Choosing a Longtail Keyword

byKyleManning

499 followers

Updated 7 years ago

To choose or not to choose, that is the question.

"There are so many keywords. Which one do I go with? Oh no--. " Panic settles in and takes over your lust filled heart for profit.

Many people grab their keyword tool and search for the next big word-trap for their victims. Hoping that if they choose the right keyword, they'll snag someone like choosing the right type of bait for their fishing line.

I'm sure this doesn't sound like YOU. Just saying. There *are* people out there basing their decisions off greed and ulterior motives like a bandit giving away bibles on the street corner.

I would like to give you some additional yet alternative ways to think about choosing your keywords.

1. Don't Cry to the Judge While Apologizing to Your Victim

Everybody in the room knows when your story is real just like everyone knows when you totally don't understand the joke, yet fake your laugh as if you did. We are only Superman and invencible to ourselves. But, everyone else sees right through you.

"C'mon Kyle.....keywords --- keywods --- tell me about keywords..." - see what I mean ! But, I'm sure this is NOT you. Just sayin' !

I've said this a thousand times. Keep your audience's interest first. Create a persona of a person in your head when you write. Think of the person you are writing to.

You ever witness someone explaining something confusing to someone else? And for some odd reason, *you* as a bystander begin to understand the dazed look on the confused person's face. And you want to jump in - to help that person and explain it better.

Happens to me all the time. So, it's important to speak to your audience for *their* benefit and not someone else's. Else, we shouldn't speak at all.

Step 1: adjust your attitude about who you are writing to and why you are writing to them.

2. Google Knows What You Mean

When you write and Google finds it ~ Google is pretty good about knowing what you want or are talking about.

But, not always.

The Google indexing and ranking algorithms have been molded, squeezed, stretched, heated, and cooled down time and time again ~ and that's not going to stop.

Google will continue to increase the artificial intelligence in their computer brains to learn what you are really up to. If they can make cars drive themselves all over the world, don't try to fool their intelligence engines.

"Again, Kyle ~ Keywords!!" Hey, keep your pants on. Frustrated already?

Step 2: adjust your attitude about who you are writing to and why you are writing to them.

Yep, same as step 1.

There are so Sooo Many Similar Keywords

WRONG thought process. Keywords are not bait. They are not the one and only one Waldendorf's Ring destined for some volcanic magic volcano. <-- totally just made this up. I have no clue about fantasy films.

If you begin to understand step 1 and 2 above, you'll understand that it's about the customer and Google being intelligent enough to figure out what you mean.

So, in order to be a good person in step 1 ~ you need to know your audience's problem. If you just start writing about things that people already know or don't care about because it's not serving a pain point ~ they will just click away no matter how well written your article is.

So, you need to know what your audience is concerned about. Part of your job as a writer is to do investigative work. If you ever wanted to be an investigator ~ you are one now.

Keyword Tools are the Investigator Blogger's Advisor ~ Not the Hook

When you use a keyword tool and start to find popular keywords and you see opportunity in them ~ STOP don't get ahead of yourself.

Glean carefully into the keyword and try to understand the mind of the person or thousands of people who might have performed that search.

The keyword tool is there to help YOU investigate ~ not to trap your dinner. Use the keywords to identify a pain point in your audience. They are searching for something.

The more words you can find in a long tail keyword is like finding fingerprints all over a bloody hotel room. Now, you're getting more and more information about your audience.

Write Your Title to Your Audience, Not to Google

Like I said, Google understands what you mean. If you are writing about what you intend to write about, Google will know.

Instead - write a title that simplifies your message to your audience and says or delivers the same meaning as the keyword.

Don't decorate your title with creativeness - Don't try to be a New York Times Best Selling title writer. Encapsulate your entire article in a few words that resonates with the audience.

Your page will rank for keywords you didn't even expect.

Mine does.

My site is about the ketogenics diet. I found it ranked #6 for the keyword "mackerel weight"

Believe me - I was not trying to rank for that. As a matter of fact, neither of those words are in the title. Those words are buried in the page, however.

Final thoughts

1. Adjust your attitude about writing

2. Write to your audience not to Google

3. Use keyword tools as an investigative source to discover your audience's pain points.

4. Help solve your customers / audience's pain points and write clearly to them while building a relationship with them.

Leave your comments ~ As always, I look forward to hearing from you.