the incredible impact of

LONG TAIL TRAFFIC

Red
Mens
Running
Shoes
Running
Shoes for
Men

Womens
Hiking
Boots

HIKING
SHOES

Hiking
Boots for
Women

SHOES

HIKING
BOOTS
Mens
Hiking
Boots

Tall Hiking
Boots
for Men

North
Face
Hiking
Boots

ASICS
GEL
RUNNING
SHOES
WALKING
SHOES

CLARKS
SHOES
Hiking
Boots for
Men
High Heel
Dress Shoes

NIKE
SHOX

Brooks
Running
Shoes
Size 12

Mens
Running
Shoes

Size 12
Mens
Running
Shoes

Running
Shoes for
Women

Womens
Running
Shoes

DRESS
SHOES
Mens Dress
Shoes

Size 11
Mens Hiking
Boots

Womens
Dress Shoes

HALO EFFECT CONCEPT

June 2012

the incredible impact of LONG

TAIL TRAFFIC

A well-structured SEO campaign will attract consumers searching for general as well as more specific search
phrases. This approach ensures your site will attract consumers at all steps in the buying process. For example,
if you sell running shoes, your campaign shouldnt focus solely on getting people to your site via the exact phrase
running shoes. You also want consumers to find your site for other more focused variations like womens running
shoes or Brooks running shoes size 12.
Traffic from more specific search queries, generally containing more than 3 words, is commonly referred to as
long tail traffic. This traffic is highly desirable due to the increasing amount of long tail searches by consumers
and high conversion rates commonly associated with these visitors.

Red
Mens
Running
Shoes
Running
Shoes for
Men

Womens
Hiking
Boots

HIKING
SHOES

Hiking
Boots for
Women

SHOES

HIKING
BOOTS
Mens
Hiking
Boots

Tall Hiking
Boots
for Men

North
Face
Hiking
Boots

ASICS
GEL
RUNNING
SHOES
WALKING
SHOES

CLARKS
SHOES
Hiking
Boots for
Men
High Heel
Dress Shoes

NIKE
SHOX

Mens
Running
Shoes

Brooks
Running
Shoes
Size 12

Size 12
Mens
Running
Shoes

Running
Shoes for
Women

Womens
Running
Shoes

DRESS
SHOES
Mens Dress
Shoes

Size 11
Mens Hiking
Boots

Womens
Dress Shoes

11
RANK MOVEMENT

POSITIONS

WEBSITE
CONVERSION
RATE
HALO EFFECT
CONCEPT | June
2012

With long tail keywords,

search results moved
more than one full page.*

2.5x

Conversion rates for long

tail terms were 2.5x higher
than for head-terms.*

*Data provided by Conductor Searchlight Study, May 2012

p2

the incredible impact of

LONG TAIL TRAFFIC

The success of an effective SEO campaign is typically measured by the increase in organic traffic, number of
keywords driving traffic and rank for the keyword categories (a group of fathead and long tail phrases focused
around core competencies of a business). Choosing the proper keyword categories is the most important aspect
of ensuring the success of your campaign and attracting a high amount of qualified visitors to your site.
The following chart illustrates an increase in organic traffic during the first 12 months of an effectively structured
campaign with proper keyword categories. The business listed below experienced a 932% growth in organic visits
and a 694% growth in keywords driving organic traffic over the 12-month campaign.

TOTAL ORGANIC TRAFFIC VISITS

No. of All Organic Visits (fathead and long tail)

12,615

No. of Organic Visits Driven by Top 100 Keywords

ORGANIC VISITS

9,658

4,231

5,060

3,404

1,260

FEB

1,634

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

INCREASE IN TOTAL ORGANIC VISITS OVER

A 12-MONTH CAMPAIGN

JUL

AUG

SEPT

OCT

NOV

DEC

JAN

INCREASE IN NO. OF KEYWORDS DRIVING

ORGANIC TRAFFIC OVER A 12-MONTH CAMPAIGN

932 694
%

p3

the incredible impact of

LONG TAIL TRAFFIC

Over a 12-month period, this e-commerce business yielded 3.5x more organic monthly traffic from long tail
searches than exact match of the fathead term. The following chart illustrates how an effective SEO campaign
can drive both exact match search visitors and long tail search visitors.

LONG TAIL WORKS FOR E-COMMERCE

3,651

Visitors from Long Tail Keywords

3,008

Visitors from Exact Match Keywords

2,609

TRAFFIC

1,883

1,033
800
202

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEPT

OCT

NOV

DEC

JAN

LONG TAIL JUST AS STRONG IN SERVICE INDUSTRIES

Visitors from Long Tail Keywords

1,928

1,874

Visitors from Exact Match Keywords

1,691
TRAFFIC

1,469
152

190
51

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEPT

OCT

NOV

DEC

JAN

Over a 12-month period, this services business was able to drive 4.3 times more traffic from long tail phrases than
exact match of the fathead term. WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? Long tail traffic should be a significant component
of your SEO campaign. Capturing consumers utilizing long tail search queries drives more traffic and conversions.

HOW WE DO IT These types of results and increase in long tail traffic can be realized with a balanced approach
of strategy, architectural optimization, content creation and link graph optimization.
p4

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CONNECT WITH
WITH US!
US!
Please contact info@SlingshotSEO.com if you have questions on Slingshot SEO services.
Please Contact Jim Brown, Senior Account Executive at Slingshot SEO, at
Contact research@SlingshotSEO.com if you have questions about this study.
Jim@SlingshotSEO.com if you have questions on Slingshot SEO services.
Contact Research@Slingshotseo.com if you have questions about this study.
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v.1, June 2012