Long Tail Search Engine Strategy

Looking for SERP in all the wrong places.

The reason most people get frustrated with their ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs) is that they are looking for results in the wrong places. Striving to get a site's home page into Google for a desired key phrase is discouraging, but getting beyond "Google home page obsession" can lead to discoveries of how search engine optimization really does work.


Let's face it, Newfangled's home page isn't the end-all-be-all source of information on the subject of website development. When "website development" is typed into Google - guess what - our site isn't listed anywhere near the top. And that's a good thing. We're just one web development firm among thousands. The generic phrase "website development" should link - as it does - to high level sites that discuss website development in general, not to any specific website development company.

So if I am not trying to get my home page listed for the phrase "website development," what am I doing to gain search engine traffic? I'm going after the long tail...

Chris Anderson has described the long tail concept in his excellent book by that title. As it applies to search engines and websites, it means that while there is a lot of clicking activity going on using popular keywords, there is even more activity along the tail, that is, using search phrases that are so specific as to be almost unique. And the tail is really long. I may not get any clicks to my home page for the phrase website development, but I get thousands of clicks to other sub pages (newsletters, case studies, press releases, and the like) from phrases that are much less common, yet far more focused on the content contained on those pages. Because these long tail search phrases are so specific, visits that result from them are usually more fruitful than traffic from more generic phrases.

If you get this, you'll benefit greatly from turning your attention away from the pointless effort of trying to wrangle your home page onto Google and toward creating content that is highly attractive and effective along the long tail. For more information about how to implement a long tail strategy, read some of our newsletters listed to the left, especially "Who's Your Homepage?"


The Secret to Search: Relevant Content
Organic Search Engine Optimization Tips
Long Tail Search Engine Strategy
Search Engine Optimization Website Development Partnerships