January 7, 2008
Are You Writing for the Long Tail or are You Stuck with the Short Tail?
As I have been skimming over many old ezine articles from the past few years. One thing stood out more than anything. Back around 2000 the discussion of long copy vs short copy was the big debate. Now it’s 2008 and the debate, although similar has changed.
As a someone writing for SEO purposes I liked long copy over short for one simple reason. They had more text to get indexed. I could hit a much wider Long Tail with Long Copy over Short Copy.
Now as I look back at my work form the past two years, I notice that I have neglected to follow my original motives and began writing shorter and shorter copy. This has also hindered my focus from SEO and made social media more important than ever.
Even this post has very few keyword phrases, this will hinder the results of Long Tail keyword phrases from being found in the search engines. I still like keyword stuffing when ever possible, as long as it looks natural.
I should be writing more posts like this very cool post over on SEO Space, Top 100 Marketing Buzzwords for 2008. They are able to add many great keyword phrases to their post and make it fit very well.
Time to get out my login and passwords for WordTracker and Wordze…
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Comments on Are You Writing for the Long Tail or are You Stuck with the Short Tail? »
Michigan SEO - Terry Reeves @ 9:21 am
I have recently started blogging if for no other reason than I recommend it to others who want to rank their sites. Initially, my blogging was done for others and their business web sites. You have to start somewhere. Then I noticed something.
Long Tail!
Now I had seen long tail before but never created it myself. Long tail definitely notches up the priority on blogging. It is also very motivational for the small business owner who thinks blogging is a waste of time and doesn’t see a need for it.
Highland Park Realtor @ 4:13 pm
I’m still being a hard head going after the short tail, but I’m changing my ways.
Bingo Online @ 7:50 am
I know someone who writes so little but makes a couple of thousand from adsense..
i write long ones on some of my blog but i get peanuts!
Search Engine Marketing @ 11:46 am
I always recommend my clients to start off with long tailed key terms while awaiting for competitive keywords results. One simple reason : It is easier to optimize and it can bring you significant amount of traffic while not wasting your time waiting for competitive keywords to show results.
Charlie Anzman @ 3:35 pm
Mark - Am I reading this right. No. 99 Low hanging fruit?
Did I miss something??
Nice piece
Charlie
Mark Laymon @ 6:05 pm
@ Charlie
Correct, I have lost focus on the low hanging fruit for sometime now.
The article by SEO Space is exactly what anyone wishing to target low hanging fruit should be doing. Do not be afraid to use these lists as they are perfect examples of how to incorporate large amounts of text into your sites content.
email marketing software @ 9:14 pm
I have always done long copy writing for my blogs and sites. Many times I have inteded to do a quick piece for a site, but once the writing starts I end up creating something much longer than I intended. In the long run this has been great for me, as all of the sites I represent seem to have lots of text indexed.
geri @ 9:41 pm
The long tail rules for me.
Utah Internet Marketing @ 2:19 pm
definitely the long tail
Toronto Maple Leafs @ 4:01 pm
I write short.
Search Engine Optimisation Jobs @ 5:12 am
It depends on what the post is really, however I do find that long tail posts tend to rank higher in the SERPS than their short tail counterparts.
kangojen @ 3:15 pm
I have gotten lazy and have been going short. I should probably make an effort in 2008 to write longer copy. But I know that by this time next year, I’ll be making the same decision again!
Thanks for at least making me thing about it, longtail is typically more effective for me, I just tend to fall away from it as time goes on.
SEO Manager’s Weekly » 2007 September | Consumer Electronics and Internet Marketing News @ 4:16 am
[…] Are You Writing for the Long Tail or are You Stuck with the Short Tail Even this post has very few keyword phrases, this will hinder the results of Long Tail keyword phrases from being found in the search engines. […]
Perfect Wealth Formula @ 9:27 pm
I try to do a little of both, so I am not sure which actually works the best for me. I guess I am afraid to commit to one or the other. Thanks for posting the link.
FFXI Gil @ 8:58 am
I share your passion for the long tail, but all too often find myself engaging the short tail.
I think your point here is an excellent one, and a good reminder to SEO’s of the overall picture in link building. Many people, myself included, get so bogged down in the work of obtaining links that they forget the big picture and lose perspective - especially those of us who haven’t been in the game since 2000!