A while back we published a byte titled Why aren't my PPC keywords converting better in which we stated that it's best to use keywords that target potential customers who are "late" in the buying cycle.

Not surprisingly, we received several questions with a common theme that went something like...

So, to reveal the details we'll analyze the concept of what is typically referred to as long tail keywords.

Long Tail keywords are those 3 and 4-keyword phrases which are very, very specific to whatever you are selling. You see, whenever a customer uses a highly specific search phrase, they tend to be looking for exactly what they are actually going to buy. In virtually every case, such very specific searches are far more likely to convert to sales than general generic searches that tend to be geared more toward the type of research that consumers typically do prior to making a buying decision.

In the aforementioned Byte, we outlined the typical step-by-step buying process—but it bears repeating and goes something like this...

1. Consumer becomes aware of a product.
2. Consumer seeks information about that product in preparation for possible purchase.
3. Consumer evaluates alternatives to product (features, pricing, etc...).
4. Consumer makes their purchase decision.
5. Consumer pulls out their credit card and completes the transaction.
6. Consumer then evaluates the product after buying it and decides if they want to keep or retu...