How to Find Long-Tail Keywords for SEO and Drive Targeted Traffic
There is a point in every blogger’s journey when keyword research starts to feel a little ridiculous.
You open an SEO tool, type in your topic, and suddenly you have thousands of keyword suggestions staring back at you. Some have huge search volumes. Others have tiny numbers. Some have impressive-looking difficulty scores. Then there are hundreds of variations that appear to mean almost exactly the same thing.
The natural question is: Which ones should I actually write about?
For a new or growing website, the answer is often hiding in the more specific searches.
Someone searching for “SEO” could be looking for almost anything. They might want an SEO definition, an SEO agency, a course, a tool, a technical guide, or simply an explanation of how Google works.
Compare that with someone searching for “how to find long-tail keywords for a new blog.”
That person has already told you what they need.
They are probably starting or growing a blog, they want keyword ideas, and they are specifically interested in long-tail searches. There is much less guesswork involved.
That is the real attraction of long-tail keywords.
They are not valuable simply because they contain more words. They are valuable because they often reveal a much clearer search intent.
If you understand how to find long-tail keywords, you can uncover topics that are closely connected to your audience’s problems, build a more focused content strategy, and gradually expand your website’s visibility without trying to compete for enormous keywords from day one.
What Are Long-Tail Keywords?
Long-tail keywords are specific search queries that usually have lower individual search demand than broad keywords and often represent a more clearly defined need.
Take the keyword “blogging.”
It is incredibly broad. There is no obvious answer to what the searcher wants.
Now consider “how to start a blog for free.”
The subject is still blogging, but the searcher has provided considerably more information. They want to start a blog, they are probably a beginner, and they are specifically interested in a free option.
Go one step further:
“how to start a WordPress blog for free.”
Now the intent is even narrower.
This is why the common definition of a long-tail keyword as simply “a keyword containing three or more words” is not particularly helpful.
Word count is only a rough indicator.
Specificity matters much more.
A short keyword can be very specific, while a long keyword can still be extremely competitive. What matters is what the search represents and how many pages are competing for that particular intent.
Why Long-Tail Keywords Can Be Valuable
The biggest advantage of a long-tail search is that it gives you context.
Consider the difference between these two searches:
“keyword research”
and
“how to find low competition keywords for a new website.”
The first one could belong to almost anyone.
The second one tells you exactly what the visitor is trying to accomplish.
That difference changes the way you write.
For the first query, you might need a broad educational resource covering the fundamentals of keyword research.
For the second, the reader probably wants a practical explanation of finding keywords that a new website can realistically target.
You don’t need to guess what the reader wants. The query has already given you a fairly strong clue.
This is particularly useful for smaller websites because you can create content around very specific problems instead of immediately trying to compete with enormous websites for broad topics.
That doesn’t mean every long-tail keyword is easy.
It simply means that long-tail research gives you more opportunities to find specific subjects where your content can be closely aligned with what the searcher wants.
Long-Tail Does Not Mean “Easy”
This distinction is worth making because it is one of the most common misconceptions in keyword research.
You may find a seven-word keyword with thousands of searches and very strong competition.
You may also find a two- or three-word keyword with relatively little competition.
So don’t look at the number of words and assume you’ve found an easy keyword.
Look at the search results.
If you search a long-tail query and the first page is filled with highly authoritative websites, exceptionally comprehensive resources, major brands, and pages that perfectly satisfy the search intent, you still have a competitive keyword.
On the other hand, if the results contain outdated articles, weak answers, pages that only partially address the question, or content that doesn’t seem to match what you searched for, there may be an opportunity.
This is why I prefer to treat keyword tools as research assistants rather than decision-makers.
The numbers can help you discover opportunities.
The search results help you decide whether those opportunities are actually worth pursuing.
Start With the Problems Your Audience Has
Before opening Ahrefs, Semrush, Keyword Planner, or any other tool, spend a little time thinking about your audience.
This sounds obvious, but it is one of the steps that gets skipped most often.
Let’s say you run a website about blogging.
You could start with the keyword “blogging” and ask an SEO tool to generate related terms.
