Oh-so-elusive long-tail keywords

Here's a little nugget of wisdom based on the Search Demand Curve – 70% of all online searches are actually long-tail keywords.

Now, think about this: if you only compete for the popular search terms, you are missing valuable opportunities. With that out of the way, now let’s explore how you can easily build a comprehensive list of long-tail keywords!

In this method, we identify a possible pattern and build a series of keywords based on different types of variables. This can be handy for programmatic SEO (pSEO) and for building topical authority. Here are some examples:

Format: "Accounting software for {industry}"

1. "Accounting software for hotels"

2. "Accounting software for nonprofit"

3. "Accounting software for construction"

4. "Accounting software for churches"

In the “website builder” category, the format could be “{user goal} site builder for {industry}"

1. "portfolio site builder for photographers"

2. "fundraising site builder for nonprofits"

3. "event site builder for bands"

4. "product site builder for retailers"

In this method, what you need to do is merge certain words or phrases with your seed keyword and then perform a search on a tool like Ahref or Semrush. Below is a list of keywords you can add to your seed keyword depending on the context.

Product

• best, top 10, popular, ultimate, good, bad, great, favorite, X review, eco-friendly, budget, luxury, best value, top-rated

Comparisons

• alternative to, versus, vs., compared to, similar to

Shapes

• square, rectangle, round, circular, triangular, flat, curved, steep, straight, crooked

Prices

• under $XX, luxury, cheap, sale, discount, deals

Location

• above, under, below, beneath, beside, in [city/region], local

Distances

• short, long, far, near me, close by, up, down

Features

• auto, lightweight, energy-efficient, etc.

Appearance

• stylish, cool, chic, vintage, modern, sleek, rustic, artisanal

Dimensions

• small, tiny, large, huge, big, tall, short, long, wide, thick, narrow, broad, compact, expansive, slim

Questions

• who, what, where, when, why, how, why does, can I, should you, what's the difference between

Time

• new, now, later, future, old, recent, next, latest, upcoming, current, new trends

One-Off phrases

• History of, parts of, anatomy of, Benefits of

Industry-specific

• latest, innovative, cutting-edge, next-gen

Problem-solving

• how to fix, solutions for, best way to

Intent

• beginner's guide, advanced techniques, cost-effective, premium, best deals

Emotional appeal

• heartwarming, inspiring, stress-free, joyful

Demographic

• for millennials, seniors' choice, teens' favorite

Lifestyle and trends

• vegan, minimalist, remote work, fitness, sustainable

Hobby and interest

• DIY, gardening tips, travel hacks, photography guide, book reviews

Health and wellness

• gluten-free, mental health, home workouts, nutrition tips, self-care

Seasonal and event-based

• summer essentials, Christmas, wedding planning, back-to-school

For example, if you are operating in a highly competitive niche such as “CRM software”, you can still spot a bunch of gems with very low keyword difficulty by adding “best” to the seed keyword.

When you type a query on Google, the Autocomplete feature suggests potential queries to help you uncover long-tail keywords.

Here are some common methods:

• Just start typing your seed keyword followed by a letter, from A to Z and you will see a range of keywords.

• Play around with modifiers like 'best' or 'top 10'.

• Put an asterisk (*) between words to uncover more results.

  

Now if you are thinking about how you will grab all these keywords, you can simply type them one by one! Just kidding :D

Use these helpful tools: Keyword Chef, lowfruits.io, keywordtool.io, yoast.com/suggest

Note that Keyword Chef and LowFruits have a wildcard (*) search feature.

Also, the related searches section on the Search Engine Result Page (SERP) is quite valuable for long-tail research:

Answering questions that people are already asking is a great way of producing and optimizing content. For example, you can use questions to improve the FAQ section of your content or even create stand-alone content pieces addressing specific questions.

Here are my favourite tools:

1. Answer Socrates

2. AnswerThePublic

The “People also ask” (PAA) section on Google Search is also an amazing source of questions. You will need SEO Minion and Keywords Everywhere to download the PAA data. Also, worth looking into SearchResponse.io.

Another tool you can use is Ahrefs. After you enter your seed keyword in “Keywords Explorer”, simply click on the “Questions” tab.

Side note: Google recently released an update that limits the visibility of FAQ and How-To rich results.

If you are a new CRM player and Pipedrive is your competitor, you can use the “Site Explorer” feature in Ahrefs to look into the long-tail keywords for which Pipedrive is ranking.

Here are some potential filters to apply:

• Keyword difficulty - start with a low difficulty score (maximum 5)

• Keyword length - experiment with words with a minimum of 3-4 words

• Filter out the branded terms

Another approach is to find competitors that have low Domain Rank (Ahrefs) or Domain Authority (Moz). Then, look at the keywords for which they are ranking at the top position.

For the sake of example, I searched for “POS software” and found a provider (BrilliantPOS) with a relatively low Domain Rank. Then, I found that they rank #1 for keywords related to “concession stand”.

There are some other hidden gems as well for which this site ranks in the top 3 positions.

In these cases, you should be able to grab top spots by publishing better and higher-quality posts even if you are relatively new in the business. Note that although the volume is low, these keywords are highly targeted and you can get early traction.

The first idea is to look into long-tail keywords for which UGC sites are ranking in the top spots. You can consider both Reddit and Quora for this analysis.

In Ahrefs, use the site explorer to search reddit.com and look into Organic keywords.

Sample filters:

• Position: 1-3

• Keywords to include: <seed keyword>

• Keywords to exclude: reddit

• Keyword length: minimum 3 or 4

Another way is to open up Wikipedia and search for the topic you are looking to cover. Then look into the “table of contents” and “see also” sections for additional ideas.

Many websites publish glossary pages on various terms related to their industries.

Some examples:

• https://www.activecampaign.com/glossary

• https://www.intellimize.com/glossary

• https://www.intercom.com/glossary

Use these resources to scour through the terms and use them as seed keywords.

For example, I picked the term “Proactive Support” from Intercom’s glossary. Then, used Ahrefs to uncover long-tail keywords such as “proactive IT support”, “proactive computer support”, “reactive support vs proactive support”, and more.

Try out the following prompt to get keyword ideas and plug them into a tool like Ahrefs or Semrush to estimate the volume and difficulty:

“Give me a list of long-tail keywords related to the term ‘<seed word>’ in table format complete with possible search intent”

You can get keyword inspiration from video platforms such as TikTok. For instance, when you search for “project management app”, there are a bunch of keyword suggestions in the “Others searched for” list.

Two popular tools to use are Google Image Search and Pinterest (yes!). Simply input your seed keyword and then look for suggestions to refine the search results.

Google image search

I searched for “CRM software” and further drilled into the “healthcare” category to find additional keyword ideas.

Pinterest

Amazing for the consumer space, but not so good for SaaS and B2B products. In any case, it helps you gather additional keyword ideas.

Check out the highlighted areas in the screenshot given below:

Hope you enjoyed this guide! If you have a method that is not covered here, share it in the comments area.

I will update this post whenever I come across any new method!