Longtail keyword definition seems fuzzy?

[eastco]

So we all know about longtail keyword vs. short tail. However, it seems that the definition is a bit inconsistant. Some people say longtail keywords are keywords that get very low amounts of traffic, others that they are key phrases with 2 or more words. And others add to this that they have high conversion rate but describe specific features, product, service, model # etc.

In an ideal model I suppose all of these things would be true. As keyword length increases, traffic tends to decrease, keyword is more specific pointing at features, model#, specific product etc and therefore the conversion rate is a bit higher as well.

However, the data isn't a perfect curve. I will see keywords that get 18,000 searches but have 4 words. And then I will see single word key phrases that get <10 -20 searches a month. What am I to consider these? Its like they fit half the criteria. Any comments on this would be helpful and appreciated. I suppose the real question I am after is - it seems like the real definition of a long tail keyword cant be any of the above traits of a long tail keyword. How do you really define a long tail keyword in all circumstances (without it being this subjective idealized definition based on a perfect model) and where would the keyword circumstances (lots of words but high traffic, and low traffic but 1 word) fall in the graph? Center?

[jesse-landry]

I'm confused by what exactly you're looking for here, but to make my answer totally general I'll say this:

I think that a "long-tail keyword" is one that reads more like a sentence than a phrase. For example, if I'm searching for how to change a tire on my ford focus I could type in

"changing tire ford focus"

or

"how to fix a flat tire on a ford focus"

...The first might be short-tail in this scenario whereas the second would be longer. The second won't get as many searches, sure. But I might find that this drives in an extra click or two and all I had to do was sneak this sentence into my article. E.G. "A lot of people ask me how to fix a flat tire on a Ford Focus." or something...

[MickEdwards]

For me longtail keywords are purely more finely focused keywords cascaded down from the big money/focus keywords whatever they may be.  So it doesn't matter if they are model related or how any words etc, they are just one way or another the closest thing you can get to a finer granularity exact match the next level from the big volume main keyword.  I think the target is selecting the ones with modest competition and a search volume.

[MikeRoberts]

Its like how a Square is a Square but also Rhombus and a Rectangle. Long tail keywords can be any and all of those definitions depending on the moment, your goals and your needs.

In most cases I wouldn't consider a Low Traffic term a "Long Tail Keyword" simply because it has low traffic. But I would argue that Long Tail Keywords are likely to have lower traffic than their short tail counterparts. People are more likely to search using shorter terms and phrases but sometimes a 4+ word combination can be popular. But I would argue that a Long Tail Keyword/term/phrase is likely to be 3, 4, 5+ words long. Can those words be all extremely product specific? Sure. Do they need to be? No. Are they more specific than a one or two word short tail phrase? Yes.

One word with low traffic is probably just a bad keyword to be using. A 4 word phrase with high traffic could just be a popular long tail search. In some cases it will depend on your industry. Some phrases can have multiple meanings. Just because a 4 word phrase has good traffic doesn't mean you need to use it if the first 3 pages in the SERPs are all sites devoted to a completely different concept that happens to have the same phrasing.