How To Drive More Traffic With Long-Tail Keywords for eCommerce
High-quality traffic may dramatically change your business. The more people visit your website, the more of them will want to buy from you, given the site is relevant to your visitors and well-built. But how to drive that traffic?
What’s the connection between you and the people who want to purchase your products and services? The answer is easy. Keywords.
The right ones are going to make your site a target for potential buyers interested in your niche. The wrong ones will attract people who are not interested in your products or services and leave you wondering where you went wrong.
Implementing the right keywords will help you:
- Rank the website higher, preferably above competitors
- Attract relevant users to your mission, business, products, and services
By ‘the right’ KWs we don’t necessarily mean those with the highest search volume. Unfortunately, many marketers chase such phrases only to be surprised by the lack of results.
If the business is fully packed to beat the competition, going for such keywords may be a good idea. But what if it isn’t? That’s where long-tail helpers with low search volumes enter the game. If you use clear long-tail keywords relevant to your niche in your blog posts and throughout the website naturally, you may just target the right audience that enters the same queries hoping to find your company.
The eCommerce industry is highly competitive, so such an approach may become your lifesaver. More on that further in the article!
What Are Long-Tail eCommerce Keywords?
What is a long-tail keyword? Not necessarily used for eCommerce websites, such keywords are phrases usually consisting of 3-5 words. They’re very specific and, while there may be many random sets of words, you can find clear questions that cry for an answer.
Giving that answer in a blog post optimized for that KW will help you reach more people and assist them in finding relevant information for their queries.
The perks of long-tail keywords for eCommerce are:
- They’re specific
- They give more chances to rank for them (imagine ranking for ‘SEO backlinks’ and for ‘How to build links in retail?’. The difference is obvious.)
- They’re less competitive compared to generic keywords, which is often an advantage
- They’re more likely to lead to a higher conversion
Why do long-tail eCommerce keywords have lower competition than generic ones?
Because they resemble the way humans make queries online. So, there are fewer direct matches, which allows for targeting a specific group of people.
A good example of a website using long-tails to its advantage is Amazon. The company generates 57% of sales from these searches.
See? A typical long-tail keyword shows Amazon as the first result.
How to Choose Long-Tail Keywords
How to choose long-tail keywords? Where to find that perfect match?
Here are the 7 methods that will work.
Use Digital Keyword Research Tools
There may be a digital tool for every purpose, and anything connected to keywords is no exception. Both Google and third-party keyword research instruments can be used to catch a long-tail query for your eCommerce website.
For example, you can use SE Ranking’s keyword finder to explore new long-tail keywords as well as check the competitiveness and popularity of keywords you have in mind. Besides, you’ll get a list of suggestions that may give you ideas for new blog posts, product pages, or additions to your FAQ page.
Keep in Mind Google Suggestions
Along with special tools to use when looking for the best long-tail keywords example, don’t forget about the most basic method of search.
Google!
The suggestions the search engine shows you when you type a query are a chest with potentially amazing long-tails for your content. This shouldn’t be the only way you research and find KWs, of course, because these suggestions don’t show any statistics. But as a contribution to your bank of ideas, Google works just fine.
For example, if you want to write a useful guest post about thermostats and make it very specific to cater to a certain audience, the search engine will give you a lot of ideas.
Peek at Google Related Searches
The results page has a lot more suggestions for SEO long-tail keywords than you think. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and you’ll see the ‘Related Searches’ section. It’s not always straight to the point, but there may be some hidden gems there.
Just type the keyword you already have that performs well, for example, and look for related topics that may work just as well for your eCommerce website.
How to identify long-tail keywords there? Easy. They are 3+ words and quite specific. Like the ‘first choice holidays 2022’.
If you can’t find something interesting on the spot, consider variations of the initial KW.
Pay Attention to the ‘People Also Ask’ Section
Yet another potential hidden treasure is in the ‘People Also Ask’ section. There, you can find perfect long-tails in the form of questions people actually care about. You can use these in longreads to cover a large share of sub-topics or for your FAQ block.This may improve your chances of ranking for one or more of the phrases.
When looking for long-tail retail keywords, make sure to check and adapt them as needed according to the results of your digital analysis.
Also, keep in mind that when you open one question, additional ones may appear underneath. Use it as a hack when there are only a few questions in the section.
Don’t Forget to Research Amazon
As we already mentioned, Amazon is a genius when it comes to long-tails. If you have a store there, don’t forget to use the search term report. It will show what keywords users searched to find your page.