Or you could think about what a new blogger actually struggles with.
They might wonder:
How do I choose a niche?
How do I find topics to write about?
Why isn’t Google sending traffic to my blog?
How do I find keywords with low competition?
How long should a blog post be?
How do I get my first 1,000 visitors?
How do I know whether a keyword is worth targeting?
Those questions are much more useful starting points.
They describe real problems rather than abstract SEO terminology.
Once you have the questions, you can use keyword tools to discover the different ways people search for those problems.
This approach usually produces better content because the article starts with a human need instead of a keyword spreadsheet.
Google Is One of Your Best Long-Tail Keyword Tools
You don’t need an expensive SEO subscription to begin finding long-tail keywords.
Google itself can give you a surprising amount of information.
Start typing your broad topic into Google’s search box and watch the suggestions appear.
Suppose your topic is:
keyword research
You might begin typing:
how to find keyword…
or:
keyword research for…
or:
best keyword research…
Google’s suggestions can reveal different ways people phrase their searches.
You can also search your topic and pay attention to the questions that appear in the People Also Ask section.
Those questions are particularly useful because they often expose the concerns surrounding a topic.
Let’s say you’re researching “SEO for a new website.”
You might discover related questions about how long SEO takes, which keywords to target, how to get indexed, whether backlinks are necessary, and why a new site isn’t receiving traffic.
Not every question deserves its own article.
Some belong naturally inside a larger guide.
Others may represent a completely separate search intent and deserve their own page.
That distinction is where experience starts to matter.
Look at Related Searches Too
Google’s related searches can uncover another layer of keyword ideas.
Imagine you search for long-tail keywords.
At the bottom of the results, you may find searches related to long-tail keyword examples, long-tail keyword tools, long-tail SEO, or long-tail keyword research.
Don’t treat these suggestions as a publishing checklist.
Instead, look for patterns.
If several different searches keep pointing toward the same underlying problem, you’ve probably found a useful topic area.
This is also a good way to discover language you might not have considered yourself.
As writers and SEO professionals, we sometimes use terminology that sounds natural to us but isn’t necessarily how ordinary users search.
Google’s suggestions can act as a reality check.
Google Search Console Gets Even More Interesting
Once your website has been around for a while, Google Search Console becomes one of the best places to find long-tail opportunities because the data comes from your own website.
This changes the research process.
Instead of guessing what people might search for, you can see queries for which Google is already showing your pages.
Imagine you publish an article about keyword research.
A few weeks later, Search Console starts showing impressions for searches such as:
how to find keywords for a new website
how to find low competition keywords
keyword research for beginners
Your article may not have been specifically written around all three queries.
But Google is already testing your page for them.
That is useful information.
Perhaps one of those topics deserves a stronger section in the existing article.
Perhaps another deserves a dedicated article.
Maybe your title could be improved because the page is receiving hundreds of impressions but very few clicks.
This is where keyword research becomes much more interesting. You’re no longer working entirely from estimates. Your own website is beginning to tell you what Google and searchers associate with your content.
If you’re new to Search Console, BlogEarns’ broader SEO resources can help you understand how search performance data fits into your overall SEO strategy.
Your Competitors Are Sitting on Keyword Ideas
Another excellent way to discover long-tail keywords is to study websites that already publish content in your niche.
But there is a difference between competitor research and copying.
Copying means opening a competitor’s article, rewriting the paragraphs, changing a few words, and publishing your own version.
That’s not a content strategy.
Competitor research is about noticing the questions and topics they have identified that you haven’t.
Suppose another SEO website has a comprehensive article about keyword research.
You discover that the site also publishes content around keyword research for affiliate websites, keyword research for local businesses, finding keywords without paid tools, and keyword research for new blogs.
Those topics may reveal gaps in your own content.
You then investigate them independently.
Search the keyword.
Study the results.
Understand what the searcher wants.
Then decide whether your site has something genuinely useful to add.
Sometimes the answer will be no.
That’s perfectly fine.
Good keyword research is partly about knowing what not to write.
Forums and Communities Can Reveal Better Keywords Than SEO Tools
There is another source of keyword ideas that is often overlooked: people talking to each other.
