When establishing a strong online presence for your business, using high-quality keywords is essential for achieving profitable Search Engine Optimization (SEO) results.
Keywords play a vital role in ensuring your website’s ranking in search engine results, which will drive more traffic to your company’s digital platform and improve profits. Search engines use intricate algorithms to evaluate the relevance and importance of websites and search outcomes.
Remarkably, these assessments are directly tied to the utilization of relevant keywords. Therefore, extensive research is required to understand which keywords are most effective in generating more web traffic.
In this article, we will delve into the three primary categories of keywords, with a particular focus on fat head keywords. We will explore what they are, how they compare to other keyword types, and which one is best for your content marketing strategy.
What are Fat Head Keywords?
Fat head keywords are short, broad, and generally competitive terms with substantial search volumes. These keywords consist of one or two words and are very general.
Let’s consider the broad keyword “laptop.” It is a simple term that yields nearly infinite results, covering a variety of laptops: small, large, heavy, light, expensive, cheap, and more. This keyword is highly competitive since many companies sell laptops.
However, by making a slight adjustment to this broad keyword, you can significantly reduce the number of companies selling laptops. All that’s required is adding an extra term to your original keyword.
For instance, if you add a specific brand like “Samsung laptop,” the keyword transforms into a fat head keyword (also known as a head or short-tail keyword).
Fat head keywords typically consist of just 1 or 2 words and align closely with the specific item of the search. These keywords generate a high volume of traffic but are more focused compared to the broader keyword searches.
The visitors who actually buy your product or service are known as quality traffic. A general keyword search like “laptop” is less likely to result in a purchase; it’s more of a browsing activity.
Consumers are more likely to make a purchase when their search is deeper, often involving terms like a particular brand name or other distinctive identifiers.
Similar to a physical retail store where a prospective customer spending more time and asking questions increases the likelihood of a purchase, the concept holds true for keyword searches as well. More detailed searches frequently indicate a stronger intention to make a purchase.
This is exactly where long-tail keywords come into play.
What are long tail keywords?
When neither broad nor short keywords accurately connect consumers and businesses, it’s time to use specific long-tail keywords.
A long-tail keyword (also referred to as a niche keyword) is a phrase that usually consists of three to five words. These phrases are more precise compared to general keywords and help you reach specific groups of people.
Long-tail keywords have less competition than general ones because they match how people search more accurately.
By using these keywords, you can attract higher-quality visitors to your website who are more likely to become customers.
Let’s go back to the laptop example. If your search term includes “best laptops of 2023 under $500” or “2019 refurbished Mac laptops,” you’re looking for very specific information with a lower search volume. Not many people use these particular phrases, so there is less competition among search results.
For instance, if your business only has a few laptops under $500, you won’t get as many people visiting your website for this category.
But if you have a lot of 2019 refurbished Macbooks for sale, then you’ll do really well. When people search in detail like this, it often means they’re more serious about buying, which is great for your business.
Fat Head Keywords Vs. Long Tail Keywords
Fat head keywords are concise (mainly 1-2 words) and general terms that draw high search volumes. They lead to a large amount of website traffic.
On the other hand, long tail keywords are more specific phrases with lower search volume, but they bring in higher-quality visitors.
Search volume, or how many times a keyword is searched, is estimated for a specific timeframe, usually a month.
In terms of marketing, head keywords are less popular now due to the highly competitive nature of SEO. There’s a vast amount of content online, making it difficult for all companies to reach consumers equally.
Long-tail keywords drive more quality traffic, while head keywords attract a larger but more general audience. However, it’s important to note that niche keywords may require more frequent research to keep up with changing trends.
Another aspect to consider is the cost. Fat head keywords tend to be more expensive due to higher competition. On the other hand, niche keywords face less competition, resulting in lower costs for ranking.
Your product or service type and your promotional budget are significant factors to consider. Nevertheless, staying current with evolving trends may demand additional research efforts for long-tail keywords.
Closely tied to the cost is the element of risk, which increases when competition intensifies. Achieving a top ranking for a head keyword leads to increased traffic, but this position is less stable due to ongoing competition from other companies aiming for the same spot.
In comparison, long-tail keywords come with lower costs, allowing you to acquire more of them and distribute them across various terms, consequently reducing the associated risk.
Here’s a table of comparison:
In case your ranking for one keyword is lost, you still have other terms to compensate for the decrease in traffic.
What are chunky middle keywords?
Chunky middle keywords, also known as medium-tail keywords, are reasonably competitive terms that are more specific than fat head terms but less specific than niche keywords.
This search term is generally three or four words long and is used by people who have some idea of what they want but are not sure of what exactly to search.
For instance, when compared to the general search term “laptop,” a search query “2023 top laptops under $400” will give you very specific search results. A chunky middle keyword such as “laptops under $400” is a reasonably competitive term but is less precise than long-term keywords.
Chunky moderate keywords offer a balance as they replace the heavy traffic of head keywords and low competition of long tail keywords. It has moderate competition and moderate traffic.
Which Type of Keyword is Ideal for Your Business?
There is no single answer to this question. It depends on what you are selling and how people search for your product or service. You also need to consider factors like whether you are focusing on a small niche inventory or going big.
You might be considering using different types of keywords like short, long-tail, and chunky medium keywords together. This is fine, but you need to consider aspects like cost, risk factors, traffic, and conversions.
The size and type of business can also be a major influence in determining your keyword strategy. For instance, if you are running a small or medium-sized business, it’s safer and cheaper to use chunky medium and long-tail keywords.
On the other hand, if you are a bigger company, you can take risks and focus on fat head keywords. This might bring more customers to your doors, but many might just look around.
However, while targeting keywords, avoid keyword stuffing—the practice of overloading your content with too many keywords in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings.
Search engines now penalize this behavior, and it can harm your site’s SEO efforts, credibility and user experience. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that naturally incorporates your target keywords.
Before deciding, take a deeper look into your business and conduct thorough keyword research. Doing keyword research is essential to determine how to bring quality traffic to your website.
Selecting the right keywords can help your site rank higher and gain more traffic. So, understanding how your target audience look for what you offer is vital for your success.
FAQs
How do you use fat head keywords?
When incorporating fat head keywords into your SEO strategy, it is important to keep in mind their highly competitive nature. This implies you need to put in a substantial level of effort to rank higher for them.
Here are some tips to kickstart your approach:
Conduct Thorough Research
Before using fat head keywords in your SEO strategy, it is essential to do comprehensive research. You can use keyword research tools to determine the fat head keywords that hold the utmost relevance for your business and have the highest search volumes.
Be Precise
Even though fat head keywords are broad, it is still essential to maintain a level of specificity as possible. For example, rather than opting for the generic keyword “laptop,” you could finetune it to “Samsung laptop.” This will help you in drawing more targeted traffic to your website.
Focus on Quality
Since fat head keywords are highly competitive, it is essential to focus on crafting quality content. This means creating high-quality blog posts, videos, and various content formats that will attract your visitors and keep them engaged.
What are fat head keywords examples?
If you are running a business selling pet supplies, the phrase “pet supplies” and subcategories like “pet food,” “dog harnesses,” and “pet toys” are all head keywords.
Why use long-tail keywords for SEO?
Though long tail keywords have low search volume, they enable you to focus on terms that attract valuable and relevant visitors to your website.
