Keyword modifiers are a great way to produce powerful long-tail search phrases. All you need to do is choose an appropriate modifier and replace “enter keywords here” with your seed keyword term.
(A keyword modifier is simply a term you add to the front or back of your targeted keyword phrase to give it a more precise meaning).
To illustrate keyword modifiers in action, let’s look at a few examples:
Yesterday, we looked at the seed phrase, “winter boots,” and found the top 5 results were “winter boots,” “women’s winter boots,” “men’s winter boots,” “sorel winter boots” and “tote winter boots.”
In this example, the 2-word phrase “winter boots” is the seed phrase, while “women’s,” “men’s,” etc… are basic modifiers that more precisely pinpoint the intended audience or specific type of boot.
However, these modified terms only contain 3 words, so it may be difficult to rank well for them right away. (It may be possible – just talking ‘in general’ at this point).
This doesn’t mean all is lost, however. You can still target those terms long-term (by including them in your long-tail search phrase), while steadily building free organic traffic in the immediate future.
Here’s How:
Instead of targeting just “women’s winter boots” – you could instead go after “buy women’s winter boots” or “buy women’s winter boots online.” Although there will be fewer searches for these longer phrases, the traffic that results from them will be highly targeted and qualified. I don’t know about you, but if I had an ecommerce site that sold women’s winter boots online – I would want as much of that “buy women’s winter boots online” traffic as I could possibly get! 
The best part is while you are building anchor text backlinks to your page for this long-tail search phrase (and getting near-term traffic as a result) – you are also including the more heavily searched “women’s winter boots” and the really big “winter boots” in those all-important links.
As your site ages and gains more authority (thanks to all those links you are building around that great content you are creating!) – you will start to rank for more and more of those more competitive shorter terms. The best part is you can create an almost endless number of variations once you get the hang of it.
Types of Keyword Modifiers
Keyword modifiers come in many different flavors. For example, they can signify commercial intent (“buy” or “order”), geographic location (“Ohio” or “Boston”), targeted audience (“career women”), or they can be more general (“tips” or “articles”). The possibilities are nearly endless! Unfortunately, there is only so much we can cover in the scope of a single blog post, but I hope this helps get your creative juices flowing.
If you want to learn more about keyword modifiers and how to use them effectively, Susanne Myers offers a 16-page bonus report on this topic as part of her 12-week link-building program. This in-depth report offers a lot more specific examples of keyword modifiers you can use, along with recommendations on when and where to use them.
Well, that wraps up Week 1 of the 90-Day Challenge. How are you feeling about the progress you’ve made this week? Whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t accomplish every single thing you set out to do. (I have some catching up to do on building backlinks myself). The important part is that you do something – no matter how small – on a consistent basis.
Content Marketing is not a sprint, it is a marathon!
Be sure to check back next week – we will cover the on-page factors you’ll need to consider as we launch into content creation. Plus, we’ll have a guest post from Susanne on “Link-Building Tips for the Time-Strapped.”
(I don’t know about you, but I am really looking forward to that!)
Til Next Time,
PS It’s not too late to sign up for the 90-Day Content Marketing Challenge. When you join, you will immediately receive a worksheet to help you get started, plus your Week 1 Action Plan. Subsequent action plans will then arrive about once a week to help walk you through setting up your own comprehensive Content Marketing strategy. (Use the form below to join today!)
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Great stuff!! Thanks so much for all the inspiration – and thanks for the answers to my questions yesterday.
You are welcome! How did you do in Week 1?
Very useful post and the advice from Susanne Meyers was also really useful. I’m planning a couple of articles using the anchoring method she outlined this weekend.
This is a very informative article.
Is it ok to add modifiers to your target keyword phrase even if you don’t see any searches for the “modifier + target keyword phrase” when you do keyword research with some tool like Market Samurai etc?
Thanks Rebecca – I’m glad you found it (and Susanne’s bonus link-building lesson) helpful!
Hi Satu
Yes, it is okay. Modifiers just help you cast a wider “net” and will help you see results sooner.
As you start targeting longer-tail keyword phrases (by adding individual modifiers or stringing several together) – you will notice that you start to see traffic from terms that don’t quite match what you are targeting, but include your ‘seed (shorter) term + some or all of the modifiers you are using.
Thanks for all the great info. As a newbie, I have to admit I’m in a little over my head with the 90 Day Challenge. I do appreciate the friendly reminders concerning goal setting and action plans!
Mike
Hey Mike
Don’t worry about being a ‘newbie’ – everyone has to start somewhere. You probably know more than you realize!
If you have any particular questions, just post them here – I’ll be more than happy to help you with them. I ask that you post questions related to the 90-Day Challenge here because if you have a question, I am willing to bet that someone else is wondering the same thing.
So, feel free to ask away!
I’ve recently started a blog, the information you provide on this site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.