Longtail Keywords are often the keywords people tell you to go after, but only it they're the right kinds; it just means that's the keyword phrase that has the least amount of competition on it. So if your website uses that keyword phrase and someone, usually a small monthly search set, types that phrase in, your site site will likely be seen before everyone else. Fine. Do those keywords create buyers? You need keywords where people are in the mood to buy something. How to make money online is more action-oriented than ways to make money online Yes, they just so happened to be long-tail keywords, but action oriented ones. Student loan consolidation is more action-oriented than student loan debt. Of course, you might have to take into account competition of the keyword, but definitely an action-oriented word will up your likelihood of being bought from.
You also have to realize what stage of the buying cycle a person is in. Even how to make money is still a fairly general phrase. It could really mean a lot of things. For instance who do you think is more motivated to buy something. Person A searching for: How to make money on the internet. Or Person B searching: How to make money with Level 2 Stocks Software Obviously the second guy looking for something more specific. From just that entry you know that the second guy is interested in Stocks and Level 2 Stock software which is a standard platform for some company like E-Trade... So just by that phrase alone, you know that the second guy is that much further in the buying cycle.