The Long Tail: The Myth Explained, and how you can implement it

Unlike a lot of other boring business concepts, the long tail not only has promise, but can easily turn your business from ‘ok’ to ‘amazing’. The theory behind the long tail really isn’t that special, but if it is actually put in to effect correctly, then it becomes a monster, with continual repeat sales and a generally larger bank account!

The Basics
If we look at Amazon.com as an example, unlike other conventional high street stores, Amazon is able to sell a far larger range from more obscure authors as well as still selling the big blockbuster names like Rowling or Tolkien. The main reason for this is not because they want to give YOU choice, but instead they have been able to effectively implement the Long Tail concept… which of course is keeping their shareholders happy!

Above I decided to create a graph to illustrate this idea better. (Click on it to view larger version)

As you can see in the top right hand corner (in the green region) we have your best sellers. The graph shows that there are only a few best sellers, but the volume of their work sold is very high. This is because they are always in high demand, from large publishers (so they can afford to buy for the publicity) and the media (TV /Radio) are also very willing to increase the hype - Oprah Winfrey / Richard & Judy ‘book clubs’ etc.

At the other end of the scale we have books that are from other sources – small publishers, self-publishers etc. These groups have not got the money, publicity or the resources to match the big boys, and yet are still able to generate sales on a reasonable scale. The main reason they are able to generate sales is from word-of-mouth, Amazon’s “Customers who bought this item also bought” sections or searches made via Google. Even through this group (indicated in yellow) sell small amounts, their sales are consistent. There is also a lot more of them, so every ‘niche’ should have somewhere a book concerning the subject.

A great example of a publisher that uses the Long Tail theory are ‘For Dummies” books. These cover a wide range of subjects – all niche, all with a small target audience – and yet they are able to sell thousands of units every year.

What is ‘The Long Tail’ to you?
For the web, The Long Tail is all about keywords. (’Oh how BORING!’ - I hear you cry)

As most of us know (no matter how tech-savvy you are), keywords are an important part of the web. Every time we visit Google, type in our search, and hit that button, Google displays all the websites relevant to your search. A part from a lot of other important rules, the main element used to compile those search results are matching the words you typed in to words found on websites that Google has catalogued in its system.

Now what if you are able to focus ALL your content online with keywords, then surely you will be then able to ‘cash in’ more? The problem (for me) is that there are too many resources and people teaching you that you should focus your business on a ‘niche’ – something that has a small amount of traffic so then you can sell your goods to people that have no other options. This can work in some cases – but the likelihood for actually making a sale is very slim.

My theory is to choose a large subject – like Golf. You may wish to sell goods, books and other elements that other golfers may wish to buy via your website. But the ‘clickability’ rate can still be low because you are trying to infiltrate a large market. What will make YOUR site unique can be reviews about products and other articles that will generate more keywords and in theory more interest on Google. In addition to this, before you start writing your hundreds of articles I would recommend to first research what keywords are being used by users this month, THEN basing your article on those keywords. This will increase the traffic to your site and make you a relevant and continue to be timely place for visitors.

The best resource I have found for researching keywords is the Elite Keyword Tool. Unlike other keyword review services and sites (which normally focus on just one search engine at a time or have out of date information), Elite are able to give you the latest information about all the major search engines at one. There are other ones out there that charge hundreds of $$/££ (easily up to $160) to get the information – Elite costs $19.50 per month. I use this service FAR too often, and suggest it to too many people… but more importantly, with the information I am able to generate with Elite, I always am able to make my subscription money back within days every time. The bonus with Elite is that they also offer a 30-day trial period.

So think about a larger subject FIRST then focusing relevant articles based on the latest keywords to generate your traffic and a larger income!

Related Websites:
Elite Keyword Tool Website - www.elitekeywordtool.com
Tee Morris (Author of the books used on the graph) - www.teemorris.com

Related Reading:

Did you like this Post?
If so, why not but me a pint!
(Goes to the 'Leigh is a Poor Student' fund)

Keep up-to-date, without the hassle of coming back!
Click here to subscribe via RSS - that way you will never miss a thing.