What Is A Long-Tail Keyword?
Semrush defines long-tail keywords as follows:
A long tail keyword is a search query that falls within the “long tail” of the search demand curve. These are keywords with low monthly search volume, but higher probability of conversion.
Long-tail keywords are generally longer phrases.
Yoast gives a somewhat different definition of long-tail keywords:
Long-tail keywords are more specific and less common than other keywords. They focus more on a niche.
Yoast adds that the term “long-tail keyword” comes from Chris Anderson’s book The Long Tail where Anderson shows that virtually any product has a market.
Ahrefs defines long-tail keywords similarly to Semrush. Ahrefs adds that despite what many people think, the name “long-tail” isn’t connected with how long or short or a keyword is, how likely it is to convert, or how specific it is.
SEO expert Neil Patel writes:
Longtail keywords are long, specific queries letting search engines know not just what words searchers want to know about but why they want to know them.
Why Are Long-Tail Keywords Important For SEO?
Semrush writes that long-tail keywords have lower competition and CPCs (cost per click) compared to single-word queries. In addition, long-tail keywords are more specific and have clearer search intent, allowing for easier targeting.
Long-Tail Keyword Examples
A number of examples of long-tail keywords can be seen below.
Here is a video from Ahrefs on long-tail keywords:
And another from Surfside PPC:
And finally, here is a video on researching keyword phrases in general, from Matt Diggity:
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