The Long-Tail Method: How to Write Great Titles So Easily, You’ll Wonder Why You Didn’t Do It Before
Write for the Long Tail to Be Seen by Readers
Many like to toss around the phrase “the long tail” without much explanation, leaving plenty of Expert Authors confused. It’s actually quite a simple concept that takes some basic steps and a little practice.
The long tail depicts the frequency with which a topic occurs and its demand. Here are the characteristics of the long tail concept:
- Head: At the top of the curve, the Head targets a large audience with a high content saturation, demand, and competition.
- Middle: Connecting the head and the tail, the Middle moderately targets an audience with an average content saturation, demand, and competition.
- Tail: The Tail targets a highly focused audience with content that’s in low supply, demand, and competition.
By targeting your audience and creating content along the long tail, you will exponentially increase the likelihood of your articles being seen by readers.
Create Great Titles Using the Long-Tail Concept
Find the long tail in your niche with these easy steps – don’t forget a pen and notebook!
1. Identify Your Keywords
Try keyword tools like Wordtracker, Google’s Keyword Tool, and your article’s Traffic Search Terms. Write these down – know that many of these keywords will target the Head of the long tail, but they are a good lead for your next step.
2. Narrow Head Keywords
Refine Head keywords (e.g., “weight loss”) by finding keywords that target the Middle (e.g., “weight loss for women”). Create a list of Middle keywords to expand on later.
3. Refine Again …
Select a set of your Middle keywords and enter them into a Google search (e.g., “weight loss for women”). Note the related searches (e.g., “weight loss supplements for women,” “weight loss exercises for women,” and “weight loss for women over 40”). Additionally, you can create a list of focused topics (e.g., supplements, organic foods, and exercises) relevant to the Middle keywords that don’t appear in this search.
4. Add Benefit Oriented Words
Effective titles not only inform the reader what they can expect to discover in an article, but they clearly define a benefit the reader will achieve. Coordinate motivating benefits with power words (e.g., “quick,” “painless,” and “easy”) to resonate with your audience.
Middle: Weight loss for women over 40
Benefit: Drop a dress size
Power: Quick, painless, easy, etc.
5. Create Long-Tail Titles
Writing powerful headlines isn’t always easy and a little practice will go a long way in your efforts. Using your Middle keywords, benefits, and power words, infuse a little creativity and originality to brainstorm some great reader-oriented long-tail titles and articles.
Using the examples above, here’s a long tail title:
“Weight Loss for Women Over 40: Top 7 Quick, Easy, and Painless Tips to Drop a Dress Size or More!”
This long-tail title may not draw a general audience (e.g., men over and under 40 as well as women under 40), but its chances of finding an audience increase exponentially. Why? It won’t have to compete with the over-abundance of articles in the Head (e.g., “10 Weight Loss Tips” and “Best Weight Loss Diets”).
It’s that simple! Use this easy step-by-step formula to write for the long tail and get your articles on the screens of readers who want to read your content. In doing so, your article writing efforts effectively increase your exposure, your credibility, and traffic to your blog or website.
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Brilliant simple outline – thanks Penny!
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