Short-Tail vs. Long-Tail Keywords: Key Differences (+ When to Use Each)

Long-tail keywords are specific phrases that attract niche audiences, while short-tail keywords are broader terms that reach a wider audience. Read on to learn the key differences between the two.

Keywords are, well, key to guiding your content marketing strategy and improving your website’s SEO (search engine optimization) performance.

And understanding the difference between short-tail and long-tail keywords can help you craft an effective digital strategy that targets prospects at every stage of the funnel.

In this article, we’ll explore the differences between short-tail and long-tail keywords, and how to leverage each to maximize your SEO efforts.

Long-tail keywords target niche audiences and often have higher conversion rates due to their specificity. (Image: Unsplash)

What’s the difference between short-tail and long-tail keywords?

Long-tail keywords are highly specific search terms that attract niche audiences, whereas short-tail keywords are more broad and aim to reach a wider audience.

Short-tail keywords (also known as head keywords), such as “digital marketing,” appeal to a broader audience and generate higher search volumes. However, they face greater competition and usually have lower conversion rates.

In contrast, long-tail keywords, like “digital marketing services in Boston,” target niche audiences and often have higher conversion rates due to their specificity. They have a lower search volume but attract people who know what they want.

What “short-tail” and “long-tail” mean

The terms “short-tail” and “long-tail” actually come from their positions on the “search demand” curve.

(Image: HawksEM)

If we take all search queries performed on Google over a month and order them by their search volumes, the resulting graph shows long-tail keywords in the “long-tail” of the curve due to their lower popularity.

Meanwhile, short-tail keywords occupy the “fat head” of the curve because of their higher search volumes.

Are long-tail or short-tail keywords better?

Both long-tail and short-tail keywords have pros and cons.

Short-tail keywords come with hefty competition and can require years of consistent SEO strategies and building quality backlinks.

But if you rank on the first page for a short-tail keyword, benefits include:

• A lot of traffic: High rankings for short-tail keywords bring in substantial organic traffic.
• Strong backlinks: Ranking high often means you’ve built valuable backlinks, which you can leverage to boost other pages on your site through internal linking.

Long-tail keywords shine for different reasons:

• Lower competition: With less competition, it’s easier to land the top spots.
• Higher conversion rates: Long-tail keywords typically attract site visitors with a specific intent, often leading to higher conversion rates.
• A lot of options: There’s a much higher number of long-tail keywords to target, giving you more opportunities to reach your audience.

However, you’ll need to rank for many long-tail keywords to achieve a significant volume of search traffic.

So, which is better? The reality is you need both.

Short-tail keywords: Pros and cons

Short-tail keywords (also called “head terms” or “broad terms”) typically contain up to three words, for example:

• Swimsuits
• Red roses
• Digital marketing services

When you think about your business, these short terms are the first words that usually come to mind. They’re also the first terms to come to the consumer’s mind when they’re looking for something online.

Short-tail keywords can be the same for a variety of businesses. For “red roses,” this keyword could apply to a local flower shop, an ecommerce shop, or a big-box chain store.

That’s why the competition to rank highly for short-tail keywords is often fierce.

Short-tail keyword pros

• Appeal to a broad target audience: Shorter keywords are excellent traffic drivers for your website, thanks to their high search volume.
• Easy to determine: They don’t require extensive target audience research or keyword search. You can likely come up with a dozen short-tail keywords or more with a quick brainstorming session.
• Easy to use: Short search terms can be used to create a great variety of easy-flowing content, helping to shape your overall content strategy.

Short-tail keyword cons

• High competition: Everyone wants to drive significant traffic, avoid extensive keyword searches, and write easy-flowing content.
• The wrong type of traffic: Short-tail keywords are more general than their larger counterparts — for example, “French tips” could apply to nail salons or those trying to learn the French language.
• Low conversion rates: Short-tail keywords can generate numerous clicks, but the number of people who convert is usually lower.

If you can rank for short-tail keywords, you’ll likely generate a lot of traffic for your website and boost brand awareness.

However, you might also see an increase in your bounce rate from people in the early stages of research.

Long-tail keywords: Pros and cons

Also called “narrow search terms” or “keyword phrases,” these are more specific keywords than their short-tail partners — for example:

• Swimsuits for toddler boys
• Fresh red rose bouquets near me
• Digital marketing services in Boston

By entering a longer search query, people are more likely to find what they’re looking for. Often, the more specific the search, the higher the likelihood of purchase intent.

While you may generate less traffic with long-tail keywords than you would with shorter terms, more of your visitors are likely to convert.

Long-tail keyword pros

• Low competition: You’re more likely to rank at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) and reach your target audience.
• User intent: People who use narrow search terms are usually closer to the bottom of the sales funnel than those who use short-tail keywords.
• Conversion rate: Searchers with high intent are more likely to convert.

Long-tail keyword cons

• Specifics: It takes more time, research, and effort to identify long-tail keywords your target audience may be searching for.
• Content implementation: Unlike broad terms, long-tail keywords can be harder to use in your content organically.
• Low volume: 92% of all keywords get 10 or fewer searches per month (i.e. 92% of all keywords people type into search engines are also long-tail)

Overall, long-tail keywords are harder to identify and implement into your SEM campaign. However, they require a lower budget and provide a higher conversion rate, as Yoast explains.

Long-tail and short-tail keywords work better together

Ultimately, an efficient SEO strategy involves a balanced use of both types of keywords.

