Search Rankings
High competition makes it difficult to rank highly in the search results for short, generalized keywords.
On the other hand, long keywords frequently have a lower search volume and face fewer competitors. By targeting these, you drive better results for much less effort and time spent. This is especially helpful if you work in a cutthroat industry.
You can quickly build your online presence, improve your exposure, and increase organic blog traffic by concentrating on long keyphrases.
When Should You Use Long-Tail Keywords in Your SEO?
To maximize their impact, long keyphrases must be used in the right situations within your SEO plan.
Here are some pointers on when you should use these keywords.
Niche Targeting
Long-tail keywords might help you more successfully reach your target market if your company works in a particular niche or caters to a specialized demographic. Although they could draw in a larger audience, generic keywords do not guarantee that they will be interested in your particular services.
You may boost your chances of bringing in highly relevant traffic by selecting keywords that represent the particular demands, preferences, or pain points of your audience.
For instance, if you sell eco-friendly yoga mats, you may reach yoga practitioners who are concerned about the environment and are looking for sustainable products by optimizing your SEO using long keywords like “natural rubber non-toxic yoga mats.”
Entering Competitive Industries
In highly competitive industries, it might be difficult to rank effectively for generic keywords in highly competitive sectors. Long-tail keywords provide you the chance to stand out and draw in a smaller but more intent audience.
You might find several long-tail keywords once you start your competitors’ analysis. When you do, you’ll see that the difficulty of targeting these is low, since they have lower search volumes and fewer people actively trying to rank for them.
This may be a golden opportunity for you—you can enter your industry through what is essentially a side door. Take gaming laptops, for example, where your website could enter by marketing your “thin and light budget gaming laptops.”
Focusing on a very specific part of the market can draw visitors who are actively looking for the exact goods, services, or information you provide. And, before you know it, you’ll have secured territory in a competitive arena.
Content Optimization
I said earlier that long-tail keywords are great for blog posts, and this plays into a larger strategy for content optimization.
Users frequently utilize longer and more precise keyword phrases while looking for information or solutions to their problems. You can give thorough and specific responses to these questions by including long keywords in your blog posts, articles, and FAQ sections.
Providing useful material not only enhances user experience but also helps address any content gaps your posts or pages may have. They can help you establish authority in your field and draw in people looking for in-depth information by including them in your content optimization plan.
Key Takeaway
Long-tail keywords are a potent optimization technique that increases conversion rates and drives focused visitors. You attract interested visitors who are more inclined to take action by concentrating on precise, pertinent keywords. These keywords provide you with a huge competitive advantage simply because of how targeted and exact they are.
Maximize your SEO potential now with long-tail keywords. Take charge of your website’s visibility, attract highly engaged visitors, and drive conversions like never before.
SEO
Mediavine Bans Publisher For Overuse Of AI-Generated Content
According to details surfacing online, ad management firm Mediavine is terminating publishers’ accounts for overusing AI.
Mediavine is a leading ad management company providing products and services to help website publishers monetize their content.
The company holds elite status as a Google Certified Publishing Partner, which indicates that it meets Google’s highest standards and requirements for ad networks and exchanges.
AI Content Triggers Account Terminations
The terminations came to light in a post on the Reddit forum r/Blogging, where a user shared an email they received from Mediavine citing “overuse of artificially created content.”
Trista Jensen, Mediavine’s Director of Ad Operations & Market Quality, states in the email:
“Our third party content quality tools have flagged your sites for overuse of artificially created content. Further internal investigation has confirmed those findings.”
Jensen stated that due to the overuse of AI content, “our top partners will stop spending on your sites, which will negatively affect future monetization efforts.”
Consequently, Mediavine terminated the publisher’s account “effective immediately.”
The Risks Of Low-Quality AI Content
This strict enforcement aligns with Mediavine’s publicly stated policy prohibiting websites from using “low-quality, mass-produced, unedited or undisclosed AI content that is scraped from other websites.”
In a March 7 blog post titled “AI and Our Commitment to a Creator-First Future,” the company declared opposition to low-value AI content that could “devalue the contributions of legitimate content creators.”
Mediavine warned in the post:
“Without publishers, there is no open web. There is no content to train the models that power AI. There is no internet.”
The company says it’s using its platform to “advocate for publishers” and uphold quality standards in the face of AI’s disruptive potential.
Mediavine states:
“We’re also developing faster, automated tools to help us identify low-quality, mass-produced AI content across the web.”
Targeting ‘AI Clickbait Kingpin’ Tactics
While the Reddit user’s identity wasn’t disclosed, the incident has drawn connections to the tactics of Nebojša Vujinović Vujo, who was dubbed an “AI Clickbait Kingpin” in a recent Wired exposé.
