The Shortcomings of the Long Tail – Moz
Skip to content
Moz logo
Menu open
Menu close
Search
Products
Moz Pro
Moz Pro Home
Moz Local
Moz Local Home
STAT
Mozscape API
Free SEO Tools
Competitive Research
Link Explorer
Keyword Explorer
Domain Analysis
MozBar
More Free SEO Tools
Learn SEO
Beginner’s Guide to SEO
SEO Learning Center
Moz Academy
SEO Q&A
Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
Blog
Why Moz
Agency Solutions
Enterprise Solutions
Small Business Solutions
Case Studies
The Moz Story
New Releases
Log in
Log out
Products
Moz Pro
Your All-In-One Suite of SEO Tools
The essential SEO toolset: keyword research, link building, site audits, page optimization, rank tracking, reporting, and more.
Learn more
Try Moz Pro free
Moz Local
Complete Local SEO Management
Raise your local SEO visibility with easy directory distribution, review management, listing updates, and more.
Learn more
Check my presence
STAT
Enterprise Rank Tracking
SERP tracking and analytics for SEO experts, STAT helps you stay competitive and agile with fresh insights.
Learn more
Book a demo
Mozscape API
The Power of Moz Data via API
Power your SEO with the proven, most accurate link metrics in the industry, powered by our index of trillions of links.
Learn more
Get connected
Compare SEO Products
Free SEO Tools
Competitive Research
Competitive Intelligence to Fuel Your SEO Strategy
Gain intel on your top SERP competitors, keyword gaps, and content opportunities.
Find competitors
Link Explorer
Powerful Backlink Data for SEO
Explore our index of over 40 trillion links to find backlinks, anchor text, Domain Authority, spam score, and more.
Get link data
Keyword Explorer
The One Keyword Research Tool for SEO Success
Discover the best traffic-driving keywords for your site from our index of over 500 million real keywords.
Search keywords
Domain Analysis
Free Domain SEO Analysis Tool
Get top competitive SEO metrics like Domain Authority, top pages, ranking keywords, and more.
Analyze domain
MozBar
Free, Instant SEO Metrics As You Surf
Using Google Chrome, see top SEO metrics instantly for any website or search result as you browse the web.
Try MozBar
More Free SEO Tools
Learn SEO
Beginner’s Guide to SEO
The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.
Read the Beginner’s Guide
How-To Guides
Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.
See All SEO Guides
SEO Learning Center
Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.
Visit the Learning Center
Moz Academy
Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.
Explore the Catalog
On-Demand Webinars
Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.
View All Webinars
SEO Q&A
Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.
Find SEO Answers
August 7-9, 2023
Lock in Super Early Bird savings for MozCon
Snag tickets
Blog
Why Moz
Small Business Solutions
Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.
Grow Your Business
The Moz Story
Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.
Read Our Story
Agency Solutions
Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.
Drive Client Success
Case Studies
Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.
See What’s Possible
Enterprise Solutions
Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.
Scale Your SEO
New Releases
Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.
See What’s New
New Feature: Moz Pro
Surface actionable competitive intel
Learn More
Log in
Moz Pro
Moz Local
Moz Local Dashboard
Mozscape API
Mozscape API Dashboard
Moz Academy
Avatar
Moz Home
Notifications
Account & Billing
Manage Users
Community Profile
My Q&A
My Videos
Log Out
H
By: Helene Hall
March 24, 2008
The Shortcomings of the Long Tail
Paid Search Marketing (PPC)
This YouMoz entry was submitted by one of our community members. The author’s views are entirely his or her own (excluding an unlikely case of hypnosis) and may not reflect the views of Moz.
I work for an online marketing agency, and we’ve been working on a paid search campaign with a niche online job board for some time now. Received wisdom suggests that in order to create a cost effective paid search campaign you should focus on long tail search terms, as you’ll get more targeted traffic and cheaper clicks.
Now, we work with clients from a wide range of industries. Broadly speaking, the long tail has worked very well for us, particularly for highly competitive sectors like insurance and financial services, but seemingly this just isn’t the case for our niche job board client.
We were running job title focused ad groups, type of organisation focused ad groups, even the location focused groups, e.g., ‘job title in London / Manchester,’ etc. were seeing very low volumes and a desperately low click through rate. After a lot of head-scratching we decided to go back to basics, and back into the shoes of those searching. Once you stop and think about it, the answer is pretty simple – it’s all about the intent of the searcher.
If I’m looking for a job online, I’m not looking for my preferred search engine to return me my perfect job, I’m looking for the perfect job site. Until I have a look at what’s out there, to be honest I’m not even entirely sure I could define my perfect job. Obviously, there are some things I’d like – e.g., salary, commute not too hellish — but for a truly fabulous job I’d be willing to compromise on those things.
So, a marketing bod like me is far more likely to search for a fairly broad term like ‘marketing jobs’ rather than a very specific term like ‘Head of Marketing within 6 miles of central London’. Once I hit the relevant job site I’ll start narrowing down my search, but at the point that I hit the search engine I’m keeping my search broad.
I should probably state now that we’ve not totally abandoned the long tail, but in order to deliver volume we’re back to increasing our bids on the more generic search terms.
Now it strikes me that there are probably a few industries like this – real estate, dating, and so on. Anyone else care to share some examples?
With Moz Pro, you have the tools you need to get SEO right — all in one place.
Start your free trial!
Read Next
How to Use Keywords to Combine the Power of SEO and Google Ads [Case Study]
Read this post
Understanding the Google Ads Auction: The Importance of Quality Score + How to Improve It
Read this post
How to Know When You Need a Dedicated Paid Landing Page
Read this post
Comments
Please keep your comments TAGFEE by following the community etiquette
Comments are closed. Got a burning question? Head to our Q&A section to start a new conversation.
Moz logo
Contact
Community
Free Trial
Terms & Privacy
Jobs
Help
News & Press
Copyright 2022 © Moz, Inc. All rights reserved.