There are many different opinions about which queries are best for promoting a website in search. At first glance, it may seem that it is most effective to build a strategy using high-frequency keys. This can be explained by their popularity and probable effectiveness.
But if you remember that the top part of the search results is occupied by aggregator sites, marketplaces and other “monsters”, then it is very difficult for an ordinary online project to hope for a breakthrough. In such cases, promotion by low-frequency queries can bring much more benefit. How to attract traffic from search engines, focusing on low-frequency keys will be discussed below.
What queries are called low-frequency?
Low-frequency queries are keywords that more accurately describe what the user is looking for. As the name suggests, they are much less common than high- and mid-frequency queries.
The frequency of use of a particular key is determined using services. When they say “high-frequency queries”, they mean that users enter such a combination of words into the search bar about 5,000 times a month. Medium-frequency queries are entered approximately 1,000-5,000 times, and low-frequency queries are entered even less frequently.
Low-frequency queries are often called “long tail” keywords , because they are complemented by words according to the principle of “service + geo”, “product + model + geo”, etc. Compare 2 queries: “tour to the Carpathians” and “weekend tour to the Carpathians with departure from Kiev in July”. The difference is obvious.
There are several types of “long tails” in keys:
- Queries that contain four or more words (for example, “tall silver refrigerator,” “buy inexpensive white sneakers”);
- Keys that consist of two or three words but are rare. Most often, this is the brand name and a specific model, for example, Xiaomi Redmi Note 13.
Understanding what low-frequency queries are, it should be noted that these Long Tail keys make up more than 70% of all search queries. This means that they have great potential for project promotion.
Why is promotion by low-frequency queries useful?
For most online stores, low-frequency promotion can be beneficial for several reasons:
- The level of competition for low-frequency queries is much lower. If you decide to promote yourself by the query “buy a used iPhone”, then a basic audit will show that such a key is very popular. Every month, this query is entered by users more than 50 thousand times. This means that you will have to compete with many other sites in Google search results every day. However, if you use a long-tail keyword, the number of competitors will decrease sharply and you will be able to quickly catch the user’s eye in the top positions;
- You will be able to achieve high conversion. The more specific a person formulates their question in the search bar, the higher the probability that they are already familiar with the topic and are interested in buying. A user entering “used iPhone” into the search is most likely looking for preliminary information. While someone who is looking for the opportunity to “buy a used iPhone 14 Pro Max on credit” is probably already ready to make a purchase. And as an additional result, increasing conversion and improving behavioural factors has a positive effect on the ranking of the site for medium- and high-frequency queries;
- The content on your site will be more relevant to voice search. Google claims that 70% of users ask questions in search as if they were talking to a person. Phrases are becoming longer, more specific and more natural, which most often indicates their low frequency. With the increasing popularity of voice search, adding long-tail keywords is becoming more and more relevant.
Promoting a website using low-frequency queries minimizes the risk of it falling under filters, although if you work independently, you will have to try to avoid excessive use of keys.
Along with these benefits, the strategy of website promotion by low-frequency queries can be quite labor-intensive, since specialists will need to prepare an expanded semantic core. This process can be delayed, because it requires the use of various tools and analysis of search suggestions, as well as cleaning semantics, often manually. You will also need to spend time on creating content. However, experts advise looking for an answer to the question of how to promote a website by low-frequency queries and to take up this direction. You will see that with a competent approach, the site’s positions will go up.
Which high-frequency vs. low-frequency queries are more effective?
There is a widespread belief that the best results are achieved by promoting high-frequency keywords. This seems logical, since such queries are entered more often by users, therefore, they provide more impressions. However, this logic is incorrect. Let’s figure out why it is not always possible to raise a site in this way.
Let’s say a company specializes in selling robotic vacuum cleaners and offers more than 10 models. Analysing Serpstat data, we will see that on average, more than 22 thousand users search for information about this device every month.
But at the same time, among such people, there is already a clear majority of those who have figured out the differences between the models and are ready to buy this product.
