by 
Similar to how McDonald’s has a lengthy real estate acquisition manual outlining the process of finding, evaluating, and purchasing a property for new franchise locations, SEO also has a “be near a McDonald’s” equivalent. Essentially, you can either compete with big players for top search engine rankings or focus on building your strategy around proximity to them.
For small businesses looking to build a local presence rather than a national brand, it’s best to focus on optimizing for local search results, specifically on the long-tail of search queries. Attempting to compete on the fat head, especially in a crowded market, requires significant investment over an extended period.
What’s the Long-tail?
SEO long tail involves targeting highly specific and less competitive keywords or phrases to boost a website’s ranking and visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). Unlike SEO Fathead that prioritizes broad, high-traffic keywords, the long-tail strategy zeroes in on narrow and niche keywords that may have lower search volumes but are highly relevant to a user’s search intent. Typically comprised of three or more words, these lengthier phrases are often more descriptive and specific than shorter, general keywords.
Why Should I Care?
The long-tail approach has the potential for a better ROI due to two key reasons:
- Less competition: Long-tail keywords tend to have lower competition than broader, high-traffic keywords. This means that it may be easier for small businesses to rank for long-tail keywords, even with limited resources dedicated to SEO.
- More targeted traffic: Visitors who arrive at a website through long-tail keywords are typically more interested in the specific products or services offered by the website. Consequently, traffic generated through long-tail keywords is often more valuable and more likely to convert into customers.
How do I do That?
This is similar to what I discussed in my article about Voice Search Optimization, as people have been using full questions in Google searches for years.
When it comes to attracting traffic, content is critical. While fat head traffic arrives through the front door, long-tail traffic sneaks in through an open window. Identify the questions your customers frequently ask, and ensure that your website provides comprehensive answers to those queries.
Once you’ve established your content strategy, take the fight for traffic off your website and onto social media platforms. From there, direct visitors back to your site’s front door or straight to your business.
