Target long tails

I am doing keyword research for my first big site. I notice many searches have terminology like "sell my iphone", "sell my books online". How can I best write titles targetting these types of searches? Should I copy their title exactly (sell my iphone) or should I use a more natural sounding title (sell YOUR iphone)? The more natural sounding is obviously not an exact match to the search, does it matter?



If a search is "sell my iphone 4", I could write an article title in a few ways ..

"Sell your iphone 4"
"Sell my iphone 4"
"How do I sell my iphone 4"
"Best way to sell my iphone 4"


My overall strategy is ranking high (goal #1) for dozens, even hundreds of long tails with search volume as low as 2000 exact per month so the difference in such a simple question really could add up.

"Sell your iPhone 4 easily" or "Sell your iPhone 4" or "How to sell your iPhone 4". Don't worry about the search engines. Rather worry about a catchy title for the surfers. You can put the exact kw in the meta description cleverly.

2000 exact = not longtail. There will be other people trying to rank for it.
long tail = "how to rank longtail keywords if I still have a day job". See? You'll compete with less than 3 others, so top 3 is guaranteed if you work smart.

About the article: it can also be Q&A, forum thread.. far less work
If you still want an article, I guess it's a blog so you can try:
* I want to sell my iphone 4 and don't know how
* How to sell my iphone 4 without spending on ads
* I want the new iphone! How to sell my iphone 4?
* Where can I sell my iphone 4 and how fast will I get my money?

you don't have to have the phrase "how to sell my iphone 4" at exact, google knows better.
They send you a few people who search for this keyword, users happy = page should rank.

I agree with the above post, 2000 is not very long tail and you could have some trouble ranking, but if you meant 2k searches total between your long tails then I think you're on the right track. For me, if I can fit the keyword in the title with it sounding natural then I will. But, if it sounds awkward or doesn't make sense then make it sound natural and you can then use your keyword in the meta, and with your seo plugin.

brettehl said:

I agree with the above post, 2000 is not very long tail and you could have some trouble ranking, but if you meant 2k searches total between your long tails then I think you're on the right track. For me, if I can fit the keyword in the title with it sounding natural then I will. But, if it sounds awkward or doesn't make sense then make it sound natural and you can then use your keyword in the meta, and with your seo plugin.

Click to expand...

I like the advice everybody, yes the title and content should never be out of context just to get the keyword placed. I don't know anyone who would read an article titled "iphone 4 sell make money" for example.

My advice is to build your content for readers. Like what funkybunker said. If you force in the keyword it looks odd and sets off warning bells to the readers. However if you can make it appear to flow smoothly you stand a higher chance of users staying and looking at other articles

I Personally post quality, interesting content for readers that includes long tail keywords in it. Do not stuff keywords in your content, let it look more original and useful to their audience.

I suggest you should lo-gin in google keyword planner and paste this KW: sell YOUR iphone, You will get multiple more results relates to that, Then check the competition and select which have good competition.

yes I agree with guys! Don't worry about long tail keywords. Just think over eye-catching titles for your quality and fresh articles that can attract more traffic on the site and include the keywords in the content.
P.S. Avoid keyword stuffing!