Have you heard the phrase Long-tail Keywords? Do you know what they are or how to use them? If you are an online marketer you really need to understand the impact long-tail keywords can have on being found through search engines.

Long-tail keyword searches are often used when someone is trying to look for a specific thing. They might type a question into a search box with their keyword phrases within the question. (ex., Where can I find a pink polka dot bikini?) Pink Polka Dot Bikini is a long-tail keyword. Typically people will search for just the generic keyword term, bikini, if they are only interested in bikinis in general. However, if they are ready to buy a pink polka dot bikini, that's the phrase they will use for their search.

Internet Marketers have been using these keywords and keyword phrases for awhile now to help rank in the search engines and get their websites positioned in that #1 spot. What this does is help them better answer the question their potential customer is asking. By using the keyword phrase, pink polka dot bikini, when someone searches for the exact term, it's a perfect match for the person searching and will most likely result in a sale.

The more specific you can make a keyword phrase, the better chance you have for someone to find you with that phrase. When you decide to target long-tail keywords, you are positioning your site to be found by those who are typing in a more specific targeted search. If you are trying to rank high with other more popular keyword phrases and are aiming to get on the top spots in the search engines with the more common or generic keywords, you could possibly be losing out on these more specific searches.

However, if you want to be found by those people who are ready to buy when finding exactly what they are looking for with the long-tail keywords, this method works much better. According to Wikipedia statistics recent long-tail keyword research has found that long-tail searches often exhibit a higher conversion rate by up to 200% compared to short tail (generic) keywords, and can be extremely profitable for search engine marketers in terms of a lower cost per action and higher return on investment.

If you are a marketer who is interested in using Pay Per Click as one of your advertising methods, choosing long-tail keyword phrases could end up saving you money. By using the more popular keyword phrases since they are more in demand can cost you a pretty penny. By targeting long-tail keyword phrases, you not only have less competition, but have a better chance of reaching the exact target market you would like that will end up purchasing your product.

Doing your keyword research to find these long-tailed keyword phrases is crucial to determine which ones are the best phrases to use. Wordtracker is a great program that will enable you to type in various keywords and find the best long-tail phrases that are being searched for within that niche. Also, Google's keyword tool is another good resource. You should always track your results when using keyword phrases so you can see which ones are producing better sales and views. Once you have found a few long-tail keyword phrases that have desirable statistics, you can then use these for other marketing methods to gain as much as you can from your advertising efforts.
By Terri Brooks