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Short-tail Keyword

Short-tail keywords are keywords with few words and a wide scope, resulting in a high search volume. Because multiple intents are mixed and competition is high, it is effective to treat them as the upper topic of a hub page or topic cluster, and separate the lower intents into long-tail documents.

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For example, short expressions such as SEO, diet, and laptop are searched for by many users, but with varying intent. Information seeking, purchasing, comparison, and brand exploration can be mixed. Therefore, short-tail keywords are often treated as a parent topic that groups multiple sub-documents rather than a single landing page.

If you only target short-tail keywords, competition can be high and content direction can be clouded. There are many cases where the search volume is high, but the conversion intent is weak or multiple intents are mixed.

Short-tail keywords are used as the topic of hub pages or pillar pages, and more specific intents are handled separately using long-tail keywords and cluster documents. Rather than just looking at the search volume of top keywords, you need to check what types of content are actually exposed in SERPs.

Key takeaways

  • It is a short and broad keyword.
  • Although the search volume is high, the intent can be mixed.
  • The level of competition is often high.
  • It can be a starting point for hub pages and topic clusters.

References

Frequently asked questions

How can I rank well with short-tail keywords?

Short-tail keywords have high competition, so it is advantageous when there are hub pages and sub-cluster documents that cover the entire topic rather than a single document. First, analyze what type of content (list, guide, tool, comparison) is ranked high in the keyword SERP.

Why do short-tail keyword pages have low conversion rates?

This is because there are many visitors with mixed intentions. People who want information, people who want to make a purchase, and people who are comparing can use the same query. You can create a conversion path by linking to appropriate subpages with navigation and internal links that guide multiple intents within the page.

Related terms