The internet is a vast place, and in the eyes of regular school marketers, the best way to get noticed by more prospects is to cover all possible avenues and use the most popular keywords, like ‘higher education’ or ‘Christian school’. The good news is that they can get their school featured in the search results whenever prospects type these keywords in the browser. The bad news is that so many websites use these keywords that their school will get featured at the middle or bottom of the search listing.
Long-tail keywords are lengthy and specific keyword phrases that you can use to address prospects who have specific needs when browsing online, like ‘Queensland girls boarding schools’ and ‘Presbyterian college in North South Wales’. It might sound counter-productive when you use keywords that only a few will search, but long-tail keywords offer advantages that shorter “head” keywords might not be able to provide for your school marketing efforts.
Here are three advantages to using long-tail keywords in your marketing:
1. You face less competition
At the AMA Content Marketing Conference, Chris Baggott of Compendium disclosed that 70 percent of search engines show long-tail keywords. When you use long-tail keywords, you’ll get found much easier because your competition won’t be using the same keywords – fewer websites will compete for higher rankings in the Google result pages. Because long-tail keywords are specific to your school, the resulting search volume is low, which means it won’t take much for your long-tail keywords to rise up through the search rankings. If your long-tail keywords are specific enough and are supported by on-page SEO and link building, you can also improve the rankings of your landing pages.
By being less popular in searches, long-tail keywords generate lower search volume and get less competition.
2. They are cost-effective
Competition for shorter keywords is tougher, and there is a smaller chance of generating website traffic through short keywords even if you’ve spent resources to boost them. On the other hand, the primary reason long-tail keywords work is they can generate faster results and make your SEO more cost-effective. You may rank higher through long-tail keywords with less time, effort, and resources.
Long-tail keywords are crucial for schools that want to rank higher in organic searches, but they shine brighter when run through paid search campaigns, because the cost per click can get lower with less keyword competition. You won’t need to invest more for each click to rank higher when you use long-tail keywords in your Google AdWords campaigns.
3. You can develop better conversions
Long-tail keywords enable you to get highly qualified leads by aligning with their search intent. People who use specific terms in their searches have a better, clearer idea about what they need. By understanding your prospective parent’s intent, you can align your long-tail keywords to cater specifically to their needs. If your prospective parent sees exactly what they need on your website, there is a bigger chance that they will respond to you. They are more likely to become regular website visitors and newsletter subscribers.
If used correctly, long-tail keywords will do wonders for your school marketing. Try to research which long-tail keywords will work best with your school website to start building campaigns around them.
