The Long and Short of Long Tail Findability Theory . week seven

May 28, 2010 at 4:18 am
filed under SEO, findability
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long tail keywordsThe foundation of findability is content. The foundation of content is words. Keywords hone in on what your users want to find. If you can determine what your users typically search for on your website and utilize these words in your content, your website will become more findable. Although you might think that adding any frequently searched keywords to your website will create high rankings for your site, search engines realize when this black hat search technique is employed and will penalize your website as a consequence. Search engines look at your website’s keyword relevance in relation to content.

Not only are search engines ranking your website based on its relevant content and keywords, but users are also becoming more and more search savvy, searching for specific phrases and content. In order to capture these users and rank high in the search engines, it is important to pattern your keywords using long tail theory. Long tail theory is the technique of filtering keywords that might describe your website but are so commonly searched that the keyword is not unique enough to capture specific users. Using phrases that represent the middle ground between highly searched terms and unique search terms or more specific searches will create a findable site for the specific audience you are trying to target. The search engines will also find more relevant content for your website, with content that not many other websites have, thus creating higher rankings when those keywords / phrases or other similar search terms are used.

Consider long tail theory while researching keywords and creating content to capture the attention of search engines and your audience. Including these keywords in your content, Meta tags, URLs, and page titles enhance your rankings and create a more findable website.

Resources:
‘Long Tail 101′ on The Long Tail – Wired Blogs by Chris Anderson
‘Testing Search for Relevancy and Precision’ on A List Apart by John Ferrara

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