In recent days, I’ve come across no less than four articles extolling the virtues of longtail keywords as the ultimate strategy for business growth. Interestingly, all four were authored by SEO agency owners and were accompanied by extensive slide decks, outlining the supposed benefits of this approach. However, it is my firm belief that longtail SEO is often misguided, particularly for websites seeking to establish authority and aspiration in their respective niches.
Unpacking Longtail Search
To truly grasp the limitations of longtail SEO, we must first understand what it entails. Longtail keywords are characterized by their specificity, often involving longer search queries. For instance, consider a longtail search query within the wine and diet industry, such as “How many calories in a bottle of red wine.” According to Ahrefs, this query garners approximately 2700 monthly searches and boasts a relatively low keyword difficulty level.
On the surface, targeting such a phrase might seem reasonable. However, there is a critical drawback to this approach: featured snippets. In many cases, longtail queries are easily answered by the featured snippet, rendering organic search results less relevant. Furthermore, with the advent of Google’s SGE (Snippet Generated Experience), such queries are even more likely to be directly addressed by Google, leaving little room for website traffic.
Prioritizing Business Profits
For businesses, the primary objective of SEO should not solely be to drive traffic but rather to generate profits. Sustainable growth occurs when your offerings align with the needs of potential customers who are actively seeking your products or services. To achieve this, your marketing efforts must position your brand as a readily accessible and recognizable choice in the minds of consumers.
A Real-Life Scenario
Imagine you operate a direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine-selling business. An effective content strategy in this scenario would be to create a comprehensive wine knowledge hub, much like Virgin Wines did, resulting in a monthly influx of 41,300 visitors. This initiative represents what I like to call a “content product,” designed to educate and engage your target audience.
While developing such an asset may require considerable time and effort, it serves a clear business purpose. The content hub can be promoted through social media ads and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. Additionally, it ranks for over 11,000 keywords, ensuring that your brand is visible to individuals actively seeking information about wine. This approach capitalizes on the concept of information clustering, guiding readers from one article to another while exposing them to your brand, offers, and assets.
A Different Approach to SEO
The prevailing obsession within the SEO industry with traffic and rankings is most beneficial for those reliant on ad revenue. However, for brands aiming for meaningful engagement, a distinct strategy is required. SEO professionals must shift their perspective, thinking commercially rather than obsessing over longtail keywords or search volume.
Search engine users traverse the entire spectrum of search results, often multiple times, before making a purchase decision. The key is to become a brand that is easy to remember and locate, regardless of where users are in their buying journey. This, ultimately, is the core essence of an effective SEO strategy – not the length of a keyword phrase or the ease of ranking but the ability to be both memorable and discoverable.
In conclusion, while longtail SEO may have its place, brands seeking substantial growth and profitability should focus on creating valuable content assets, establishing themselves as authoritative resources, and, most importantly, being easily accessible to their target audience. In doing so, SEO becomes a powerful tool for sustainable success in the digital landscape.
