How to Find Long-Tail Keywords (With Real Examples)
Long-tail keywords are where most SEO wins happen, especially for new sites. They're longer, more specific, and far less competitive than head terms. I've built sites to thousands of monthly visitors targeting nothing but long-tails. Here's how to find them systematically.
Use 'Questions' and 'Prepositions' filters in your keyword tool
Most keyword tools let you filter by question words (who, what, where, how, why) or prepositions (for, with, without). These filters surface exactly the kind of specific queries your audience is typing — and they're almost always lower difficulty.
Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool has a dedicated Questions filter that isolates question-based long-tails instantly. Run any seed keyword through it and you'll have dozens of specific targets.
Budget alternative: Ubersuggest (from $29/mo)
Mine Google's 'People Also Ask' and autocomplete
Type your main keyword into Google and note every autocomplete suggestion that appears. Then click a result and look at the 'People Also Ask' box — every question there is a long-tail keyword that Google is actively surfacing.
KWFinder's related keywords panel pulls in autocomplete and related terms automatically, so you don't have to do this manually for every seed.
Budget alternative: KeySearch (from $17/mo)
Filter for keywords with 4+ words and low KD
In your keyword tool, set a minimum word count of 4 and a maximum keyword difficulty of 20-25. This is the long-tail sweet spot. You'll find specific phrases with clear intent and real search volume that most competitors haven't targeted.
LowFruits specialises in surfacing weak SERP results — which directly corresponds to long-tail keywords you can realistically rank for without a strong domain.
Budget alternative: Mangools (from $49/mo)
Analyse competitor rankings for their long-tail pages
Run a competitor's domain through a backlink/keyword tool and filter their ranking pages by those with low traffic but high page count — these are usually long-tail content pages. If they're ranking for them, you can too.
Ahrefs' Site Explorer shows every keyword a competitor ranks for. Filter by position 1-10 and volume 50-500 to find their best long-tail pages — then create better versions.
Budget alternative: Serpstat (from $59/mo)
Validate intent before writing
Not all long-tails are equal. Search the keyword yourself and check whether the results are informational (blog posts), commercial (comparison pages), or transactional (product pages). Match your content type to what's already ranking.
Semrush's Keyword Overview shows search intent categorisation alongside volume and difficulty — saving you the guesswork of manual SERP inspection.
Budget alternative: SE Ranking (from $65/mo)