According to Wired, Vujo acquired over 2,000 dormant domains and populated them with AI-generated, search-optimized content designed purely to capture ad revenue.
His strategies represent the low-quality, artificial content Mediavine has vowed to prohibit.
Potential Implications
Lost Revenue
Mediavine’s terminations highlight potential implications for publishers that rely on artificial intelligence to generate website content at scale.
Perhaps the most immediate and tangible implication is the risk of losing ad revenue.
For publishers that depend heavily on programmatic advertising or sponsored content deals as key revenue drivers, being blocked from major ad networks could devastate their business models.
Devalued Domains
Another potential impact is the devaluation of domains and websites built primarily on AI-generated content.
If this pattern of AI content overuse triggers account terminations from companies like Mediavine, it could drastically diminish the value proposition of scooping up these domains.
Damaged Reputations & Brands
Beyond the lost monetization opportunities, publishers leaning too heavily into automated AI content also risk permanent reputational damage to their brands.
Once a determining authority flags a website for AI overuse, it could impact how that site is perceived by readers, other industry partners, and search engines.
In Summary
AI has value as an assistive tool for publishers, but relying heavily on automated content creation poses significant risks.
These include monetization challenges, potential reputation damage, and increasing regulatory scrutiny. Mediavine’s strict policy illustrates the possible consequences for publishers.
It’s important to note that Mediavine’s move to terminate publisher accounts over AI content overuse represents an independent policy stance taken by the ad management firm itself.
The action doesn’t directly reflect the content policies or enforcement positions of Google, whose publishing partner program Mediavine is certified under.
We have reached out to Mediavine requesting a comment on this story. We’ll update this article with more information when it’s provided.
Featured Image: Simple Line/Shutterstock
SEO
Google’s Guidance About The Recent Ranking Update
Google’s Danny Sullivan explained the recent update, addressing site recoveries and cautioning against making radical changes to improve rankings. He also offered advice for publishes whose rankings didn’t improve after the last update.
Google’s Still Improving The Algorithm
Danny said that Google is still working on their ranking algorithm, indicating that more changes (for the positive) are likely on the way. The main idea he was getting across is that they’re still trying to fill the gaps in surfacing high quality content from independent sites. Which is good because big brand sites don’t necessarily have the best answers.
He wrote:
“…the work to connect people with “a range of high quality sites, including small or independent sites that are creating useful, original content” is not done with this latest update. We’re continuing to look at this area and how to improve further with future updates.”
A Message To Those Who Were Left Behind
There was a message to those publishers whose work failed to recover with the latest update, to let them know that Google is still working to surface more of the independent content and that there may be relief on the next go.
Danny advised:
“…if you’re feeling confused about what to do in terms of rankings…if you know you’re producing great content for your readers…If you know you’re producing it, keep doing that…it’s to us to keep working on our systems to better reward it.”
Google Cautions Against “Improving” Sites
Something really interesting that he mentioned was a caution against trying to improve rankings of something that’s already on page one in order to rank even higher. Tweaking a site to get from position six or whatever to something higher has always been a risky thing to do for many reasons I won’t elaborate on here. But Danny’s warning increases the pressure to not just think twice before trying to optimize a page for search engines but to think three times and then some more.
Danny cautioned that sites that make it to the top of the SERPs should consider that a win and to let it ride instead of making changes right now in order to improve their rankings. The reason for that caution is that the search results continue to change and the implication is that changing a site now may negatively impact the rankings in a newly updated search index.
He wrote:
“If you’re showing in the top results for queries, that’s generally a sign that we really view your content well. Sometimes people then wonder how to move up a place or two. Rankings can and do change naturally over time. We recommend against making radical changes to try and move up a spot or two”
How Google Handled Feedback
There was also some light shed on what Google did with all the feedback they received from publishers who lost rankings. Danny wrote that the feedback and site examples he received was summarized, with examples, and sent to the search engineers for review. They continue to use that feedback for the next round of improvements.
He explained:
“I went through it all, by hand, to ensure all the sites who submitted were indeed heard. You were, and you continue to be. …I summarized all that feedback, pulling out some of the compelling examples of where our systems could do a better job, especially in terms of rewarding open web creators. Our search engineers have reviewed it and continue to review it, along with other feedback we receive, to see how we can make search better for everyone, including creators.”
Feedback Itself Didn’t Lead To Recovery
Danny also pointed out that sites that recovered their rankings did not do so because of they submitted feedback to Google. Danny wasn’t specific about this point but it conforms with previous statements about Google’s algorithms that they implement fixes at scale. So instead of saying, “Hey let’s fix the rankings of this one site” it’s more about figuring out if the problem is symptomatic of something widescale and how to change things for everybody with the same problem.
