How often have you entered a basic keyword search term, like “business website design“, and then wade through pages of results trying to find the type of business website developer you want? You are not alone. Hitwise, a website that tracks how 10 million users interact with the web, found that searchers are learning to use more keywords to narrow their search results. This change in keyword search habits favor alert small businesses that can adapt their websites to these “longtail” keywords.
Longtail keywords are very specific search terms that are usually longer than 4 words. Optimizing for longtail keywords benefits business websites by attracting visitors that are high quality – they are looking specifically for what you are offering.
Hitwise’s research shows that since 2004 two and three word keyword searches are dropping and searches using 4 words or more – the longtail keywords – are increasing. In 2004, no one did 8 word searches. In 2009, three and a half percent of all searches are 8 word searches!
How does this help small businesses? Small businesses can differentiate themselves in the online marketplace by capitalizing on their market’s longtail keywords. If we take a chiropractic practice in Seattle, the longtail keywords include items such as their specialty, their specific neighborhood, and even nearby landmarks.
Lightwave Web Design works with our clients to find those gold nuggets of their niche market’s keywords.
Small businesses monitoring their visitor traffic can see which longtail keywords have visitors checking more than one web page on their site. Once owners detect a pattern of good keywords, doing a second, refining search engine optimization helps boost the website’s search rankings for those keywords.
One technique we have used successfully is to create a new web page just dedicated to a longtail keyword. Over time we watched the new pages go from nowhere to finally capturing Google’s #1 position for those terms.
Any keyword that drives quality traffic to your site (i.e. visitors review two or more pages) is an asset for two reasons. First is the quality sales lead generation. Second is the tide raises all ships principle. Since Google tracks how much traffic visits your site, small businesses that harvest the “low hanging fruit” of the longtail keywords can improve their ranking for more popular keywords.
For small businesses that are only showing up high in search engine results for the owners name, it is probable that the website is not optimized for longtail keywords. Don’t leave money on the online marketing table!
Contact Lightwave Web Design to see if your website can benefit from search engine optimization for your business market.