Short tail SEO VS long tail SEO, which strategy to adopt?

 The short tail in SEO is often denigrated: high search volume, very high level of competition, etc.

To improve the visibility of a website on search engines and boost its conversion rate, we will favor the long tail. Why does the short train have such a bad reputation? What are the benefits of using the short tail? Explanations!

What is the short tail in SEO?

The short tail in SEO is made up of one keyword, or two at most. This key phrase corresponds to the query that Internet users type in the search bar of search engines.

As short-tail keywords reflect the search intent of countless Internet users, marketers use them to optimize the content of their web pages and thus obtain high traffic on their website. Except that these are very generic search terms that don't necessarily attract the right audience...

What are the advantages of the short tail in SEO?

So, rest assured, there are advantages to using a generic keyword. With such high search volume, the short tail has the ability to propel your website to the top of search results, which is very good for your brand awareness.

Because, it’s a fact, a site in first position in search engines is excellent for domain authority. In fact, you:

• Gain reputation, because Internet users tend to trust well-ranked sites;
• Increase your web traffic;
• Get ahead of your competitors.

What are the disadvantages of the short tail in SEO?

Yes, the previous paragraph is short! But the short tail in SEO is not a winning strategy, unless you have a colossal marketing budget, and especially if you are in a very competitive industry.

The short tail, “shoe” for example, gets an impression number of 148,000,000 search results on Google. You can immediately imagine how tough the battle will be to get even just to the first page of the search engine.

Not to mention the disappointment of the customer who wants to buy a pair of dress shoes, while your e-commerce only sells sports shoes...

So not only does the short tail not meet the search intent of your target audience, it increases your bounce rate, which is never good for your SEO.

It is also not advantageous for paid referencing. Investing in a key phrase with such a volume of searches and such strong competition will quickly raise the stakes. Consequently, the cost per click of your Google Adwords advertising may cost you dearly…

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the long tail?

Unlike the short tail, the long tail is made up of more than 3 words (men's sports running shoe, for example). While short-tail keywords are generic queries, long-tail queries are very specific.

The advantages of the long tail

The first advantage is precisely its precision. If you optimize an article or product sheet for long-tail keywords, you will very quickly see the difference:

• Your site positioning is better  : long-tail keywords have little competition, so you have a better chance of appearing in the first Google results.
• Internet users who type these long keyword phrases know what they want: you attract a qualified audience .
• In turn, you improve your conversion rate since the Internet user who carries out such a specific search is ready to purchase. If your product or service appeals to them, you gain a new customer.
• The final advantage is its cost per click: your Google Ads campaigns will cost you less since these long expressions have a much lower CPC.

The Disadvantages of the Long Tail

The long tail has few drawbacks, other than perhaps its low search volume.

If you're looking to launch a new product or publicize a brand new website, long-tail keywords will effectively narrow your audience.

Should we favor the short tail or the long tail?

Well actually, both! Even if it has few advantages, the short tail is still interesting in an SEO strategy.

Short tail/long tail: a different audience

As we have seen, the long tail attracts an audience in the purchasing phase . It is perfect for converting or even conquering your targets.

On the other hand, the short tail attracts an audience in the discovery phase . Your offer does not necessarily correspond to their search. These potential customers are hesitant, they compare and collect information, without really intending to buy.

And the average is dragging, then?

The average tail is an intermediate set of several words (between 2 and 3 words). It has an average number of searches, an average competition rate and an average level of precision… In short, it has a higher conversion rate than the short tail and interesting potential traffic. However, you will need to have a very well optimized site to stand out from the crowd with mid-tail keywords.

What content marketing strategy should you adopt?

Here are some tips for using the short tail in SEO effectively:

• Site creation or site redesign: focus on the average tail.
• Highly competitive site: focus on medium and long tails.
• Niche site: you can choose the keywords you want, anything goes.
• Use your generic keywords for your static pages: home page and pillar pages.
• Opt for the medium and long tail for your product sheets, your blog articles or even your landing pages.
• In any case, expand your lexical field so that Google understands the meaning of your subject and references your site correctly.
• Organize your content well in thematic silos so that your internal networking is as relevant as possible.

How to find short tail keywords?

As it would be a shame to miss out on a high traffic source, here are some free tools that will allow you to draw up a list of short tail (and possibly medium and long tail) keywords.

1. Google Suggest

Who better than Google to help you find generic words? Its autosuggestion tool (Google search bar) is perfect for finding relevant keywords based on a main keyword.

The “Other Questions Asked” and “Related Searches” tabs are just as interesting. Consider checking the number of results your expression generates. Certain short tail keywords surely have lower result volumes.

For example, 35,200,000 websites are referenced for men's basketball while there are 52,800,000 for men's shoes.

2. Google Keyword Planner

Google's planning tool will give you all a list of great suggestions as well as valuable information for choosing the right keywords.

Volume of monthly searches, level of competition and cost per click for advertisers... All you have to do is choose the keywords on which you will focus your next content!

3. Answer The Public

Answer The Public is a particularly interesting free tool for finding all the words and terms relevant to your SEO. The tool collects data from Google search and lists all the questions Internet users ask.

This is not only very useful for finding your related keywords, but also for structuring your content. All of his questions make great titles and subtitles…

4. Ubersuggest

The famous keyword generator no longer presents itself. Simply enter a keyword into the Ubersuggest search bar to find the right words for your SEO. It is simple and efficient !

5. Keywords Everywhere

The Keywords Everywhere extension for Chrome and Firefox is a gem of simplicity. Installed on your browser, the extension displays all the information you need directly on your Google search page:

• SEO difficulty of your key terms.
• Search volumes.
• Related key queries.
• Long tail keywords.

Of course, this is a non-exhaustive list, there are other very effective SEO tools for your short, medium and long tail word search: Google Trends , Semrush, YourTextGuru…

Our tip for using the short tail properly in SEO

All you have to do is choose your keywords according to your objectives: to have qualified traffic or to have more traffic.

Whatever your marketing choices, don't forget to provide relevant and interesting information to your future clients and customers. You will gain popularity (and backlinks along the way), which is of course excellent for the ranking of your site's pages, but also for the user experience.