What is The Difference Between Broad Keywords and Longtail Keywords?

Keywords do not come in a one-size-fits-all package. You have two types of keywords: broad and longtail, both of which can help your site gain authority in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Broad keywords are very generic. They receive more overall searches, but ranking high for those keywords is more difficult due to a larger pool of competitors. "Dog" is an excellent example of a broad keyword.

Longtail keywords are more specific and narrow in their scope. They are associated with more words. Because fewer websites are competing for those longer keyword phrases, you will have an easier time ranking higher than your competitors. "Best dog training guide" is an excellent example of a long tail keyword phrase.

You should use both types of content in your content creation to achieve the best results. You will be forced to use one over the other at times, and you will choose to do so on purpose at other times.

When registering a domain or a web 2.0 property, for example, you may not be able to find a URL with a broad keyword. You may be forced to go down your keyword list and find the first available URL, which may be categorized as longtail.

In some cases, you'll want to climb to the top of the SERP rankings, so you'll target a longtail keyword on purpose, whether it's for a web 2.0 property or your own domain.

While longtail keywords may receive fewer searches individually, if you rank high for a large volume of longtail keyword phrases, you can effectively dominate in a niche where your competitor has only worked on ranking well for a countable number of broad keyword phrases.

When people are in the mood to buy, they tend to type in longtail keyword phrases. Using our previous example, someone looking to spend money on a dog training guide would opt for the longer version.

A person who types in dog could be looking for a pet, facts about dogs, dog pictures, or even using random slang to describe an unsavory cad who mistreats his girlfriend. You just don't know, so the volume of traffic may not even be from prospective buyers, rendering their visit useless.