wordstream webinar: is the long tail dead?

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WordStream, Inc.Keyword Management Solutions for PPC & SEO

Leveraging The Long Tail of Search for PPC and SEOPresenter: Larry Kim, Founder, VP of Products

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Agenda

• The Long Tail of Search– History and Definition– What is it, why should you care?

• How to Leverage the Long Tail for SEO & PPC– Practical tips and strategies– Common Long Tail Pitfalls and how to avoid them

• Q&A

The History of the Long Tail

• Popularized by Chris Anderson in a 2004 “Wired” magazine article that has led to a series of books

• Long Tail Theory: “Long tail products that are in low demand (low sales volume) collectively make up a market share that exceeds the bestsellers.”

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The Long Tail and Search

• Real phenomenon that permeates many aspects of search marketing

• Popular Examples of the Long Tail: – Keyword (Search Query) Reports– Popular Content Reports

• Why should you care about the long tail?– “20-25% of all Google search queries are unique” (Google)– “56% of buyers who search use queries of three or more words,

while only 7 percent use one word or an acronym” (Google)– “Searchers are using longer queries” (Hitwise)

• Has many implications for managing both SEO and PPC

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The Long Tail & PPC in Theory

• Broader (more general) search queries are indicative of early in the buying cycle

• They’re also relatively more expensive due to increased advertiser competition

• More specific the query, the closer the searcher is to a decision (conversion)

• Also relatively cheaper due to decreased advertiser competition

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Consider these Google queries:

1. “Running Shoes”• +10 pages of sponsored results

2. “Nike Air Terra”• ~2 sponsored listings

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Searcher Intent = vs. vs. vs. vs.

Searcher Intent =

So in Theory, Long Tail for PPC:

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Less Competit

ion(Lower CPC)Better

Ad Positioni

ng

More Searcher

Intent(Higher

Conversion

Rates)

Better ROI!

Dude, Where’s My Long Tail!

• In Google AdWords, the long tail often doesn’t exist!– “300 keywords generate +90% of my clicks”– Therefore “the long tail is dead!”

• Yet Web analytics keyword reports show 10’s of thousands of unique search queries!

• What’s happening here?!

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Search Queries vs. Keywords

• Search Queries: What the user actually typed into the search box that triggered your ads.

• Keywords: The words in your Google AdWords account that Google attributes an impression/click/conversion to.

• Use of aggressive keyword match types kills your long tail in Google AdWords– Can fundamentally distort cause and effect– Operating PPC in “Low Resolution”

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Keyword Match Types & Search Queries

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Keyword Match Type Keyword Possible Valid Search Query

Broad Match Adidas Shoes Nike Slippers

Phrase Match “Adidas Shoes” Adidas Shoes for basketball

Exact Match [Adidas Shoes] Adidas Shoes

PPC Strategy for Long Tail• Need greater visibility into the search queries that are actually

driving traffic & conversions and leverage that information to correct for Google’s built-in tendency to distort reality– Continuous Long Tail Keyword Discovery & Expansion: Self

Explanatory– Bidding: By bidding lower on “Head” terms versus mid and long-tail

terms.– Negative Keywords: Restrict ads from showing if you have more

specific ads that you’d rather show.– Match Types: Application of more or less restrictive match types

• No prescriptive way to manage the long tail, rather, you need :– Better resolution into the actual search query data and outcomes in order to

understand and react to it– Effective keyword organization strategy

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PPC Long Tail Implementation Strategies

Wow. This is a lot of theory and sounds pretty hard. How do you actually implement this??

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Long Tail in PPC: What’s the Point?

• Long Tail awareness for PPC & strong campaign organization to better understand and react to how people are really interacting with your PPC campaigns

• To make your Long Tail of Keywords (in AdWords) look more like your Long Tail of Search Queries in Web Analytics

• Why?– It means your more precisely matching keyword searches with their

intended ads and landing pages– Will (on average) yield Quality Scores, better exposure, lower CPC’s,

higher conversion rates.• More work, but …

– Meaningful advantage in paid search if executed well– Excellent foundation for Search Engine Optimization work

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Long Tail Theory in SEO

• Most of the traffic and conversions on your site come from long tail search queries• “56% of buyers who search use queries of three or more words,

while only 7 percent use one word or an acronym” (Google)

• “Head” Terms (Less Specific) are– Incredibly difficult to rank on due to extreme competition– Are less intentional and more informational in nature

• True “Long Tail” Terms are difficult to identify– “20-25% of all Google search queries are unique” (Google)

• So the strategy is to target Mid-Tail Terms!– Less competitive, easier to target– Higher intent, Conversion friendly = Money!

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Consider these Google queries:

1. “Running Shoes”• 18,000,000 organic results

2. “Nike Air Terra”• 131,000 organic results

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Searcher Intent = vs. vs. vs. vs.

Searcher Intent =

So in Theory, Long Tail for SEO:

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Less Competit

ion

Better SERP

Positioning

More Searcher

Intent(Higher

Conversion

Rates)

Better ROI!

Long Tail Strategy for On-Page SEO

• Publish unique, relevant, and specific content:– Themed Content:

Target content around specific mid-tail keywords.

– Relevant Linking: Aggressive, relevant, in-paragraph linking like wikipedia.

• Prioritize work– Start with the traffic and

action producing mid-tail keyword segmentations first

• Repeat!

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SEO Long Tail Implementation Strategies

How do you actually implement this?? (Easy if you’re already targeting the Long Tail in PPC!)

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Long Tail in SEO: What’s the Point?

• To develop a portfolio of content that will rank on a portfolio of mid and long tail keywords because that’s where the majority of clicks and conversions are

• By leveraging valuable search query data from PPC you can very effectively target mid and long tail terms!

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Common Long Tail KeywordMistakes:

– Ignoring/Denying the Long Tail of Search– Mistaking Quantity and Quality

• Fake keyword generators (permutations or combinations of lists of keywords)

• Over-trusting keyword suggestion tools• Negative Keywords

– Avoid Keyword Injection: Need {Keyword}? • Shortcuts hurt performance• Write targeted ads and landing pages

– Simplistic bidding rules can torpedo the Long Tail in PPC– Trying to do everything at once

• Take an iterative approach

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Ways to Effectively Manage Long Tail Keywords

1. Tight Keyword Grouping & Organization• Properly organize your long tail keywords for the best results

2. Use negatives• Negative keywords improve your relevance without requiring you to comb

through the list individually

3. Prioritize tasks• Once you have gathered long tail keywords, continue to optimize the

campaigns as you do with other keyword groups

4. Act on insights• Turn insight into action! Dedicate time and effort towards crafting relevant ad

groups and content pages

5. Distribute the work• Break up work into smaller tasks, enlist the support of a team

6. Use Software• Leverage keyword management software

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WordStream in a Nutshell

• Your own private keyword database• Real keywords from real data• Easy keyword organization and management• Continuous long tail growth• Powerful keyword research and analytics• Negative Keyword Tools• Workflow prioritization• Act on Long Tail for PPC and SEO!

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Your Questions

Thank you for attending our webinar on the Long Tail of Search!

Learn more about long tail SEO and PPC strategies and tactics:

www.wordstream.com/blogImplement Long tail strategies by signing up for a Free WordStream Trial:

www.wordstream.com/try

Or contact us at:Larry: lkim@wordstream.comCompany: info@wordstream.com

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