The long tail: How search works for your small business

November 9, 2008 · Chris Peters

Bill Tancer from Hitwise released some interesting analysis of the most popular search terms on Google. And you may be surprised with what the most popular terms look like on a graph.

Bill Tancer from Hitwise released some interesting analysis of the most popular search terms on Google. And you may be surprised with what the most popular terms look like on a graph.

Long Tail Keywords

And this is only the top 10,000 most popular terms. There are tens of millions of different phrases that people use.

This is a pure demonstration of a principle called The Long Tail. This principle says that focused niches make up more of any economy than the most popular items. An example: 60% of Amazon’s revenue is generated by products that are not popular.

What does this mean for you, small business owner? It’s great to be small. You should pick a narrow focus and then own it.

And you will win. Even on Google.

About Chris Peters

With over 20 years of experience, I help plan, execute, and optimize digital experiences.

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