When we try to attract as many visitors to the site as possible by promoting the keyword “robot vacuum cleaner”, we spend significant resources on users who may not be interested in our products. After all, among them there may be those who are looking for regular vacuum cleaners, lightweight models for everyday cleaning, hand-held devices for cleaning car interiors, and so on. The same query “robot vacuum cleaner” may also be relevant for those who are looking for a repair service for an already purchased device or want to figure out how to control it from a smartphone.
There is a very small chance that some of the customers who are looking for vacuum cleaners may be interested in our product after seeing it. This is more the exception than the rule. In other words, by promoting the query “Robot vacuum cleaner Rowenta X-PLORER 75 S RR8567WH”, we increase the chances of increasing the conversion of the web resource. At the same time, we spend significantly less money on competition.
In addition, low-frequency website promotion has several additional advantages. By contacting interested users with such keys, you can achieve a decrease in bounce rates and an increase in page viewing time. Also, the conversion rate among users visiting the site using low-frequency keys will be clearly higher than using high-frequency ones.
Another significant advantage that is already evident at the stage of forming the semantic core and selecting keywords is that you will receive an inexhaustible source of topics and ideas for content that is really interesting to real users. This will help you get to the top.
Competitiveness or frequency of queries – what to pay attention to
There is often confusion between these concepts, and many beginners consider them interchangeable. However, competitiveness and frequency are different values. Competition in search results is assessed by the following criteria:
- number of main pages in the top search results;
- total number of sites participating in the competition for positions;
- the number of exact matches of the query in page headers (i.e., the number of pages optimized for a particular query).
On the other hand, frequency is the frequency with which a particular keyword or phrase is used by users when searching for products, services or services on Google or other search engines.
Despite the obvious difference, there is a certain connection between these concepts. The higher the level of competition, the more intensively you need to use the promotion of low-frequency queries and the longer the “tails” can be for clarifying the keys. Reducing the level of competition makes it more accessible to achieve top positions for shorter phrases – medium- and high-frequency queries.
How to collect low-frequency queries?
Let’s look at what tools you can use to find low-frequency queries. The following will help you with this:
Google search suggestions. After entering a short query in the search bar, you will see suggestions based on the phrases that other users have entered. We remind you that the more specific the query, the less frequent the queries the system offers;
Serpstat. This service allows you to enter the main keyword and collect all low-frequency queries for it;
Google Ads. This platform has a useful tool called “Keyword Planner.” It helps you collect low-frequency keywords. You can use the filter to set the desired range and low-frequency request.
After compiling a large keyword database, you should review it manually and remove irrelevant queries.
How do you work with low-frequency queries on the site?
If you decide to choose a strategy that allows you to get to the top for a low-frequency keyword, then you will have to work according to the following plan:
Creating a semantic core. This is the first and very important stage of the work. Using the tools we described above, create the most detailed semantic core possible.
Removing irrelevant keywords. After collecting all the queries, remove irrelevant ones: with errors, unnatural phrases, names of competitive brands, keywords that do not correspond to the topic of the site.
Create landing pages. Cluster the collected queries and create a new page for each group with an H1 heading containing a low-frequency query. Add various variations of word combinations to the H2 and H3 headings. It will be useful to include them in the alt and title attributes, as well as in the description and main text of the article. Add pictures, photos, videos and other useful content to the page.
Work on internal linking. Use low-frequency words as anchors for internal linking and add them to other low-frequency articles. Also, add links to previously published ones to the new publication, if appropriate.
Notify search engines about the new page. Submit an indexing request via Google Search Console or update your sitemap. This will help speed up indexing and ranking.
Monitoring the effectiveness of promotion. Website promotion with low-frequency queries will be successful if you monitor how your website is developing. Regularly check positions, bounce rates and time spent on the page. If necessary, optimize the publication and use high-quality external links to speed up the promotion.
We know that SEO optimization work requires painstaking attention, but the result is worth it.
To sum it up
Embracing low-frequency queries can significantly enhance your site’s visibility and conversion rates. By targeting these specific, less competitive keywords, you can achieve higher relevance and attract more qualified traffic. While this approach demands careful planning and ongoing management, the rewards are substantial. For expert assistance in optimizing your SEO strategy and integrating effective digital marketing tactics, consider partnering with a top digital marketing agency. Their expertise can help refine your approach, boost your online presence, and drive measurable results.
