Start Asking Questions (Long-Tail Keyword Optimization)
Long-tail optimization is the process by which webmasters look for easy to rank for keywords that will send traffic. Usually “long-tail” keywords are multiple words that a googler may search for that have relatively little to no competition from other websites. A good example of a long tail keyword might be “zillow mortgage marketplace help” or something of that nature.
The idea behind long tail optimization is very simple – if you’ve got a relatively high ranking website, simply writing a new post or new page on your website targeting the keyword should be enough to place you in the number 1 or number 2 spot, sending with it all of the traffic that google receives through that keyword. Other great examples of “long tail” keywords are localized searches – e.g. “mortgage refinance rockville maryland”.
Its a known fact that lot’s of people ask Google questions – e.g. – they’ll search for “What time is the movie playing?” or “What is a reverse mortgage?”. I recently found a pretty cool tool that can help you find long tail keywords to target – simply write a post, and increase your monthly visitors by 10 – 1,000!
The tool is by wordtracker labs and is called “Keyword Questions” – it’s free and you can find it here!
Just in case you’re not ranking #1 for your “long-tail” posts / pages, here’s a quick tip to build a couple of great backlinks quickly using Digg!
Question: Can you Digg It? (Unlimited PR4+ Links)
Shh! Keep this one quiet. If any of you have an seo toolbar installed in your favorite browser that displays the Page Rank of a given page, and you’ve ever been to a Digg page that’s 365 + days old, you’ll notice the majority of them have insanely high PR! Simply post a comment on the page and enter your url in this format: http://www.yourwebsite.com. Voila! Unlimited PR 4+ links. As a word of caution, obviously do not abuse this – you do run the risk of being sandboxed. Stick to 4-10 Digg links per month – a safe, wonderful way to naturally increase your rankings!
Anonymous
Posted at 22:47h, 03 AugustInteresting. I hadn’t used it before (and through a quick perusal just now I didn’t get any results back for the keywords I searched). And I had no idea of Digg’s PR on individual pages being so high. Not to say that I’ll depend on it much (diversified link portfolio), but good to know.
Jay Thompson
Posted at 23:51h, 03 AugustHmmmm…. not a fan of commenting on blogs simply for the sake of links. Ironically, I just published this post: http://realestateblogpro.com/blog-commenting-fo… not knowing this had been posted here.
matthewswanson
Posted at 20:55h, 04 AugustGreat article Justin…one thing to point out though on getting a ranking boost relying on comments: Like on most sites, Geek Estate included, the comments section typically add a rel=”nofollow” to the anchor tag which basically tells Googlebot and friends not to authoritatively pass any PR to the linked to page.. so unfortunately, from a 'getting a boost' perspective, this strategy won't work. I would say though that commenting on posts in generally is a great idea provided you add value. That in turn with a stellar link will get folks to read your site and give you some link love directly 🙂 Cheers, Matthew
Justin Bartlett
Posted at 01:21h, 08 AugustSorry Matthew I should have been clearer in my article! I meant leave a comment on the Digg page itself for a “do-follow”, high PR link. The purpose behind Digg is to expose internet browsers to awesome sites – my thought process is – my site's awesome – I'm gonna introduce it to Digg users!! As far as commenting to increase serp – the purpose of leaving a comment is to engage in a conversation – much as were doing here – getting backlinks from “do-follow” blogs is a side benefit of commenting – I personally don't have the time nor patience to comment on highly ranking content in my niche that is poorly written or not engaging; and on blogs I could really care less if it's do follow, no follow, or what the anchor text is. The only exception to the rule is when I have a site that I want indexed in Google yesterday, I'll post a couple of comments on sites such as onemansblog.com (PR7, do follow) or other high pr do-follow blogs.
Regardless of your approach to SEO – it's gotta be natural, thats why I stipulate that even on Digg, don't build an excess of links. I'm on the web more than the average Joe, but even so I'll actually find myself drawn in enough to comment on an article maybe 1-2x every 2-3 days.
For effective link building – the best is partnering with other experts in your niche to write stellar content for you that is oft linked to. Viral content always wins – stand by your website, create something that you are proud of and that something people take a vested interest in, and they will go do the majority of the SEO work for you.
On a side note I wrote a post here on Geek Estate entitled The Anti-Comment Spam Manifesto or something of that nature – give it a read!
Brian Rothenberg
Posted at 02:46h, 16 AugustBut aren’t comments on Digg “nofollow”? I just tested it out, looked at the source code, and it was rel=”nofollow”‘ed.
Ditech Home Loans
Posted at 22:23h, 06 AprilActually, that may not be completely accurate. No follow links make your link building appear more natural in the eyes of Google and I am skewed to believe that it does indeed help in rankings even if it doesn’t boost Pr.
Eric Watts
Posted at 03:45h, 05 AugustThats a very impressive stat, going from 10 to 1000 visits. I have heard much about long tail keywords and personally target a few myself but from my experiences I have not had that great of successes with it bring that much traffic. Perhaps it is the keywords I am targeting..did some analysis prior to targeting them..so who knows lol
REtechReport - The best in real estate tech for August 6, 2010 — REtechSource
Posted at 09:46h, 06 August[…] has long been my strategy for being found, and it works. Start Asking Questions (Long-Tail Keyword Optimization). Instead of coming up with a cool title that people may be fascinated by, consider thinking of a […]
What you need to know about Long tail Keywords
Posted at 09:18h, 09 September[…] here’s another great post about using keywords for […]
cura slabire
Posted at 09:01h, 03 JanuaryI have been after the WWW for this info and just wanted to say thanks to u for this post. BTW, just off topic, how can i find a version of this theme? – Thank you
pay per click management
Posted at 07:35h, 23 MayThe long tail is not restricted to SEO in today’s
marketing scenario, internet is expanding like a balloon and so is the number
of sites that show up on the internet today. More people online means more
competition and more competition means you will have to go that extra bit to
optimize your blog to keep it at par with the global competition and a lot more
than that if you have to excel!
SEO Training
Posted at 09:20h, 03 JuneThis very impressive post.The “long tail”concept is used for relative high ranking.Its used local for local searches.Thanks for sharing this information.Keep sharing.
Search Engine Marketing
Posted at 04:05h, 06 JuneThe best approach is to plan at the most popular keywords for
a long term goal and for a short term purpose, that is, for the immediate future,
go for 3 or 4 of the less popular, less competitive long tailed keywords that
will not only drive in traffic, but also result in conversions long tail
keywords for optimizing your web pages will bring in more traffic
Octopi Design
Posted at 06:33h, 08 AugustI really enjoyed while reading your article.Thank you so much for sharing with us.Keep sharing such useful article in future too.
SEO Content Writing
Posted at 02:00h, 17 AugustHey,nice post.Well written article.I appreciate your writing skills.Its great.
This
very impressive post.The “long tail”concept is used for
relative high ranking.Its used local for local searches.Thanks
for sharing this information.Keep sharing.
jollygomez
Posted at 04:01h, 24 AugustVery impressive written article.I must say you have great written skills.I really enjoyed while reading your article.Thanks a lot for sharing.Keep sharing in future too.
spirog
Posted at 06:02h, 23 AprilGreat
given list.Excellent tips given in your blog.I really liked it a lot.Thanks
for sharing.Keep sharing in future too.
jaspreet
Posted at 03:50h, 25 August“landscape architects, civil engineers, land development, Fort Myers, Naples, Florida ,
Dallas, Texas”
A housing shortage crisis may be coming as it becomes ridiculously expensive to construct housing due to environmental regulations that disregard common sense.