Application of the long tail theory is extremely noticeable in key word advertising in the large search engines such as Google and Yahoo!. Key word advertising is an interesting marketplace in that it is an auction for keywords. Keyword advertising can be an expensive prospect for many of the same reasons that purchasing TV or billboard media can be expensive. Broad terms are searched on more often the specific key terms, often those found in the end of the long tail. A key word such as “handbags” will likely have a high auction rate because of the frequency that users search for handbags. Advertising on this keyword may be very expensive because users may often click on the term but if they do not find what they are looking for when they get to your site, the advertising expense has been accrued but the transaction did not take place.
I think that examination of the long tail in the key word advertising field is really making companies and their agencies take a hard look at what they are trying to sell, to what demographic and what attributes of their product differentiate it from their competitors. Research and understanding of the analytics behind keyword searches is critical to maximize your online spending. The long tail can be a very powerful place to spend money because the users that are searching on these key terms are more likely to have an understanding of the product genre and will be more likely to convert into a purchase or drill deeper into your site form more information.
Our society seems to be becoming more of a society of customization and specialization. As we studied last week, much of this is coming from the actual consumers as they are now being sourced by corporations to help develop and specialize products. This specialization and customization lends itself to the long tail where more unique products and services may reside. Getting users to these products is now more practical than ever before with powerful search engines indexing billions of pages of content.
The pharmaceutical industry uses the long tail logic in search engine marketing extremely well. There hundreds of drugs on the market that address cancer symptoms. Marketers need to be able surface their content on very specific key terms to ensure they are getting the most from their keyword search dollar. Terms in the long tail are often more specific about the treatment, type of ailment and type of remedy being sought. These key terms are more likely to have lower prices because they are not as heavily searched on so the cost per click will likely be lower. This gets right at the point illustrated in discussion in that less people may be searching on these specific terms but those that are, are more likely too perform the action that you attracting them to do. Whether that is product purchase, requesting for more information or requesting a sample of the product. These are the users you want visiting your site and you are more likely to attract them by investing dollars in strategic key research and analysis and then advertising on those terms that have been identified. From there, you need make sure your site is easy to navigate, accommodating and containing useful information. These are topics for another day!
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Your focus on the long tail generates some interesting commentary. And, I agree that customization and specialization are growing in importance. But "keyword marketing" is very complex. Of course the ideal situation is that the customers would use keywords to guide them to the company that best matches their needs. But, in practice it often doesn't work this way. Often a more general search term provides an opportunity to winnow down to the specific product solution. But if you rely on a"specific keyword" you may never be found--you don't get the opportunity to make your pitch since the customer may not use your keyword. I think, while the long tail offers us food for thought, it seldom is as simple and straightforward as we would hope. We continue to learn in the digital era space. But, I appreciate your reflections.
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