We discovered this simple technique whilst conducting some
keyword research for one of a client of ours. In SEO there is no
question about the benefits of developing the longer tail terms as
mentioned in this post here. Now, let's pose the
question 'What about the shortened tail?'
We are talking about abbreviations.
So then, point taken that this is a pretty obvious
statement when we think about big popular search terms such as
Payment protection insurance (PPI). These are well known search
term abbreviations to anyone, but in SEO we have to be adaptable
and really gain knowledge of our subject area. So here is a quick
example of what we found from data we gathered in AdWords;
Example number 1
Key term: Mergers and acquisitions (m and a)
'Mergers and acquisitions' monthly search volume:
2,900 (medium competition)
'M and A' monthly search volume: 390 (low
competition)
Now, abbreviations are dangerous territory, they
may provide much bigger volumes than this particular instance due
to various factors such as the abbreviation being associated with a
brand. This will result in a lot of false traffic to your focused
term, however, 'M and A' is quite a good example to use as no major
brands are abbreviated to this term. As we look at the top 10
ranking sites for the search 'm and a' we see that 70% them are
relevant to business and more importantly 'mergers and
acquisitions'.
We are talking about abbreviations.
So then, point taken that this is a pretty obvious statement
when we think about big popular search terms such as Payment
protection insurance (PPI). These are well known search term
abbreviations to anyone, but in SEO we have to be adaptable and
really gain knowledge of our subject area. So here is a quick
example of what we found from data we gathered in AdWords;
Example number
1
Key term: Mergers and acquisitions
(m and a)
'Mergers and acquisitions' monthly
search volume: 2,900 (medium competition)
'M and A' monthly search volume: 390
(low competition)
Now, abbreviations are dangerous territory, they may provide
much bigger volumes than this particular instance due to various
factors such as the abbreviation being associated with a brand.
This will result in a lot of false traffic to your focused term,
however, 'M and A' is quite a good example to use as no major
brands are abbreviated to this term. As we look at the top 10
ranking sites for the search 'm and a' we see that 70% them are
relevant to business and more importantly 'mergers and
acquisitions'.
The circled results show the irrelevant results to the search
query.
Example number
2
Key Term: Leveraged buyout
Now this is what you might like
to call a speculative gamble, and you may need some tests conducted
to prove this theory - specifically looking at completed
goals.
'Leveraged buyout' monthly search
volume: 480 (low competition)
'Lbo' monthly search volume: 1000
(low competition)
I wanted to show this example as the top 10 results are not as
relevant to the search term compared to the first example. This is
why it may be a gamble to attract relevant traffic. However
because the term has lower competition than the full term
'leveraged buyout' we think it is worth considering.
The circled results show searches through the abbreviation
'lbo' for leveraged buyout.
As stated this is pretty simple keyword research which many
companies and their strategies may disregard. Granted, search
traffic does gain volume because of irrelevant searches but if you
find examples like these it could prove beneficial to your campaign
due to the competition being lower and therefore easier to gain
higher rankings.
Abbreviations will not be common for every client and maybe more
suited for law, accountancy and business a little more than the
likes of travel. Taking this in mind we are sure that there are
some sectors which people may have 'disregarded' with some
'abbrvs.' that can produce a decent amount of relevant traffic.