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Amazon Long-Tail Keyword Business Model

pwd staff OLIVER WOOD
Oliver Wood

|13th March 2023

Whether you’re just starting a new Amazon SEO strategy or trying to make some changes to your existing one, the term “long-tail keyword” has probably crossed your path a few times. Long-tail keywords are integral to the success of any SEO strategy, Amazon or otherwise, and your ability to utilise them effectively can directly influence your returns. That’s why knowing more about long-tail keywords and long-tail SEO, in general, is crucial. This guide will give you the inside scoop on the concept and teach you how to build a successful Amazon long-tail keyword business model. Stay tuned!

Long-Tail SEO — 101

Long-tail SEO is a way to generate high-value organic traffic for your website, and it targets search terms consisting of three or more words. As you might imagine, these keywords have lower search volumes and competitive rates. They also have higher conversion rates than short-tail keywords simply because they tend to describe the user’s intent more clearly.

Long-Tail Keywords and User Intent

As mentioned above, long-tail keywords comprise three or more words. Unlike their short-tail counterparts, these keywords target specific user intents and concepts. As a result, they have lower search volumes, competition rates, and cost per click (CPC).

You might think that long-tail keywords get their name because they are longer than typical search terms, but this is not exactly true. It actually has to do with search volume. Imagine a search volume graph containing short-tail and long-tail keywords on a particular topic.

Due to their low search volume, long-tail keywords would appear at the tail-end of such a graph creating a “tail” compared to the high search volume of short-tail keywords.

Let’s think about some examples of long-tail keywords.

Imagine a search term such as “PPC agency.” This search covers various intents, including job searches, tips for opening and running such an agency, etc. This is what we refer to as a short-tail keyword.

Conversely, a keyword such as “top PPC agencies” has a more precise intent. The searcher most likely wants to find a list of the best pay-per-click agencies, and the top-ranking results should respond to that user intent.

Amazon Long-Tail SEO Strategies and Business Models

Now that we’ve covered the basics of long-tail search engine optimisation, there’s still a lot to learn about how these keywords work in the context of an Amazon business model. The fact is that, if used correctly, long-tail keywords can help boost your listings and bring you higher profits.

Read on to learn more about how an Amazon long-tail strategy can help your business.

Advantages of an Amazon Long-Tail Business Model

If you’ve been paying attention, you know long-tail keywords are more specific and reveal the user’s intent than common keywords. We’ve already mentioned a few advantages this brings, and in the following paragraphs, we’ll outline these advantages in more detail.

Lower Competition

Low competition is one of the most significant advantages of a long-tail keyword strategy. There is little to no competition in keyword bidding for long-tail keywords because people are generally less likely to use them in their searches. This means many of your strongest competitors won’t bother competing for long-tail keywords, leaving the door open for you to swoop in.

The good news is that long-tail keywords are highly targeted, meaning that only a few of the most relevant listings and products will appear in the search results. If you can satisfy the criteria, your products will receive high levels of exposure this way.

High Conversion Rates

Consider this — if you’re just passively scrolling an e-commerce website such as Amazon, you’re likely to either click through the various categories or use broad terms in the search bar.

Generally speaking, this means that short-tail keywords such as “smart tv,” “Bluetooth headphones,” or “sunglasses” are used mainly by window shoppers. On the other hand, people looking to buy a specific type of product will take their time to type a longer, more defined keyword and streamline their search results.

Instead of the examples that we listed above, a user with a high purchase intent would type in something like “best 55-inch smart TV for gaming,” “wireless earbuds for Android,” or “reflective aviator sunglasses.”

If you can get your products to show up at the top of the list for long-tail keywords such as these, you’ll have a much higher chance of making a sale simply because you’re offering the prospect exactly what they’re looking for.

Better Value

As there’s relatively low competition over long-tail keywords, the bidding is also less competitive. Because of this, you can rank for these keywords at a much lower price than you’d have to pay for open-ended short-tail keywords.

Paying less for keywords results in a lower cost-per-click (CPC) and the overall cost per acquisition. In the grand scheme of things, this means getting more value on your campaign and being able to spend some of that extra money on other aspects of your business.

Finding the Best Long-Tail Keywords

An almost infinite number of long-tail keywords can stem from a single short-tail one. That said, if you want your Amazon long-tail keywords business model to be successful, you can’t just throw KWs against the wall to see which one sticks.

You’ll need a strategic approach, using research to find the most commonly used keywords and phrases within your audience. Here are a few ways to do that:

Use Google’s Suggestions

You’ve probably noticed that each time you start typing anything into Google’s search bar, it comes up with a few “autocomplete” suggestions. In theory, these are the most searched terms relevant to the keyword you used in the beginning. In fact, there’s a whole WIRED YouTube show in which celebrities respond to autocompleted questions from Google — highly recommended if you’re a fan of celebrity culture.

Aside from making for some excellent low-brow entertainment, Google suggestions provide an easy and effective way to find popular long-tail keywords. That said, as all-knowing as Google is, it is still an external data source, so you’ll still have to take its suggestions with a pinch of salt.

The problem is that Google search suggestions come from users all over the internet and may only sometimes apply to your Amazon business.

Rely on Historical Data

Use historical data from your product page or website if you’re looking for long-tail keywords from a more grounded source specific to your business. Take a closer look at which categories bring the most traffic and which product pages are most visited and viewed.

Let’s use a simple example — you sell a wide range of running shoes, but the red ones with the white sole get the most clicks. This means you should probably create a long-tail keyword centred around that specific product type.

Enlist the Help of Professionals

There is a broad palette of keyword research apps and tools available on the internet to help you with keyword research. The best ones are user-friendly and allow you to do some research after just a few quick YouTube tutorials.

That said, if you feel like your time would be better spent elsewhere, or you’re just not a fan of hands-on keyword research, you can always ask for the assistance of a dedicated digital marketing/SEO agency. These companies employ teams of professionals who can do keyword research and plan, create, and manage your entire campaign.

Optimising Your Amazon Long-Tail Keyword Strategy

In case you choose to run the campaign on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, remember to take your time and collect enough performance data before adjusting your strategy.

Adjust your PPC bids by about 20%-30% every couple of weeks to gauge the difference in performance between the different keywords. Make sure to do this strategically, considering the evidence you’ve collected.

When adjusting your bids, always remain focused on your growth targets. This way, you’ll know whether you’re achieving the results you set out to achieve and, perhaps most importantly, if you’re operating within your budget. Remember, there’s no such thing as an insignificant detail when optimising your Amazon listings. All the extra effort you put into the account — from adding alt text to your photos to finding the most appropriate long-tail keywords — can make a big difference.

Finally, don’t hesitate to seek the help of qualified and experienced professionals within the industry. Investing more into a high-quality long-tail keyword strategy will likely pay huge dividends. Good luck!