I made the mistake last week of mentioning the term “long-tail keyword” to a well-known industrial supplier in west Michigan while discussing their new blog.
Classic…deer in the headlights.
The term long-tail keyword has been around for several years and refers to longer, more descriptive phases you might use to search for a product on the web. For example, instead of referring to “hydraulic manifolds” you might search for something more specific. What you really want is a company that can do “prototyping for custom hydraulic manifolds”
As a marketer or business owner… think about this. This is a marketer’s dream. The prospect at the other end of the web has SPECIFIC INTENT and knows exactly what she wants.
Is your company’s web page there to answer this web user’s needs?
Talk about target marketing. Talk about low-hanging fruit.
So what is the best way to serve up a web page for the guy looking for “prototyping for custom hydraulic manifolds” and generate a highly qualified lead with SPECIFIC INTENT?
You guess it…your company’s blog page.
Here is a good example of using SPECIFIC INTENT along with a long-tail keyword phrase:
Because my background in web development and SEO (search engine optimization) I know that the foundation of any good content marketing strategy is good keyword research. (I will get into that in another blog post). If you don’t get that right, your content marketing strategy will not achieve your desired results.
Through extensive SEO research and a good understanding of human nature I know that most industrial marketers want to know what a comprehensive web strategy, not just a web site, really costs. (Good marketing has always been part science and part art)
So…I created a post titled “How Much Does an Industrial Web Site Really Cost“. I focused on long-tail keyword phrases such as “cost of industrial web site”, “how much does an industrial web site cost” or just “industrial web site cost”. The theme of the post was geared towards lost opportunities if your industrial company DID NOT have a quality web site and a content strategy to go along with it.
But the “hook” was human natures’ natural tendency to research costs.
You can see my post at: How Much Does an Industrial Web Site Really Cost?
Back to SPECIFIC INTENT.
Do you see the difference between being found for “web development” or “web design”, etc? I don’t want to be known as a web developer. You can’t throw a rock without hitting a web developer. I want my former company to be known as a company that helps industrial marketers navigate the web and create strategies that actually produce revenue.
If you go to Google and type in “what is the cost of an industrial web site”, “costs of an industrial web site” or “industrial web site costs” you will notice my blog post. Out of almost a billion web pages my post is in the top 3 in Google, Bing and Yahoo.
By the way, I posted that article on my blog on April 4th while overlooking the beach in Florida. Now…that is lead generation you can take to the beach. Within one week the post was ranked number one in Google.
Note that I have also created an opportunity for the visitor to download materials related to business blogging or if the web visitor is ready to raise his hand there is an opportunity to do so. If the industrial marketer or business owner fills out the “FREE 30 minute consultation” form then I get an e-mail notification as I am driving down I-94…or at the beach.
THAT is specific intent.
Now, let’s go back to the industrial supplier that provides more than just commodity products. Let’s say they also have a very profitable segment designing and manufacturing “custom hydraulic manifolds.” Let’s assume the industrial supplier created a blog post specifically for “custom hydraulic manifolds” or even more specific, “prototyping custom hydraulic manifolds”
I would bet my next tank of gas to beaches at Lake Michigan they would be number one in Google if they structured the title, keywords and content properly built around the long-tail keywords and specific intent…some engineer looking for a solution to his problem on the plant floor.
That is how you generate leads using long-tail keywords for your prospects that have SPECIFIC INTENT.
GET STARTED BY DOWNLOADING: An Introduction to Business Blogging from my friends at HubSpot.
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