Just a quick keyword question for you all. I have found a keyword phrase I like, and think I can rank for, but then by adding a single word at the end of that phrase, the competition greatly decreased. So my question is if I target the same phrase with one more word, will I also be targeting the phrase minus that extra word? Example: ummm How to grow hair (original) How to grow hair fast (with added word) So, being that the first four words are the same, will I be in a way targeting the shorter phrase, because it is part of the longer phrase? Thank you very much in advanced.
Search is likely to match your longer keyphrase first followed by the shorter version, if your content is relevant. Even if your content is relevant, you might only rank in the top 300 for the shorter competitive keyphrase, but rank in the top 10 for example, for the less competitive and longer keyphrase.
Dang, so thats a big difference being in the top 300 vs the top 10. Do you think I should just concentrate on the harder keyword as it has a much higher payout I think? Or go for the easier longer keyword?
But you can rank any keyword depend on your seo techniques.. I don't believe high competition keywords...
It's better to go for the easier, longer keyphrase unless you have the money to get the more competitive terms too
Another option is to run an Adwords campaign for both the shorter and longer keyphrases to know the difference in conversion for your site. Adwords don't have to be expensive and the money you spend will provide you with a lot of good information if you know how to collect and analyze it.
Longer phrases could target two keywords or keyword variations, but it is really on how you optimize your keyword that would matter a lot.
what we'd do is go for 500 longer keywords instead of just one: how to grow hair fast how to grow a lot of hair how to grow hair on your ass how to grow hair when you're 55 and bald and your wife left you ... ...and so on. it's a much more intelligent approach than simply trying to beat 100500 other webmasters who target "how to grow hair", and more stable in the long run as well. and the cumulative traffic of a site targeting a ton of longtail keywords can be huge - and it's essentially the same quality as the main shorter keyword. we've been extremely successful with this approach in the past 2 years.
@Torafox is right on - the total traffic from a bunch of long-tail keywords exceeds the traffic for the more competitive terms - not just in this case, but in all cases. This is why you'll find so many niche sites today - they're all trying to capitalize on the opportunity without having to spend like the big companies or sites have to, to get the 'good' keywords.
Ok, that makes sense, plus I could always decide to target the shorter keyword at a later state right? Thank you for this post it was very helpful.