Danny wrote:
“No one who submitted, by the way, got some type of recovery in Search because they submitted. Our systems don’t work that way.”
That feedback didn’t lead to recovery but was used as data shouldn’t be surprising. Even as far back as the 2004 Florida Update Matt Cutts collected feedback from people, including myself, and I didn’t see a recovery for a false positive until everyone else also got back their rankings.
Takeaways
Google’s work on their algorithm is ongoing:
Google is continuing to tune its algorithms to improve its ability to rank high quality content, especially from smaller publishers. Danny Sullivan emphasized that this is an ongoing process.
What content creators should focus on:
Danny’s statement encouraged publishers to focus on consistently creating high quality content and not to focus on optimizing for algorithms. Focusing on quality should be the priority.
What should publishers do if their high-quality content isn’t yet rewarded with better rankings?
Publishers who are certain of the quality of their content are encouraged to hold steady and keep it coming because Google’s algorithms are still being refined.
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands
SEO
Plot Up To Five Metrics At Once
Google has rolled out changes to Analytics, adding features to help you make more sense of your data.
The update brings several key improvements:
- You can now compare up to five different metrics side by side.
- A new tool automatically spots unusual trends in your data.
- A more detailed report on transactions gives a closer look at revenue.
- The acquisition reports now separate user and session data more clearly.
- It’s easier to understand what each report does with new descriptions.
Here’s an overview of these new features, why they matter, and how they might help improve your data analysis and decision-making.
▶ ️We’ve introduced plot rows in detailed reports. You can now visualize up to 5 rows of data directly within your detailed reports to measure their changes over time.
We’ve also launched these new report features:
🔎: Anomaly detection to flag unusual data fluctuations
📊:… pic.twitter.com/VDPXe2Q9wQ— Google Analytics (@googleanalytics) September 5, 2024
Plot Rows: Enhanced Data Visualization
The most prominent addition is the “Plot Rows” feature.
You can now visualize up to five rows of data simultaneously within your reports, allowing for quick comparisons and trend analysis.
This feature is accessible by selecting the desired rows and clicking the “Plot Rows” option.
Anomaly Detection: Spotting Unusual Patterns
Google Analytics has implemented an anomaly detection system to help you identify potential issues or opportunities.
This new tool automatically flags unusual data fluctuations, making it easier to spot unexpected traffic spikes, sudden drops, or other noteworthy trends.
Improved Report Navigation & Understanding
Google Analytics has added hover-over descriptions for report titles.
These brief explanations provide context and include links to more detailed information about each report’s purpose and metrics.
Key Event Marking In Events Report
The Events report allows you to mark significant events for easy reference.
This feature, accessed through a three-dot menu at the end of each event row, helps you prioritize and track important data points.
New Transactions Report For Revenue Insights
For ecommerce businesses, the new Transactions report offers granular insights into revenue streams.
This feature provides information about each transaction, utilizing the transaction_id parameter to give you a comprehensive view of sales data.
Scope Changes In Acquisition Reports
Google has refined its acquisition reports to offer more targeted metrics.
The User Acquisition report now includes user-related metrics such as Total Users, New Users, and Returning Users.
Meanwhile, the Traffic Acquisition report focuses on session-related metrics like Sessions, Engaged Sessions, and Sessions per Event.
What To Do Next
As you explore these new features, keep in mind:
- Familiarize yourself with the new Plot Rows function to make the most of comparative data analysis.
- Pay attention to the anomaly detection alerts, but always investigate the context behind flagged data points.
- Take advantage of the more detailed Transactions report to understand your revenue patterns better.
- Experiment with the refined acquisition reports to see which metrics are most valuable for your needs.
As with any new tool, there will likely be a learning curve as you incorporate these features into your workflow.
FAQ
What is the “Plot Rows” feature in Google Analytics?
The “Plot Rows” feature allows you to visualize up to five rows of data at the same time. This makes it easier to compare different metrics side by side within your reports, facilitating quick comparisons and trend analysis. To use this feature, select the desired rows and click the “Plot Rows” option.
How does the new anomaly detection system work in Google Analytics?
Google Analytics’ new anomaly detection system automatically flags unusual data patterns. This tool helps identify potential issues or opportunities by spotting unexpected traffic spikes, sudden drops, or other notable trends, making it easier for users to focus on significant data fluctuations.
What improvements have been made to the Transactions report in Google Analytics?
The enhanced Transactions report provides detailed insights into revenue for ecommerce businesses. It utilizes the transaction_id parameter to offer granular information about each transaction, helping businesses get a better understanding of their revenue streams.
Featured Image: Vladimka production/Shutterstock
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