2. Agenda
• The Long Tail of Search
– History and Definition
– What is it, why should you care?
• How to Leverage the Long Tail for SEO & PPC
– Practical tips and strategies
– Common Long Tail Pitfalls and how to avoid them
• Q&A
WordStream, Inc.
3. The History of the Long Tail
• Popularized by Chris Anderson in a 2004 “Wired” magazine
article that has led to a series of books
• Long Tail Theory: “Long tail products that are in low demand
(low sales volume) collectively make up a market share that
exceeds the bestsellers.”
WordStream, Inc.
4. The Long Tail and Search
• Real phenomenon that permeates many aspects of search
marketing
• Popular Examples of the Long Tail:
– Keyword (Search Query) Reports
– Popular Content Reports
• Why should you care about the long tail?
– “20-25% of all Google search queries are unique” (Google)
– “56% of buyers who search use queries of three or more words, while
only 7 percent use one word or an acronym” (Google)
– “Searchers are using longer queries” (Hitwise)
• Has many implications for managing both SEO and PPC
WordStream, Inc.
5. The Long Tail & PPC in Theory
• Broader (more general) search queries are
indicative of early in the buying cycle
• They’re also relatively more expensive due to
increased advertiser competition
• More specific the query, the closer the
searcher is to a decision (conversion)
• Also relatively cheaper due to decreased
advertiser competition
WordStream, Inc.
6. Consider these Google queries:
1. “Running Shoes”
• +10 pages of sponsored results
Searcher Intent = vs. vs. vs. vs.
2. “Nike Air Terra”
• ~2 sponsored listings
Searcher Intent =
WordStream, Inc.
7. So in Theory, Long Tail for PPC:
Less More Searcher
Competition
(Lower CPC)
Intent
(Higher
Better
Better Ad
Positioning
Conversion
Rates)
ROI!
WordStream, Inc.
8. Dude, Where’s My Long Tail!
• In Google AdWords, the long tail often doesn’t exist!
– “300 keywords generate +90% of my clicks”
– Therefore “the long tail is dead!”
• Yet Web analytics keyword reports show 10’s of thousands of
unique search queries!
• What’s happening here?!
WordStream, Inc.
9. Search Queries vs. Keywords
• Search Queries: What the user actually typed into the search
box that triggered your ads.
• Keywords: The words in your Google AdWords account that
Google attributes an impression/click/conversion to.
• Use of aggressive keyword match types kills your long tail in
Google AdWords
– Can fundamentally distort cause and effect
– Operating PPC in “Low Resolution”
WordStream, Inc.
10. Keyword Match Types & Search
Queries
Keyword Match Type Keyword Possible Valid Search Query
Broad Match Adidas Shoes Nike Slippers
Phrase Match “Adidas Shoes” Adidas Shoes for basketball
Exact Match [Adidas Shoes] Adidas Shoes
WordStream, Inc.
11. PPC Strategy for Long Tail
• Need greater visibility into the search queries that are actually driving
traffic & conversions and leverage that information to correct for Google’s
built-in tendency to distort reality
– Continuous Long Tail Keyword Discovery & Expansion: Self Explanatory
– Bidding: By bidding lower on “Head” terms versus mid and long-tail terms.
– Negative Keywords: Restrict ads from showing if you have more specific ads
that you’d rather show.
– Match Types: Application of more or less restrictive match types
• No prescriptive way to manage the long tail, rather, you need :
– Better resolution into the actual search query data and outcomes in order to understand
and react to it
– Effective keyword organization strategy
WordStream, Inc.
12. PPC Long Tail Implementation
Strategies
Wow. This is a lot of theory and sounds
pretty hard. How do you actually
implement this??
WordStream, Inc.
13. Long Tail in PPC: What’s the Point?
• Long Tail awareness for PPC & strong campaign organization to better
understand and react to how people are really interacting with your PPC
campaigns
• To make your Long Tail of Keywords (in AdWords) look more like your Long
Tail of Search Queries in Web Analytics
• Why?
– It means your more precisely matching keyword searches with their intended ads
and landing pages
– Will (on average) yield Quality Scores, better exposure, lower CPC’s, higher
conversion rates.
• More work, but …
– Meaningful advantage in paid search if executed well
– Excellent foundation for Search Engine Optimization work
WordStream, Inc.
14. Long Tail Theory in SEO
• Most of the traffic and conversions on your site come from
long tail search queries
• “56% of buyers who search use queries of three or more words,
while only 7 percent use one word or an acronym” (Google)
• “Head” Terms (Less Specific) are
– Incredibly difficult to rank on due to extreme competition
– Are less intentional and more informational in nature
• True “Long Tail” Terms are difficult to identify
– “20-25% of all Google search queries are unique” (Google)
• So the strategy is to target Mid-Tail Terms!
– Less competitive, easier to target
– Higher intent, Conversion friendly = Money!
WordStream, Inc.
15. Consider these Google queries:
1. “Running Shoes”
• 18,000,000 organic results
Searcher Intent = vs. vs. vs. vs.
2. “Nike Air Terra”
• 131,000 organic results
Searcher Intent =
WordStream, Inc.
16. So in Theory, Long Tail for SEO:
Less More Searcher
Competition Intent
(Higher
Better
Better SERP
Positioning
Conversion
Rates)
ROI!
WordStream, Inc.
17. Long Tail Strategy for On-Page SEO
• Publish unique, relevant,
and specific content:
– Themed Content: Target
content around specific
mid-tail keywords.
– Relevant Linking:
Aggressive, relevant, in-
paragraph linking like
wikipedia.
• Prioritize work
– Start with the traffic and
action producing mid-tail
keyword segmentations
first
• Repeat!
WordStream, Inc.
18. SEO Long Tail Implementation Strategies
How do you actually implement this??
(Easy if you’re already targeting the
Long Tail in PPC!)
WordStream, Inc.
19. Long Tail in SEO: What’s the Point?
• To develop a portfolio of content that will rank on a portfolio of mid and long
tail keywords because that’s where the majority of clicks and conversions are
• By leveraging valuable search query data from PPC you can very effectively
target mid and long tail terms!
WordStream, Inc.
20. Common Long Tail Keyword
Mistakes:
– Ignoring/Denying the Long Tail of Search
– Mistaking Quantity and Quality
• Fake keyword generators (permutations or combinations of lists of keywords)
• Over-trusting keyword suggestion tools
• Negative Keywords
– Avoid Keyword Injection: Need {Keyword}?
• Shortcuts hurt performance
• Write targeted ads and landing pages
– Simplistic bidding rules can torpedo the Long Tail in PPC
– Trying to do everything at once
• Take an iterative approach
WordStream, Inc.
21. Ways to Effectively Manage Long
Tail Keywords
1. Tight Keyword Grouping & Organization
• Properly organize your long tail keywords for the best results
2. Use negatives
• Negative keywords improve your relevance without requiring you to comb through
the list individually
3. Prioritize tasks
• Once you have gathered long tail keywords, continue to optimize the campaigns as
you do with other keyword groups
4. Act on insights
• Turn insight into action! Dedicate time and effort towards crafting relevant ad groups
and content pages
5. Distribute the work
• Break up work into smaller tasks, enlist the support of a team
6. Use Software
• Leverage keyword management software
WordStream, Inc.
22. WordStream in a Nutshell
• Your own private keyword database
• Real keywords from real data
• Easy keyword organization and management
• Continuous long tail growth
• Powerful keyword research and analytics
• Negative Keyword Tools
• Workflow prioritization
• Act on Long Tail for PPC and SEO!
WordStream, Inc.
