Long-tail URLs and focus keyword

Connacht

Folks,
I've always used short-tail URLs on blogposts and don't get traffic. So I was advised to try long-tail instead. But here's my question : if I change blogpost URLs to long-tail, what do I do with my focus keyword?
Example :
old URL : abc.com/galway
old focus keyword : galway
new URL : abc.com/5-things-to-do-in-galway
new focus keyword : is it still just "galway" or does it become the whole of the new url, ie "5 things to do in galway", or perhaps "things to do in galway"?
And while I'm at it, does the use of long-tail now mean that the use of so-called "stop words" in URLs no longer matters?
Many thanks for your help.

dgerryd

First off Connacht those are really good questions, second off, your biggest mistake is using blogspot, " my reasons are google disable's a lot of their products every day/month/year without notice and that means your blog, so for starters get rid of blogspot that's why your not ranking your not supposed to". Google tell you build a great website ! That's a load of B s..t I see some of the best writers in the world telling stories/books/ online who have superior skills to me you or anyone I have seen in the Online Marketing world, and even better skills that of the bigger corporation's hire or outsource, get dismissed because they don't pay/spout or fall in line with the status quo, or whatever fee is attached.

Where your going wrong I would guess is thinking about keywords ! focusing on the actual keywords themselves "things to do in galway" is completely meaningless not only to you, but to the web searcher as well as the internet as a whole. Think about it how many meaningless articles are written on the topic every day just to fill space on their screen. Anyone that tells you as an SEO to focus on the keywords/monthly traffic, is not an SEO, unless they disclose to you straight up with how and why, along with the risks they take to really get you to the top/ otherwise you ain't getting there on keywords and that is a fact in my eyes, until someone shows otherwise, which is completely attainable with the wright set of strategies, but for the likes of you and Joe soap ! forget about it, they will make you pay for something that will be your demise in the long run and leave you wondering what you did wrong, definitely not what they did, so in all my waffling to make it clearer to you think about it this way. "You want information about XYZ lets say XYZ is Spain and in reality that's what you really wan't to find out about. Lets do quick Mathematics and discern the keyword "things to do in Spain" to what is, in reality what every searcher is looking for which is "Thn Thn Thn" actual facts and or things to do in Spain not the keyword Spain, which is a whole other ball game in ranking terms, think of Spain as a "topic" and if you can write you will be better than most of the BS out there.


Example: From your question you want to be the website to go to on the subject "long-tail keywords" which is fine ? now tell me where you go after one good article which covers the subject "long-tail keywords" Quick wins are alive and well always have been always will. So if your going to dig a whole for yourself, better to know the whole you choose to dig doesn't have an opposite and detrimental reaction, or at least understand what the risks and benefits are which involve a certain strategy, digging wholes where others are afraid to venture can also be your hidden weapon/ and or destruction if you can see past the BS. as for my advice! if I were you I wouldn't listen to a word I have said unless it resonates, and you are the Curious type ? good luck

Connacht

Eh... thanks.
Not on blogspot, btw.

zimmerseo

Using the keyword Galway by itself, isn't a great idea. It's too broad.

As an example, if you are trying to rank for "things to do with the family in Galway", use that in your URL.
Then use something like, "10 essential Places To Bring The Kids In Galway" as the page title, then for your H1 tag, use something else.

For your additional H2, H3 or H4, try different log tail search terms.

Try to have a minimum of 500 words in the body of the page with images and link to the content from other pages internally.

You will then rank for long tail search terms even by accident!

zimmerseo

Using the keyword Galway by itself, isn't a great idea. It's too broad.

As an example, if you are trying to rank for "things to do with the family in Galway", use that in your URL.
Then use something like, "10 essential Places To Bring The Kids In Galway" as the page title, then for your H1 tag, use something else.

For your additional H2, H3 or H4, try different log tail search terms.

Try to have a minimum of 500 words in the body of the page with images and link to the content from other pages internally.

You can use stop words in your URL's, but they are ignored by Google. I wouldn't use them in Page titles and descriptions, purely because they use up valuable real estate.

You will then rank for long tail search terms even by accident!

mneylon

While using more keywords in the URL itself *might* help, it's not a silver bullet.

If you're using Wordpress (self-hosted) have a look at Yoast SEO, which can help reduce some of the duplicate content and also help analyse and score your content as you write it.

Bear in mind, of course, that any tools or "tricks" can only move the needle part of the way.

You'll also need to work on getting links to your site ie. building authority