How to Duplicate a Google Ads Campaign (+ Why You Should)
Here, we'll break down how to duplicate a Google Ads campaign (as well as ads themselves, audiences, and keywords) -- and why you might want to....
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The power of keywords for your SEM strategy doesn’t just depend on relevance. The type matters too.
Long-tail and short-tail keywords work toward achieving the same goal. However, they do it differently. Knowing the key differences between these two types can help you properly tweak your marketing strategy, cut costs, and get to the top of the SERPs. Let’s dive in.
The competition to rank highly for short-tail keywords is often fierce. (Image via Unsplash)
Short-tail keywords (also called “head terms” or “broad terms”) contain up to three words, such as:
When you think about your business, these 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 e-commerce shop, a big-box chain store, the list goes on. That’s why the competition to rank highly for short-tail keywords is often fierce.
Overall, short-tail keywords can generate a lot of traffic for your website, helping with brand awareness and improving rankings.
Also called “narrow search terms,” these keywords are more specific than their short-tail partners — for example:
By entering such a keyword, searchers 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 not generate as much traffic with long-tail keywords as you would with short terms, more of your visitors are likely to convert.
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 keywords are generally cheaper, more specific, and have a higher conversion rate. More than 70% of all internet searches are made up of long-tail keywords.
So, why do you need short-tail keywords anyway?
While it’s possible to design a campaign based solely on long-tail keywords, working without narrow terms can be tough since you may not generate sufficient traffic.
Lastly, if you avoid short-tail keywords altogether, it may take a while to achieve your specific marketing goals.
Before using long-tail keywords in your content, consider testing them with PPC ads. (Image via Unsplash)
An efficient SEM strategy involves a balanced use of both keyword types. Here are just a few ways these keyword types complement each other:
Each keyword type contributes to achieving the final goals of your marketing strategy.
Pro tip: Don’t be fooled into thinking short-tail keywords always have higher search volumes. As Ahrefs points out, this isn’t always the case.
Finding short-tail keywords is somewhat easier than discovering efficient narrow terms. You can identify them by:
Long-tail keyword research is more complicated since it’s hard to identify which phrases your target audience is likely to use. You can find long-tail keywords by:
Pro tip: Before using long-tail keywords in your content, consider testing them with PPC ads.
In digital marketing, using short-tail and long-tail keywords simultaneously can help you achieve impressive results. Of course, the percentage of each keyword type in the strategy depends on factors like your goals and budget.
If your main goals are brand awareness and lead generation, you may want to add more broad terms to your tactics. If you’d like to shift the focus to higher conversions and cost efficiency, lean more toward long-tail keywords. And, as always, monitor the results so you can iterate and modify accordingly.
Our experience tells us that both short-tail and long-tail keywords are important to the success of a well-rounded SEM strategy. While using them may achieve different goals and require different budgets, it’s hard to create a comprehensive marketing campaign without both.
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.
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