The SEO game is in constant transition as it is often undergoing various changes to improve the relevancy of search results. This has been happening to a point that even devout SEO specialists have a hard time keeping up to date with all the changes. However, despite the constant changes, one can’t dispute the fact that making use of long-tail keywords will attract quality leads.

When we speak of long-tail keywords, we are basically referring to using three to six keyword phrases for SEO purposes.  For example, if you are selling t-shirts, to just utilise the term ‘t-shirts’ as a keyword on its own is a bit too vague – you are not going to rank highly without a large investment. However, if you start using a targeted descriptions or, as SEO specialists call it, long-tail keywords such as ‘stylish cotton t-shirts’, you are going to achieve better results in terms of page ranking and ROI.

Long-tail keywords will generally attract quality leads because of their targeting properties – they enable you to be a lot more specific and as a result attract a specific visitor. The counter argument for it is, long-tail keywords will draw less traffic whilst you don’t have a huge variety of content but it is a classic case of quality over quantity.  The traffic that you attract to your website, through long-tail keywords, will be focussed and more likely to be qualified to make a purchase. Hence, you are more likely to make a conversion.

According to Wordstream, “With shorter keywords, competition for rankings can be fierce, but visits can be scattershot and ROI can be low”. Hence, as logic would dictate, a smart implementation of long-tail keywords is going to give you the quality leads that you’re looking for as well as a great ROI.

Over time, however, as you expand on content that is focussed on your long-tail keywords, the traffic to your website will increase meaning even more targeted traffic and quality leads.  This is confirmed by SEOmoz who say that long-tail search comprises 70% of their search traffic.

Another great advantage of long-tail keywords is that it minimises the competition as a result of you being so targeted. The bottom line is – getting quality leads to your website will require long-tail keywords. Taking the above into consideration will do wonders for your SEO and lead generation efforts.