Look at Reddit, niche forums, community discussions, comments, Facebook groups, Quora, product reviews, and other places where your target audience asks questions.
Pay attention to the wording.
Someone might say:
“I have been blogging for six months but Google still isn’t sending me traffic. What am I doing wrong?”
That sentence may never appear exactly as a keyword in your SEO tool.
But it contains several potential content topics.
You could investigate searches around why a new blog isn’t getting traffic, how long SEO takes for a new website, why blog posts aren’t ranking, or how to diagnose a traffic problem.
This is one reason experienced content writers spend time listening to audiences rather than relying exclusively on keyword databases.
People don’t always speak in keywords.
They speak in problems.
Your job is to translate those problems into useful search-focused content.
Use Keyword Tools to Expand the Ideas
Once you’ve gathered ideas from Google, your audience, competitors, and your own Search Console data, keyword tools become much more useful.
This is where tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush, Ubersuggest and other platforms can help.
For Keyword research tool we have an dedicated article on free keyword research tools can serve as the broader resource here.
The important thing is not which tool you use.
It is how you interpret the information it gives you.
A keyword tool might show search volume, keyword difficulty, related phrases, estimated traffic potential, cost per click, and other metrics.
Those numbers can help you compare opportunities.
But don’t let a green difficulty score convince you that you’ve discovered an automatic ranking opportunity.
A keyword with a low difficulty score can still be irrelevant to your audience.
Another keyword with moderate difficulty may be a very good strategic opportunity because it fits your website perfectly.
The tool gives you evidence.
You still have to make the editorial decision.
Search Intent Is More Important Than the Keyword Itself
This is where many keyword-focused articles go wrong.
They obsess over the phrase and forget the person behind it.
Consider:
“best keyword research tools”
The searcher is probably comparing tools.
Now consider:
“what is keyword research”
The searcher is learning.
And:
“how to use Google Search Console for keyword research”
The searcher wants instructions.
These searches are related, but the content shouldn’t be identical.
If you create one giant article trying to rank for all three, you may end up satisfying none of them particularly well.
When researching a long-tail keyword, ask yourself what the person expects to see after they search.
Do they want an explanation?
A tutorial?
A comparison?
Examples?
A calculator?
A list of products?
A solution to a problem?
The search results usually give you clues.
The SERP Is Your Reality Check
One of my favorite rules in keyword research is simple:
Before you commit to a keyword, search it.
Not in your SEO tool.
In Google.
Look at the first page.
Read the titles.
Open several results.
Notice how old the articles are.
Look at how closely they answer the query.
Pay attention to whether Google is showing guides, tools, videos, forums, product pages, comparison articles, or something else.
The search results are effectively showing you the content format Google currently associates with that query.
Suppose you want to target:
how to find long-tail keywords
If the results are dominated by comprehensive guides, your article needs to be a comprehensive guide.
If the results are dominated by tools, perhaps users are looking for a tool rather than an educational article.
If the results are mostly short answers, you may not need a 4,000-word essay.
This is why word count should never be the starting point.
The searcher’s need should determine the content.
Don’t Create an Article for Every Keyword Variation
This is another trap that can quietly damage a website.
Suppose your research gives you these phrases:
how to find long-tail keywords
how to find long-tail keywords for SEO
how to find long-tail keywords for blogging
finding long-tail keywords
long-tail keyword research
It is tempting to create five articles.
Don’t.
First determine whether these searches have essentially the same intent.
If they do, one excellent article may be more appropriate.
You can naturally cover the variations within that article.
Search engines don’t need you to create a separate page for every slightly different way of asking the same question.
In fact, creating several nearly identical pages can make your site unnecessarily fragmented.
A stronger strategy is to group related keywords around search intent.
One page becomes the best answer for that particular problem.
Then move on to a genuinely different question.
Long-Tail Keywords and Internal Linking
Long-tail research becomes particularly powerful when you connect it to internal linking.
Imagine BlogEarns has a broad article about SEO.
That article explains the fundamentals.
Then there is an article about keyword research for new websites.
That article explains the research process.
Then comes a guide about finding low-competition keywords.
