Findability, The Long Tail Of Search And Building Deep Interactions
Findability
image credit: aoifecahill via flickr
Is your business findable? Are you findable? These are key questions. Yes, you may think you’re findable, but just how findable are you really? It is highly worth testing.
In the last 30 days alone, well over 1,000 absolutely unique people found this blog through Google. That isn’t even my highest traffic source (social media is above and beyond the highest), but I want to focus on the Google traffic to this site just for a minute to share with you why this matters for your business/blog/online store/whatever you’re doing on the web.
Building Deep Interactions
Well over 1,000 unique people found this site for something very specific they were searching for last month. And, because of that the interactions with the content here through Google were deep, averaging nearly 3 minutes per interaction.
Many of the interactions were far deeper. I’m not going to give away the keywords I’ve targeted successfully for deep interactions, because that isn’t what is relevant here. You have to find the keywords and phrases that work for your niche. Anyway, here’s the top 25 deepest interactions (in terms of time spent on site) with this blog over the last 30 days by people who found me through Google:
Amazingly, even the 50th highest interaction that found me through Google spent more than 7 minutes on this site, and the 100th is still at more than 4 minutes.
Subscribers and fans of this site spending this much time here monthly makes sense, as I have already built a relationship with you. The amazing thing is, many people who don’t even know me or my reputation are spending a great deal of time with my brand.
Going further, of the words and phrases people typed in to find this .com through Google, 87.99% of these visits were from unique, specific phrases that only around 1-10 people actually searched for:
The colored area on the chart represents the 10 most popular keywords that generated traffic to my .com. Those 10 popular keywords, many people searched for and found The Future Buzz. Yet, they make up merely 12.01% of my search traffic. The hundreds of other keywords people typed in to find this site through Google generated the remaining 87.99%.
And, the interactions were deeper with the 87.99% of traffic that were seeking something ultra-specific. Certainly if I was selling services through this .com, they would know I was the right person for the job.
I’m first in Google for many unlikely search phrases. The truth is, not that many people a month search for the phrase organic traffic building as an example. It isn’t even enough people to blip Google’s trend tool. But it doesn’t matter that only a few people search for it, I’m first in Google for the term, and it is exactly what that article is about.
The few people who were searching for it found my site, and connected with me and my brand for something ultra specific. I forged a connection merely by being there. This is one term of out of a plethora in my niche people find me for.
This is the long tail of search in action.
Imagine the potential power of this for your business. You cannot show up in Google for what does not exist on your .com. And, if you don’t show up here, you’re essentially invisible to the world. You can advertise all you like, however it is impossible to cover the spread of the long tail, it is just too vast.
Even if you advertise for long tail keywords and direct people to generic pages, the interaction you create is not a fit. You lose, because people searching for something specific want something specific. In this case, you’ll pay for a click that will immediately click back to find a different site that is exactly what they are looking for.
Tapping the long tail of search is vital to forge deep interactions between your brand on the web and new people
It may be an exciting thought for you to imagine being first in Google for some big, amazing word or phrase that thousands or millions search for monthly. Yet, it is far more powerful to show up in search for thousands of more specific queries that only a few people search for monthly. You want to come up in search for terms as specific as possible, as only then are you connecting with people who know exactly what they want.
When you show up for something specific, people will know you are the answer.
How do you tap into the long tail of search?
If you’re truly the source of knowledge for something, you can do it. It takes passion, perseverance, and hard work. But the results are real, and will continue to build in a cumulative manner over time if you keep at it.
It’s as simple as developing a content-based site that truly establishes yourself as the source for something specific - whether it is botany or bowling, it doesn’t matter.
Realize this post is not a secret - and your smartest competitors know about this and are already using it to their advantage. It’s not too late for you, and you can fill a void in your niche as unique as your company is. Starting this sooner, rather than later, is the best move.
Related articles from The Future Buzz
More Important Than Attention - Reputation
Creating Buzz Online - A Short Guide
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SEO, It’s About What You Don’t Do (Daily Blog Tips)
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