Short-Tail Keywords

What Are Short-Tail Keywords?

Short-tail keywords, also known as head terms, are generic search terms usually made up of just 1 to 3 words.

They are broad and cover wide topics or themes related to your industry.

short tail vs long tail keywords

For example:

Search terms like “phone” or “smartphone” are considered short-tail keywords.
If someone Googles “phone,” it is impossible to understand exactly what information they are searching for.

So why are they popular?

Short answer – They have tons of search volume.

Hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of people search for these types of keywords every month. Ranking for just one short-tail keyword can drive thousands of visitors a month to your site.

But with all the search volume comes a lot of competition.

That’s why short-tail keywords are typically hard to rank for. You usually need a high domain authority website to get to page one.

Think of short-tail keywords as more like the main topics in your niche.

They cast a wide net but lack specificity.

People use them to start their search journey, discover a bit more information and then make another search for a more specific long-tail keyword.

It’s important to know that short-tail keywords should only play a small role in your SEO strategy.

They are mainly worth targeting for well-established websites with strong domain ratings.

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Why Are Short-Tail Keywords Important?

Short-tail keywords are important for SEO because they create topical relevance and can help you rank for general searches.

Ranking for them will help you reach a diverse audience and drive tons of traffic to your site.

But that’s not all…

Knowing the main short-tail keywords in your niche can help you find high-value long-tail keywords to target.

Let me explain:

Short-tail keywords should be seed keywords for your content strategy. You can use these keywords to map out your website’s main categories and topics.

This helps you create a strong silo structure for your website that Google can easily understand. From there, you drill down into more specific, long-tail keyword variations that actually make your money.

For example, if “coffee maker” is a short-tail keyword for your coffee website, long-tail keywords to target could include:

  • “best coffee maker for small apartments”
  • “affordable coffee maker for college students”
  • “top-rated coffee maker for espresso lovers”

These long-tail keywords will have lower competition, higher conversion rates and drive actual leads and sales for your business.

At the end of the day, that’s the main goal of SEO.

Does that mean you shouldn’t target short-tail keywords at all?

No, not necessarily. In most cases, you should target both.

This is because covering all keyword types on your website will help you become a topical authority.

Being considered a topical authority by Google can significantly boost your overall SEO results!

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How To Find Short-Tail Keywords

Following these 5 steps to find short-tail keywords:

1. Brainstorm Using Industry Topics

Start by listing the main topics in your industry. These are the broadest 1-3 word phrases that people will use in your industry.

This process helps you understand your niche from a high-level perspective and often reveals keywords you might have overlooked.

For example, a website about yoga might have:

  • Yoga poses
  • Yoga equipment
  • Meditation techniques
  • Flexibility training
  • Mindfulness practices

These phrases represent broad search queries that people interested in yoga would use.

From this list, you can quickly drill down into specific long-tail queries.

That means they are great short-tail keywords for your website!

2. Use Keyword Research Tools

Next, use keyword research tools to find popular short-tail keywords.

My favourite tool for this job is Ahrefs. But you can also use Google Keyword Planner for free. The steps will be the same either way.

Here’s how I do it:

Type your niche/industry into Ahrefs keywords explorer.

ahrefs keyword explorer

Following on with our Yoga example, you can see that Ahrefs lists ideas in the Terms Match column.

Click “View all” to see all the keyword ideas it found:

ahrefs short tail keyword ideas

Ahrefs lists tons of short-tail keyword ideas you can use on your site. The best part is that the main parent topics are on the left.

This will help you search further and find relevant ideas for your site. Pay attention to the relevance, difficulty, and search volume of the keywords.

Let those metrics guide you in choosing great short-tail keywords for your website.

3. Review Competitor Websites

Now, it’s time to look at your competitor’s websites and see what they are doing.

You can do all this research for free using Google!

Here’s how:

Type in your main industry keywords into Google.

google search

Look for websites that are similar to yours.

For example, if you have a blog about Yoga, look for other blogs about Yoga. If you run a local Yoga studio, you want to look at other local Yoga studios.

Once you’ve found a couple of competitor sites, review their main website navigation.

example website menu navigation

This will give you some ideas of the short-tail keywords they target.

You can also drill down into their primary categories to find other potential keywords to target.

4. Get Ideas With Answer The Public

Answer The Public is a freemium tool that generates questions and phrases based on seed keywords.

That’s perfect for short-tail keywords!

It’s particularly useful for finding question-based keywords that people are actually asking.

Type in your main industry keyword and look through the results:

answer the public ideas

It might take some digging, but it’s worth the effort. Answer The Public will unlock some hidden gem short-tail keywords that you can use.

They also provide search and competition data to help you better determine which keywords are worth targeting.

5. Check Google Search Console

Have you set up Google Search Console on your site?

This is a gold mine for finding short-tail keywords that Google already thinks are relevant to your website.

Here’s how it works:

Login to Google Search Console, click the Performance tab and filter by highest impressions first.

Google search console short tail keywords

You’ll get a list of high search volume keywords your website already ranks for. These are great because Google already associates your site with them.

You just need to optimise your website better.

Click on one of the keywords and then select the Pages tab at the top.

page url

Now you know exactly which page is relevant for that short-tail keyword. The next step is to do an SEO audit on the page and look for areas to improve.

Sometimes, it can be as simple as improving your on page SEO.

I recommend using this on page SEO checklist to do a comprehensive on page audit of the page.

Remember:

The goal isn’t to find obscure short-tail keywords. You’re looking for the most common, broad terms in your niche that you have a chance to rank for.

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How To Use Short-Tail Keywords For SEO

Follow these 5 tips to use short-tail keywords for SEO effectively:

  1. Use Them in Key Places: Include short-tail keywords in your titles, headers, and meta descriptions (don’t force it. Keep it natural).
  2. Use Them As Category Pages: Build comprehensive category pages around short-tail keywords that link to more specific content about the topics.
  3. Avoid keyword stuffing: Use short-tail keywords naturally within your content and avoid any notion of keyword stuffing.
  4. Combine with Long-Tail: Use short-tail keywords as a foundation for long-tail keyword research.
  5. Focus on Relevance: Keep a very narrow focus on the short-tail keywords you use, and ONLY choose short-tail keywords that are highly relevant to your site and content.

The truth is that ranking for short-tail keywords takes a lot of work. Your goal shouldn’t be to rank for them outright!

Use short-tail keywords to structure your website and create comprehensive category pages. This is the best way to target short-tail keywords while also adding value for your users.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Short-tail keywords are made up of 1 to 3 words. They are general and broad keywords that describe a niche or topic.
Short-tail keywords are 1-3 words, broad, and highly competitive. Long-tail keywords are 4+ words, specific, and less competitive.
You should target both short-tail and long-tail keywords. Use short-tail keywords for main topics and long-tail for specific content pieces. This balanced approach covers broad themes and specific search intent while helping establish your website as a topical authority.

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