How Many Keywords Make an Effective Query?
Short-Tail and Long-Tail Search String Queries
This question always arises when new internet marketing website owners are learning to implement keyword strategy, “how many keywords are best (or allowed, or OK to use, etc.) for my keyword phrases?” Two, three … five, six? Well, the fact of the matter is, nothing about keyword phrase length is set in cement!
Two and Three Word Queries Are Used Most Often By Searchers
What is “set in cement” is the need to know what keywords and keyword phrases your customer base would most likely be typing into (or querying) the search engines. That’s what matters! So, first you’ve got to compile a keyword list, or have one researched for you by a knowledgeable SEO consultant, such as the thorough one I offer: Keyword Research Report
Keyword phrases that your customers are using to find you can be rather eye-opening when you start looking at the statistical information offered by your web host’s web tracker or hit-counter service. If you don’t have a means to see exactly what keyword phrases your website’s visitors are using to arrive at your website, then I highly suggest you go to StatCounter.com and take advantage of their free service.
I recommend StatCounter to many of my small business clients. They find this important aspect of SEO optimization know-how to be invaluable in not only targeting the right keywords to use in their content, but in learning where their visitors are originating from.
An Interesting Break-Down Of Short And Long-Tail Keyword Use
January 2007: According to data collected from users of European Web analytics provider OneStat, most people use 2- or 3-word queries in search engines. The RankStat research was based on a sample of 2 million visitors, made up of 20,000 visitors in 100 countries each day. Here’s what they discovered:
- Two-word phrases — 28.38 percent
- Three-word phrases — 27.15 percent
- Four-word phrases — 16.42 percent
- One-word phrase — 13.48 percent
- Five-word phrases — 8.03 percent
- Six-word phrases — 3.67 percent
- Seven-word phrases — 1.63 percent
- Eight-word phrases — 0.73 percent
- Nine-word phrases — 0.34 percent
- Ten-word phrases — 0.16 percent
I find these statistics on keyword phrase length interesting. What these stats tell us is that searchers are learning to use multi-word combinations to help zero in on what they are searching for. They’re learning that the more precise they are in providing search terms, the greater the chance they’ll get to the information they are searching for faster. This also means the information will more than likely be exactly what they want.
Long-tail keyword phrases are normally quite easily incorporated into our Title tag, Description Meta tag and web page content. The better we are at narrowing our keyword terms for each page of content, the greater chance we have to not only rank higher in the search engines, but to also attract targeted traffic to our website.
Targeted Keyword Phrases = A Greater Chance For Targeted Website Traffic
Just in case you are not sure what all this means, I’ll use this example. Based on the above statistics, we’d see keywords being used such as:
- Two-word phrase – cake recipes
- Three-word phrase — chocolate cake recipe
- Four-word phrase – chocolate bundt cake recipe
- One-word phrase — recipes
- Five-word phrase – easy chocolate bundt cake recipe
I am sure this example shows how much sense the 2 or more word phrases make to your search engine optimization efforts. The more specific you are in each page of information you create, the better off you will be in all marketing and SEO respects.
For more information on researching and utilizing keywords, refer to this very informative FREE 75-page case study: Keyword Research Guide from WordTracker