Add the keywords that aren’t already in your listing and on the site there naturally, and you’ll reach many more targeted users. Maybe 50% of your audience is looking for the same phrases in Google Search.
You can also use Amazon to get suggestions for long-tail KWs. This approach works the same way as in the search engine. Just start typing and jump down the rabbit hole.
Use the Google Search Console
What if I told you that you might already rank for keywords you don’t even know about?
We all focus on the KWs our websites rank for on the 1st SERP. But what about the 2nd and the 3rd? Go to Google Search Console and check the list of phrases your website is shown for.
You may find several wonderful long-tail keywords you’re not optimizing your content for but still rank. So, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get to the first page or even TOP-5/3/1, right? Besides, the results should be pretty easy. You’ll see movement in roughly a week.
All you need for now is the Performance Report in Google Search Console. There, you’ll see the ‘Queries’ section. Filter by the needed page and set the sorting to ‘Position’ in descending order. That way, you’ll find long-term queries to optimize for the positions greater than the 10th.
Visit Forums and Q&A Websites
Forums and Q&A boards are some of the best places to use when you need fresh keyword ideas. You can even find something nobody targets for (or does poorly).
Off the top, if you have a clothing store, it’s work looking into forums on clothes, styling, etc.
We didn’t even have to play with keywords to find a great forum on men’s style.
Visit the ‘Menswear Advice’ section, and you’ll find lots of potential topics for your blog posts. By reading the recommendations people give one another there, you can definitely find potential long-tail keywords to optimize pages for.
The expression ‘wearing white tie to prom’ looks like a decent keyword, doesn’t it?
Such an approach achieves many goals:
- You get fresh KW ideas
- You attract a targeted audience to your eCommerce website
- People who need answers (and great products) get them
Tips on How to Use Long-Tail Keywords
Let’s say you’ve compiled a great list of long-tail phrases ready to be used. But where to put them strategically to increase conversions and drive traffic to your website?
Here are some ideas:
#1. Add long-tail keywords to product and service descriptions.
The secret lies in using these phrases as naturally as you can, as if you were just casually writing a description and using given words. For example, you can start the desc section for a white tie you sell by writing ‘How about wearing a white tie to prom? Or…’
Tap into the creativity pool but avoid piling such KWs in one description to try and rank for all of them. This looks very obvious and ruins user experience. Be concise and original, there are many other ways to include long-tails on your pages.
#2. Use long-tails in H1 and metadata.
Titles, descriptions, and H1s are also great places for your long-tail phrases. Those sounding like questions will work perfectly for titles and H1s. Metadata is a rather underestimated location when it comes to keywords or creativity, but it shows both search engines and users what the page is about.
So, don’t lose an opportunity to add a KW there and possibly rank for it.
#3. Utilize them to improve website structure.
You can improve site structure by using your long-tail list. Such keywords can help you identify what your categories and product pages need to be (long-tail phrases are usually your product pages while short-tail ones are your categories). Look through the list, maybe you forgot something.
Your website should answer the queries of visitors before they even ask. This makes a great user experience. Besides, doing so in the language they speak is the best you can do to build a relationship with each of them.
#4. Create content optimized for long-tail keywords.
Obviously, use long-tails in blog posts and other pieces of content on the website. Some long-tail keywords deserve a separate blog article. Use them in titles and throughout the text, but remember not to overcrowd. Too many key phrases will damage even the most interesting post because readability will dramatically decrease.
Divide each publication with subtitles where you can also use those KWs. Use questions to add a conversational tone and, again, utilize long-tails.
Such an approach will also help you build a proper content plan.
#5. Create a FAQ section on the website.
Another amazing place to include focus phrases and provide more information about your company is the FAQ section. There, you can write about the range of products and services you have, delivery, COVID precautions, etc.
Visitors will find the information they need without having to contact customer support, which is a part of self-service many websites strive to offer.
You can also add a FAQ section on your product pages or blog posts.
#6. Don’t forget about internal links.
Use long-tail keywords as anchors for interlinking within your website. In doing so, you’ll achieve several goals: creating a net of pages on your website, increasing session time, and optimizing pages for new KWs.
Conclusion
Long-tail keywords for eCommerce are a great way to rank more of your pages for specific queries your potential customers have when they are looking for a product or service. You have to be there for them, and we’ve given you all the tools you’ll need on the way to the first SERP.
Now gather them and start building a new SEO strategy incorporating these helpers!
Editor’s note: this is a guest post from Natalia Piskorovska, Digital Marketing Manager at SE Ranking. Do you have digital marketing or software expertise? Pitch your blog idea using our contact page.
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