Long Tail Keywords

Ranking for a single keyword can be very lucrative but ranking for any semi-competitive keyword or phrase is both difficult (especially for new sites) and may not be the most profitable of rankings. If you choose many long tail keywords then it can significantly increase website traffic and conversions.

Long tail keywords lead to higher conversions. Visitors arriving through multi-phrase search queries might be more likely to make purchases or convert on affiliate programs or recommendations. By targeting these longtail phrases, you are effectively targeting a market of potential buyers.

There is no substitute for doing your keyword research and determining which keywords have enough traffic to make them worth going after. And this effort must be dovetailed with doing your competitive intelligence research to determine which keywords you'll be able to rank for based on the sites you'd have to compete against.Here is a list of several methods you can use to discover the long tail keywords that are relevant to your website and niche.

Keyword Analytic and Tracking Programs

Wordtracker - The Premier Keyword Research Tool for Search Engine Optimization is the hands-down best place to find a huge list of related keywords as well as learn how much traffic each is likely to provide your site. For many of the sites we manage, at least half of our customer traffic comes from these longer, more specific phrases-and such traffic tends to convert at a much higher level than generic 1 or 2-word keyword phrases.

HitTail.For a free pre-packaged service that makes keyword writing suggestions for you without you having to waste time in the research... this service is a no brainer. It's a must for anyone serious about SEO. Monitor what keyword phrases users are searching for on your website and create pages with these exact keywords and variations of these keyword phrases. This is a passive and useful way of developing long tail keyword rich webpages.

Online Keyword Research Tools.

Keyword research tools such as the Google Adwords Keyword Tool and SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool can help you determine the profitability of a niche.

These tools can also help you to develop a broad range of secondary keywords when you type in a core keyword such as 'credit cards'. Both of these tools will give you a long list of tools sorted according to their search volume.