Short-tail keywords target the top of the sales funnel, while long-tail keywords work closer to the bottom.

Each keyword type contributes to achieving the final goals of your marketing strategy.

(Image: Unsplash)

How to find the right keywords

Start your keyword research with short-tail keywords: Brainstorm what general terms describe your brand and offer.

Then, do a quick Google search of those terms to see what shows up on the SERP. Google’s predictive search might offer insights into keywords you should target.

Next, use a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, or Ahrefs to identify which keywords you (and your competitors) already rank for and find related terms.

Using your tool of choice, assess metrics like:

• Monthly search volume: Frequency of keyword searches
• Keyword difficulty: A score from 0 to 100 indicating how challenging it is to rank for them
• Cost-per-click (CPC): Helps evaluate the commercial value of the keyword

How to find the right long-tail keywords

With a list of sort-tail keywords under your belt:

1. Google Search

Consider common questions related to your business or offering and enter them into Google search. Check out the “People Also Ask” section and predictive text for additional keyword ideas.

2. Google Keyword Planner

Inside the free Google Ads tool, search for keywords related to your topic and filter by search volume.

3. Keyword research tools

Use the advanced features of SEO tools like Semrush, Moz, or Ahrefs to analyze keyword difficulty and find related keyword suggestions.

4. Conduct a competitor analysis

With your keyword research tool, check out your competitor’s targeted keywords to identify any gaps. (SpuFu is a great resource for this step.)

Listen to your audience

Browse forums, boards, and social media groups related to your offering to see what people are asking and how they phrase their questions.

Similarly, use surveys, feedback forms, and direct interactions for more direct information.

Further reading: How to Do Keyword Research: Tools to Use + Proven Tips

How to incorporate short and long-tail keywords in your content strategy

Short-tail keywords are ideal for primary topics, overarching categories, and main pages. These broad terms help you rank for general searches and draw in a diverse audience. Use them for:

• Top-of-the-funnel content: Articles and pages designed to attract a broad audience.
• Navigational queries: Pages that guide users to your main products or services.

Long-tail keywords excel in targeting niche audiences with specific search intents. These keywords are perfect for subtopics, detailed blog posts, and specific product features. Use them for:

• Product pages: Emphasize detailed features and benefits.
• Blog posts: Address niche topics and answer specific customer queries.
• Subcategories: Create in-depth guides and informative content.

This is done most effectively through topic clusters.

Topic clusters

Also called a hub and spoke strategy, a topic cluster content strategy is a way to organize your website content to cover broad topic categories and more specific sub-topics relevant to your niche, products, and audience interest.

The model looks like this:

• Pillar page (short-tail keyword): Serves as a content hub on a broad topic, often centered around 1-2 broad keyword matches, with internal links to supporting content.
• Cluster pages (long-tail keywords): Relevant subtopics on separate web pages, linked within a broader pillar page.

(Image: HawksEM)

In other words, pillar pages act as comprehensive guides to broad topics (targeting short-tail keywords) with internal links to more specific, high-level articles (targeting long-tail keywords) that further educate your reader.

A hub and spoke strategy can:

• Build topical authority with E-E-A-T guidelines
• Increase web traffic
• Improve the user experience (UX)
• Enhance site architecture with an internal linking strategy

The best part? It seamlessly integrates all keyword types into your content strategy in an organized way that offers real value.
Further reading: What Are Topic Clusters for SEO? (+ Pro Tips to Create Them)

How to implement your keyword strategy

Using your list of short-tail and long-tail keywords, create a content strategy built around your target audience’s needs.

HawkSEM SEO manager Alyssa Mountz uses the following metrics to decide what type of content to create:

Pillar articles that target a short-tail keyword should include those long-tail keywords for an internal linking strategy that keeps readers engaged.

And while the target keywords should be included in your metadata and H1 tags, use them naturally throughout the body of your content to avoid keyword stuffing — repeating keywords excessively can harm your SEO efforts.

Looking ahead: How recent algorithm updates impact long-tail keywords

While including long-tail and short-tail keywords has been best practice for SEO, Google’s recent algorithm updates have put more pressure on targeting the right long-tail keywords.

With the introduction of Google AI Overviews (and other SERP features), users now expect search engines to deliver exactly what they need.

That means content needs to target the perfect long-tail keywords and provide visuals, downloadables, and an attractive meta in order to appear at the top of the SERP.

“If your page is a perfect match for long-tail searches and keeps users engaged with compelling content, it’s more likely to [surface] in personalized results,” explains HawkSEM Senior Lead Strategist Madison Scherner.

“Then there’s the challenge of even if your page ranks well, a boring meta title and description won’t drive clicks.”

Enhanced metadata (engaging titles, compelling descriptions, and structured data) makes your results stand out.

“Diving into your personas and truly understanding what your searcher is looking for and then presenting yourself as the best option is the lifeblood of SEO,” says Scherner.

The takeaway

By leveraging broad and narrow terms, you can get one step closer to improving your search engine rankings, bringing more traffic to your website, increasing brand awareness, driving sales, and boosting your bottom line.

And with Google’s algorithm becoming better at understanding user behavior, preferences, and engagement patterns, identifying the right long-tail keywords and using them effectively is more important than ever for SEO success.

But you don’t have to balance your SEM and SEO strategies alone. Get in touch with HawkSEM today to see how we can help.

This article has been updated and was originally published in April 2021.