We are always talking about the Long Tail here at Compendium Blogware --- with the short explanation (a longer one here...) and relation to corporate blogs and SEO being that it is important to remember that while winning a word such as "cars" is great; it is probably much more realistic to win and capitalize on key phrases such as "Indianapolis Car Dealers" and "Buying A Car In Indianapolis". With Compendium --- you are able to leverage the same content to win all of those relevant key phrases through data driven blogging. So back to this recent controversy --- which is really a matter of data and statistical analysis, but with one piece that was strange to me, Anita Elberse, reports in her data a lower satisfaction in the long tail versus the head of an average product (pulling this from the statistical data around Australian DVD rentals and ratings following a product). This might be true in some consumer buying decisions, but when it comes to search I think we can look at things a big differently --- who wants a less specific result to what they are searching? The point of searching is to find what you are looking for --- not necessarily to browse as may be the case when choosing a DVD.
Posted by: P.J. Hinton on Monday, July 7, 2008
Interesting post! I had missed this story as it made its way through the news cycle. I did some additional reading and found a comment by reader over at Valleywag that makes an interesting point. The Long Tail really only applies when the overall market place is large enough that netting even a tiny slice of the pie yields a nice payoff. http://valleywag.com/5020400/harvard-business-review-pins-the-long-tail-on-the-donkey#c6440213
Posted by: Paula Henry on Monday, July 7, 2008
Jenni- I have found success with both! While the most commonly desired #1 position for a realtor in Indianapolis would be Indianapolis Real Estate - it is generic. Once someone is searching specifically, say Avon or Zionsville, you also need to be found for those search terms. Narrow it down to a specific neighborhood in one of these cities, be found for the term online and you have a better chance of finding a client instead of a browser. 99% of my clients who have found me online have done so through a neighborhood or city search, not the most desired generic search term.