Now this article explains how to find long-tail keywords.
These pages aren’t competing with each other.
They can support each other.
A reader who discovers the long-tail keyword article may realize they also need to learn how to identify low-competition keywords.
Someone reading the new-website keyword research guide may want to go deeper into long-tail research.
That is exactly how internal linking should work.
Not as a collection of forced keyword links, but as a useful path through related information.
For BlogEarns, this is especially important because the site is now building a more defined SEO content cluster around keyword research. The existing articles already provide several natural destinations for readers.
How to Decide Whether a Long-Tail Keyword Is Worth Targeting
There is no single number that can answer this.
I usually look at the opportunity from several angles.
First, does the topic belong on the website?
Second, does the search clearly represent something a reader wants?
Third, can the existing search results be meaningfully improved upon?
Fourth, is there enough potential value in attracting that visitor?
And finally, does the topic fit naturally into the site’s existing content?
That last question is often forgotten.
A keyword can have low competition and decent search volume, but if it has nothing to do with your website, ranking for it may do very little for you.
Traffic is not the finish line.
Relevant traffic is.
What About Keywords With Very Low Search Volume?
Don’t automatically throw them away.
Keyword-volume estimates are not perfect, and a page can rank for many related searches beyond the phrase you originally targeted.
More importantly, some highly specific searches can indicate strong intent.
Imagine someone searches for:
best SEO tool for a new food blog
The search volume may be tiny compared with “SEO tools.”
But the person knows exactly what they need.
If your website can genuinely help that person, the keyword may still be worth pursuing.
The mistake is building an entire website around thousands of meaningless low-volume phrases.
The opportunity is finding specific questions that matter to your audience.
There is a difference.
How to Use Long-Tail Keywords Naturally in an Article
Once you’ve chosen your primary topic, don’t turn the article into a keyword repetition exercise.
Use the primary phrase naturally in the title, introduction, and places where it genuinely describes the subject.
Then write normally.
If your article is about finding long-tail keywords, it is completely natural to discuss keyword research, search intent, keyword difficulty, Google Search Console, competitor research, related searches, and keyword tools.
You don’t need to repeat “how to find long-tail keywords” every few paragraphs.
In fact, doing so would make the article worse.
A good test is to read the finished article aloud.
If the keyword sounds like something a human writer wouldn’t naturally say in that sentence, remove it.
SEO should disappear into good writing.
The reader should notice the usefulness of the article, not the optimization underneath it.
Build a Long-Tail Keyword Cluster Instead of Chasing One Keyword
One article rarely needs to stand alone.
Suppose this article performs well.
It can naturally lead to another article about long-tail keyword examples.
That can lead to an article about keyword difficulty.
That can lead to a guide on using Google Search Console for keyword research.
Another article can explain how to find low-competition keywords.
Suddenly, you’ve moved from one keyword to a small knowledge base.
That is where the real SEO opportunity lies.
Search engines get more context about what your website covers, while readers have more useful resources to explore.
This is also why I would not publish this article and then immediately jump to a completely unrelated topic.
Continue building around the keyword-research cluster while the subject is fresh.
Long-Tail Keywords for a New Website
For a new website, long-tail research can provide a sensible starting point because specific queries often allow you to focus your content much more tightly.
Imagine you launch a website about WordPress.
Trying to rank immediately for “WordPress” is unrealistic.
But there are thousands of problems surrounding WordPress.
Someone may want to know how to speed up a WordPress website.
Someone else may need to fix a WordPress 404 error.
Another visitor may want to know how to move WordPress to a new host.
Another may be comparing free WordPress themes.
These are all parts of the same broad subject, but each represents a different problem.
By solving specific problems well, you gradually build a library of useful resources.
Later, those resources can support broader pages.
That is a much healthier way to grow a new site than publishing one enormous article about a broad keyword and hoping Google notices.
Long-Tail Keyword Research Should Never Become Keyword Chasing
There is a subtle danger here.
Once you discover how many keyword variations exist, it becomes tempting to keep chasing them.
You can spend days exporting keywords, filtering spreadsheets, checking difficulty scores, and never actually publish anything.
