Keywords are undoubtedly the biggest factor that determines your SEO success or failure. If you want to get more search engine traffic and want your website to rank faster, you need to use proper keywords.

To use the best keywords that are bound to bring in traffic to your website and make it appear at the top of Google, you need to do proper research and find the best keywords related to your business.

Once you are done with the keywords research, you will probably end up with a list of short-tail and long-tail keywords. This time is when you need to make a decision that will determine the type of traffic you will drive to your website. Short tail keywords Vs Long tail keywords: which strategy should you adopt?

To make the right decision, you must be well aware of what short-tail and long-tail keywords actually are and what impact they have on your SEO success.

Short-tail keywords

The keywords that are of three words or less are known as short-tail. They are also called ‘head terms’. These keywords are broad and more commonly searched. The fact that these keywords are more commonly used explains why there is more competition for them.

Analyzing short-tail keywords

If your goal is to drive maximum traffic to your website, short tail keywords will do the trick for you. However, with a new website or search efforts at the beginning level, prepare yourself to wait in a long queue!

Since short-tail keywords are harder to rank on Google and super competitive, you will be required to exhibit the virtue of patience and hard work while using the correct approach.

For example, a short-tail keyword, such as ‘high-heel shoes’ brings up so many results and your page is likely to be nowhere near the top results!

· Volume: HIGH

When it comes to volume, long-tail keywords can never beat short-tail keywords. It is simple: the shorter the keyword, the higher the search volume! If you manage to rank for a short-tail keyword, you are in for MASSIVE organic traffic.

· Competition: HIGH

Everyone tries to rank for short-tail keywords due to the high search volumes that they offer. Hence the high competition!

Unless your company is popular at international level, appearing on the first page of Google search results is definitely not a piece of cake.

· Focus: LOW

The focus of short-tail keywords is low. Hence, you may find that your search is not being targeted. When people type a word into the search bar, they can mean and might be looking for ANYTHING related to it. Get the point?

· Cost: HIGH

Short-tail keywords can be pretty expensive. Since so many people are buying them, Google AdWords is likely to charge you a handsome amount to get into the short-tail keyword business. So, if you want your presence in these searches, be prepared to pay a premium cost!

· Conversion rate: LOW

The low conversion rate is perhaps the biggest turn off for people who use short-tail keywords. Despite using a highly searched keyword and getting thousands of searches and clicks, your conversion rate might be a couple of customers ONLY.

Long-tail keywords

The keywords that contain more than three words are called long tail keywords. Although they are a lot more targeted as compared to short-tail keywords, they are not as broad. While these keywords are a lot more specific, they fail to bring in huge traffic but the traffic they do bring in is the kind you are searching for.