Short Tail vs Long Tail Keywords, With Examples

Short tail keywords are broad searches of one to three words, such as "running shoes", with lots of searches and lots of competition. Long tail keywords are longer, more specific searches, such as "running shoes for flat feet on trails", with fewer searches each but clearer intent and less competition. Most small and newer sites should build most of their pages around long tail keywords, and keep short tail terms for the homepage and main category pages.

Below we define both properly, give examples, explain when to target each, and show how to find the long tail keywords you already get impressions for in Search Console.

What short tail keywords are

A short tail keyword, sometimes called a head term, is a broad search that names a topic without saying much about what the person wants. "Accountant", "SEO tools" and "wedding cakes" are all short tail.

They share three traits:

• High search demand. Lots of people type them.

• Heavy competition. Large, established sites usually hold the first page.
• Vague intent. Someone searching "wedding cakes" might want ideas, prices, a local baker or a recipe. One page cannot serve all of them well.

What long tail keywords are

A long tail keyword is a specific search that says what the person wants. "Accountant for landlords in Leeds", "free SEO audit tool for small business" and "gluten free wedding cake delivery in Bristol" are long tail.

Each one is searched less often, but:

• They are usually easier to rank for. Fewer sites write a page that answers one narrow question well.
• The intent is written into the phrase. You know what page would help the person.
• They often sit closer to a decision. Specific searches tend to come later, when someone knows what they need.

The name comes from the shape of search demand. A small number of broad terms get a lot of searches each, then a very long tail of specific phrases each get a few. Taken together, that tail adds up to a large share of all searches.

Length is a clue, not the rule

Word count is a useful shortcut, but what actually matters is how clear the intent is and how strong the competition is. "Buy Nike Pegasus size ten" is several words long and fiercely competitive, because big retailers all want it. "Cheap SEO tool" is short but its intent is fairly clear. If you sort a keyword list by word count alone, you will be right most of the time and confidently wrong the rest.

The reliable check takes seconds: search the term and look at what ranks. If the first page is all household names, treat it as short tail for your purposes, whatever its length.

Short tail vs long tail keyword examples

Here are made-up examples for three kinds of business, from broad to specific.

A bike repair shop

• Short tail: "bike repair"
• Middle: "bike repair Sheffield"
• Long tail: "how much does it cost to fix a bent bike wheel"
• Long tail: "e-bike battery repair near Kelham Island"

An online tea shop

• Short tail: "green tea"
• Middle: "loose leaf green tea"
• Long tail: "best green tea for cold brewing"
• Long tail: "is sencha or genmaicha lower in caffeine"

A bookkeeping firm

• Short tail: "bookkeeping"
• Middle: "bookkeeping for small business"
• Long tail: "bookkeeper for Airbnb hosts in Cornwall"
• Long tail: "do I need a bookkeeper as a sole trader"

Notice that the long tail examples are mostly questions or describe a particular person, place or problem. That is the pattern to look for.

When to target short tail and when to target long tail

The honest answer depends on how much authority your site already has.

New or small sites: mostly long tail

You will not rank for "bookkeeping" against national firms and accounting software companies with years of links behind them. You can rank for "bookkeeper for Airbnb hosts in Cornwall" if you write the best page on it. Several long tail pages that each bring a steady trickle of the right visitors beat one short tail page that brings nobody.

Established sites: short tail becomes worth a try

Once your site has links, reviews and a track record, broad terms become realistic. The demand is there, and you now have a chance at it.

The trap in the middle

Once a site has some traction, it is tempting to chase the big terms. The pages that earn money are usually still the specific ones, because the people searching them are closer to buying.

A useful rule: short tail for positioning, long tail for traffic. Your homepage and main category pages can target the broad terms that describe what you do. Your other pages should each own something specific.

Group long tail keywords before you write

Many long tail searches share one intent and belong on one page. "Best green tea for cold brew", "how to cold brew green tea" and "cold brew green tea ratio" are one page, not three. Writing a thin page for each variation creates pages that compete with each other. Our guide to long tail keyword research covers grouping in more detail.

How to find long tail keywords in Search Console

If your site has been live for a while, Google is already showing it for long tail searches, many of which you have never looked at. Search Console is the best free place to find them.

1. Open the Performance report and set the date range to the last three months.
2. Filter to longer queries. Add a query filter, choose Custom (regex), and use a pattern that matches five or more words, such as ^\S+\s+\S+\s+\S+\s+\S+\s+\S+.
3. Try a question filter. A pattern such as ^(how|what|why|which|when|where|can|does|is|should)\b keeps queries that start with a question word.
4. Sort by impressions and look at the average position beside each query.
5. Click a query, then the Pages tab, to see which page ranks. If that page only mentions the topic in passing, it is ranking by accident.
6. Decide what to do. If the query fits the page, add a section that answers it under a heading that uses the searcher's wording. If the intent is different, it may deserve its own page.

The most promising queries are usually the ones sitting just off the first page or low on it, where a better answer could move you up. Our post on striking distance keywords explains how to pick them.

Watch for two of your pages showing for the same long tail query. That usually means neither is the clear answer, and merging or refocusing them helps both.

Other free sources

• Google autocomplete. Type the start of a search and note how Google finishes it.
• People Also Ask and related searches. These show follow-up questions in the searcher's own words.
• Your inbox and reviews. The questions customers actually ask you are long tail keywords written by your audience.
• Competitors' deeper pages. Not their homepage. A page titled "X for Y" tells you someone thought that phrase was worth a page.

Where a tool helps

Doing this by hand works for a few dozen keywords and gets painful beyond that. A tool adds search volume where it exists, and grouping. Our free keyword research tool gives keyword ideas with search volume, and the full app surfaces queries you already earn impressions for but are not yet tracking. For a fair comparison of the options, see our roundup of long tail keyword research tools.

Bear in mind that many long tail keywords show little or no volume in any keyword tool. That does not mean nobody searches them. A query that already earns impressions in your own Search Console is better evidence of demand than a tool's estimate.

How to track short tail and long tail keywords

Tracking both the same way is why many people decide rank tracking is useless. They need different expectations.

• Short tail terms move slowly. A small shift on a broad term from one week to the next is not something you can act on. Look at the direction over a few months.
• Long tail terms move faster. They can climb quickly after you improve a page, because there is less competition to get past. That makes them the better way to see whether your changes work.
• Look at impressions as well as position. A top position on a long tail query with almost no impressions is not worth defending. The same position on a query with steady impressions is.
• Watch the group, not one keyword. A good page ranks for many related long tail phrases. Tracking the group tells you whether the page is working.

Our rank tracker reads your own Search Console data, so positions, clicks and impressions are what Google recorded for real searches rather than one simulated search. Keyword tracking shows which searches went up or down, each page's best position, and searches where two of your own pages compete. Plans start from £39 a month, with a 14 day free trial and no card needed.

The short version

• Short tail keywords are broad, competitive and vague. Long tail keywords are specific, easier to rank for and tell you what the person wants.
• Length is a clue. Intent and competition are what count, and you read both from the results page.
• New and small sites should focus mostly on long tail. Keep short tail for positioning.
• Search Console is the best free source of long tail keywords you already rank for.
• Group similar long tail keywords onto one strong page.