At some point, research has to become writing.
The purpose of keyword research is to make better editorial decisions.
It should tell you what your audience cares about, how they express their problems, what the search results look like, and where you might be able to contribute something genuinely useful.
Then stop researching and create something.
A useful article published and improved over time is worth more than a perfect keyword spreadsheet sitting untouched on your computer.
A Better Way to Think About Long-Tail SEO
I think the easiest way to understand long-tail SEO is to forget the word “tail” for a moment.
Think about the person.
Someone searches for a specific phrase because something prompted them to search.
Maybe they have a problem.
Maybe they’re comparing options.
Maybe they’re trying to learn.
Maybe they’ve tried something and it didn’t work.
The more specific the search, the more clues they often give you about that situation.
Your job as a writer is to recognize those clues.
If the searcher wants a tutorial, teach them.
If they want a comparison, compare the options honestly.
If they have a problem, solve it.
If they’re confused about terminology, explain it.
That sounds almost too simple for SEO, but it is surprisingly easy to forget when you’re staring at a keyword difficulty column.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to find long-tail keywords is not about finding phrases that nobody else has discovered.
It is about finding the specific questions and problems that sit underneath broader topics.
Start with your audience rather than a keyword tool.
Listen to the questions people ask.
Use Google to discover how those questions are phrased.
Study related searches and People Also Ask.
Look at your competitors for topic gaps.
Use Search Console once your site has enough data.
Let keyword tools expand your research, but don’t allow their scores to make the final decision.
Most importantly, look at the actual search results before you write.
If you understand what the searcher wants and can create something genuinely more useful, you have a reason to publish.
For BlogEarns, long-tail keyword research fits naturally into the SEO content cluster you’re already building. Our broader What Is SEO? guide provides the foundation, the keyword research for a new website article explains the wider process, and your low competition keywords guide moves into competitive opportunity. This article adds another layer by showing readers how to uncover the specific searches hiding underneath those broader topics.
That’s ultimately what good keyword research should do.
It shouldn’t make your writing sound more like SEO.
It should help you understand your readers well enough that the writing becomes more useful.
And when the content genuinely answers the question behind the search, you’ve given Google a much better reason to put it in front of the right person.
Frequently Asked Questions
| What are long-tail keywords? |
|---|
| Long-tail keywords are specific search queries that generally have lower individual search demand than broad keywords and often reveal a clearer search intent. They are not defined simply by the number of words in the query. |
| How do I find long-tail keywords? |
| You can find long-tail keywords through Google Autocomplete, People Also Ask, related searches, Google Search Console, competitor research, keyword research tools, forums, communities, and questions from your target audience. The most useful keywords should then be evaluated against search intent and the actual Google search results. |
| Are long-tail keywords easier to rank for? |
| Long-tail keywords can sometimes be easier to target because they are more specific, but being long does not automatically make a keyword easy. Competition, search intent, website authority, content quality, and the existing search results all matter. |
| How many words should a long-tail keyword have? |
| There is no fixed word count that makes a keyword long-tail. Specificity, search demand, and intent are more useful indicators than simply counting the words in a search query. |
| Can long-tail keywords have high search volume? |
| Yes. Some long-tail queries can have substantial search demand, particularly when they address popular problems or specific commercial needs. However, many long-tail searches have relatively modest individual volume and can still be valuable because a page may rank for many related queries. |
| How can I find long-tail keywords for free? |
| Google Autocomplete, People Also Ask, Related Searches, Google Search Console, Google Trends, forums, Reddit, competitor websites, and some free keyword research tools can all help you discover long-tail keyword ideas without paying for an SEO subscription. |
| Should I create a separate article for every long-tail keyword? |
| No. If several long-tail keywords have the same search intent, they can often be covered naturally in one comprehensive article. Separate articles make more sense when the keywords represent different problems or require substantially different types of content. |
| Are long-tail keywords still useful for SEO? |
| Yes. Long-tail searches can help websites target specific problems and search intents instead of relying entirely on broad keywords. They are particularly useful when building focused content around a topic and identifying questions that deserve detailed answers. |
