Choosing highly-searched keywords for SEO involves a little research and a lot of thinking like a potential customer or client.  Some keywords are simple and involve the most basic search terms relevant to your website.  However, these keywords tend to have high competition and will not always bring in customers relevant to the specifics of your business.  For example, a bakery specializing in unique, vegan cupcakes would benefit more using long-tail keywords such as “vegan chocolate cupcakes city, state” instead of “cupcakes city, state.”  The long-tail keyword brings in traffic searching specifically for vegan cupcakes, and since vegan cupcakes are not something all bakeries offer, the likelihood of someone visiting your shop for those exact vegan chocolate cupcakes is high.  Being found on Google is difficult when search results are overcrowded with not quite relevant websites.  Bringing in relevant traffic is key to return on investment.

Psychologically, long-tail keywords bring in customers who are closer to point of purchase and more likely to bring in a return on your investment.  For example, their search may have begun at “cupcakes city, state” and morphed into “vegan chocolate cupcakes city, state” as the customer realized they were not finding exactly what they were looking for with their basic search.  For a while, cupcakes were all the rage and bakeries specializing in the individual desserts were popping up all over.  It wasn’t enough to focus SEO on “cupcakes city, state” because competition was fierce and ranking highly was tough.  Long-tail keywords have less competition and it is easier to rank with them. They also bring in customers who are more likely to make a purchase and increase profits.