What are long-tail keywords?

Short answer: what are long-tail keywords?

Long-tail keywords are specific search terms, often several words long, that show more clearly what someone wants to know, compare or do. They’re usually narrower than broad terms, but that often makes them more relevant to the page you offer.

Think of the difference between “shoes” and “green running shoes for wide feet”. The second search says much more about need and context. Long-tail keywords make it more likely that your page matches a specific search.

Our view is simple: long-tail keywords are about matching real questions better. The same goes for AI answers. They’re only as reliable as the sources underneath, and a page that clearly answers one concrete question makes a useful source.

AEO and GEO add useful context here. AEO stands for answer engine optimisation: optimising for answer engines. GEO stands for generative engine optimization: being visible as a source for generative AI. Neither replaces SEO; both build on it.

When is a keyword long tail?

A keyword is long tail when it’s specific enough to show a clear search intent. Length is often a signal, but it isn’t the main point. A short term can sometimes be quite specific, and a longer term can still be vague.

That’s why a fixed rule like “three words or more” doesn’t work well. You want to understand what someone means, not just how long the search is.

For example:

• “bookkeeping” is broad
• “bookkeeping for freelancers” is more specific
• “compare bookkeeping software for freelancers” already shows a much clearer intent

Search intent is the purpose behind a search. You can read more about it in our article on search intent.

In AI search engines, specificity matters even more. One question often turns into a whole conversation there, with follow-up questions the LLM asks on the searcher’s behalf. If you only focus on individual keywords, you miss a large share of those questions.

Example: from broad to specific

Think of it as planning a route without an address. If you only enter “restaurant”, nobody knows where you want to go. Enter “Italian restaurant Utrecht centre gluten-free” and you’re far more likely to end up in the right place.

The same applies to how people search online:

That tells you more clearly which questions you need to answer.

Why long-tail keywords matter for SEO

Long-tail keywords matter because they often match what someone is really looking for. That makes them a good fit for informational articles, niche pages and pages that answer one clear question.

Long-tail keywords help you build stable, relevant visibility in a focused way. Broad terms can be valuable, but they aren’t always the best first step.

The main reasons:

• the intent is often clearer
• you get a good match between question and page sooner
• they suit specific topics and niche needs
• they help you give your content a sharper structure

Long-tail keywords are a way to align your content more closely with how people actually search.

You’ll find a concrete example in the case study of Schulte Herenmode: +161.8% organic traffic. It shows how more than 4,810 search terms were grouped by search intent, by category and broken down by type, colour and material. That grouping decided where to focus and which pages were created.

Not every long-tail keyword is automatically a good one

Specificity only helps if the term fits your offer and what the searcher means. A long search term without a matching page won’t solve the problem.

If you don’t offer a product comparison, there’s little point in targeting terms with “compare”. And if you only work nationally, optimising city by city isn’t always feasible. It can be done technically, but the content quickly becomes thin or forced.

In short: a good long-tail keyword isn’t just specific. It’s also relevant, achievable and logical within your site.

Long-tail vs short-tail keywords

Short-tail keywords are broader and more thematic. Long-tail keywords are narrower and more concrete. Both have a place in SEO. The question is which type fits which page.

When do you choose which?

Choose short tail when you’re building a main topic, category or collection page. Choose long tail when you want to answer one concrete question or serve one niche or use case.

So the first step isn’t to optimise everything at once. First decide what type of page you’re making. Only then choose the kind of search term that fits it.

How do you find good long-tail keywords?

You find good long-tail keywords by starting with customer questions and existing search behaviour. Tools come second.

A prompt is not a keyword. It is your potential customer’s problem, in their own words.

Giacomo Perticara, founder and SEO strategist at GRP Digital

Want to go deeper into the method? Read our article on keyword research.

Start with questions from your audience

Start with customer questions from sales or support conversations before you use any tools.

Look first at:

• questions from sales
• questions from support
• wording from quotes or intake meetings
• autocomplete in search engines
• related searches at the bottom of the results

A B2B example: if prospects keep asking about “connecting CRM to ERP for field service”, that’s worth more than a random idea from a tool. Why? Because it’s language your audience already uses.

In customer conversations you often see a clear gap between internal jargon and the words customers use themselves. A team might say “API integration with ERP” internally, while a prospect simply asks: “Can this system be linked to our accounts and our field staff?” That customer language often gives you better input for long-tail keywords, because you write the way people actually describe their problem. Listening carefully and asking questions in customer conversations also tends to give you better insight into the questions that come up along the way. The questions under “People also ask” in Google help too.

Use tools to validate

Then use tools such as Google Search Console, Google Trends and other keyword tools to check whether your idea shows up in the data. Tools help, but they aren’t the absolute truth.

Search Console shows which searches already bring you impressions or clicks. Trends helps you see how interest develops. Keyword tools give direction, not guarantees.

What are good SEO keywords?

Good SEO keywords match the intent of your audience, the language they use and the content of your page.

So a good keyword isn’t necessarily the one with the most reach. It’s the one that fits logically with what you offer and what the visitor expects to find.

How can you find out the search volume of a keyword?

You get an estimate of search volume from keyword tools, such as Keyword Planner in Google Ads. Google Trends doesn’t show absolute numbers, but it does show how interest develops and how terms compare with each other. For searches where you’re already visible, Search Console shows how often you appeared. Search volume is a metric: a measuring point that helps you estimate demand. But it remains an indication, not the absolute truth.

Without Search Console, you're doing SEO with your eyes closed.

Giacomo Perticara, founder and SEO strategist at GRP Digital

Your own data is often more reliable than general estimates from outside. Do look beyond volume alone, though. A search term with less reach can be a much better fit for your content.

What is the difference between SEO and SEA?

SEO is about organic visibility in search engines. SEA (search engine advertising, also called paid search) is about paid ads in search engines. Both can work with keywords, but the approach is different.

Long tail mainly helps in SEO, to make better content matches. SEA can use the same terms, but then you pay for visibility.

What is the best free tool for finding keywords?

There’s no single best free tool for everyone. A logical starting point is usually free sources that sit close to real behaviour:

• Google autocomplete
• related searches
• Google Trends
• Google Search Console

That way you start with real-world signals instead of assumptions.

Common mistakes with long-tail keywords

The biggest mistake is thinking that longer is automatically better. It isn’t.

For example: creating several pages for almost the same search term confuses search engines.

You want the search engine to take you seriously. Give it mixed signals and it may ignore them.

Giacomo Perticara, founder and SEO strategist at GRP Digital

That happens, for example, when you want one page to rank for informational, commercial and local variants at the same time, while those variants don’t really belong together.

Further reading on keyword research and search intent

Long-tail keywords work best as part of a larger foundation. Want to read on? Start here:

• SEO basics
• keyword research
• search intent

So as a first step, you don’t need to build a full keyword list straight away. Start with ten real customer questions and put your current pages next to them. You’ll often see quickly where the best opportunities are.

FAQ about long-tail keywords