Comments on: Is the Long Tail Short on Proof?

By: Beginner Yoga Exercises

Beginner Yoga Exercises — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:00:25 +0000

I think the majority out there believe in the long tail approach.

By: Goran Web Design

Goran Web Design — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:10:04 +0000

We have definitely seen an increase in the number of words that people use to search for websites and invariably convert, there is plenty of proof that long tail works.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:29:24 +0000

I adore this great book!

By: Symbian

Symbian — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:03:56 +0000

If you look at Poisson distribution you'll see the tail. Symbian's last blog post..Nokia S60 Symbian Windows Live client available in Europe

By: Warenwirtschaft

Warenwirtschaft — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:01:07 +0000

I think the difference lies in the business model for that you want to define the “long tail”.
For Adwords it sure makes sense because Ads for “longtail”-keywords are significantly cheaper than other ads. And it costs next to nothing to keep a long tail of keywords in your account.
But when you have a business model with real goods then every single good costs you in buying,financing,logistics and in the warehouse. And keeping stuff in the warehouse that is not sold can ruin your company. Here the old pareto-principle (80/20) is alive and kicking.

By: Linda Bustos

Linda Bustos — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:01:40 +0000

Great article, I totally hear you on the importance of long tail keywords for paid search – if only they were not so difficult to predict and manage

In terms of physical product inventory, the long tail, on demand model doesn’t fly for everyone. Amazon carries nearly every book, cd and movie title known to man and mp3 sites can carry every song ever written, but many businesses must focus on the hits. If they have competitors that can efficiently offer everything under the sun in that industry, then they’re at a HUGE disadvantage.

Linda Bustos’s last blog post..Why eCommerce is a Lot Like ICanHasCheezburger

By: Top Rated

Top Rated — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:52:18 +0000

Yes, the long tail is very much alive and kicking. I see it every day in my web logs. It is also very transient. It changes so much each day, you can't recognize from one day to the next. I think that's part of what makes it so tough for the academics to agree on. Top Rated's last blog post..The Top 10 Digital Cameras Ripped Apart

By: » Search Engine Optimization And Long Tail Search - Is It Real Search Engine Optimization Journal - SEO and Search Engine Marketing Blog

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:11:58 +0000

[...] Marketing Pilgrim’s post on Long Tail keywords being short on proof reports on a Wall Street Journal article on the same topic. The article’s author, Anita Elberse a marketing professor at Harvard Business School, questions whether or not long tail search will stand the test of time. From a search engine optimization perspective, the question is whether or not we can afford to ignore them. [...]

By: Joe Hall

Joe Hall — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:33:59 +0000

@Graham Jones, I agree. I think as marketers (that actually market things versus study marketing) we should all be skeptical of academics that try to dismiss something in it's entirety. In reality the world is very convoluted and can the internet is equally if not more less predictable. Joe Hall's last blog post..Top 5 National Real Estate Franchise Web Sites

By: Utah SEO Pro

Utah SEO Pro — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:24:27 +0000

This book is on my bookshelf with my favorites. The thing to remember is experimentation is key when analyzing and utilizing long-tail search results on the product level. Utah SEO Pro's last blog post..Interview with SEO: Brian Carter and Search Engine Journal Post

By: Keylogger Guy

Keylogger Guy — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:28:39 +0000

People who come to your site from long tail ones usually know exactly what they want (buy your goods?) So that’s enough and that’s great.

By: Web Marketing Man

Web Marketing Man — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:04:17 +0000

There are always different angles to take on any theory. From first hand experience I can definitely say that there is value in the long tail of search, awa in the short and sweet, especially for more general information. When people start refining their search queries the longer tailed terms definitely comes into their own.

By: Utah Search Engine Optimization

Utah Search Engine Optimization — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:08:04 +0000

I have personally seen the value of the long-tail as someone who works on an enterprise level site. Utah Search Engine Optimization's last blog post..Interview with SEO: Brian Carter and Search Engine Journal Post

By: Joshua Steimle

Joshua Steimle — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:10:08 +0000

I just read The Long Tail (the full book, not the article), and yes, if you want to get the basics you can just read the article and you’ll understand Long Tail theory just as well as someone who read the book. The book merely adds more detail and historical and modern-day examples. I don’t think Chris Anderson hypes TLT as being anything more than what it is–an interesting way of describing something that has been happening for years, and which seems to be even more relevant due to the Internet.

By: Vance Shutes

Vance Shutes — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:56:57 +0000

Frank,

Typical Harvard palaver. They think we’re all sheep, or lemmings, or some such idiot animals. Yeah, that’s the ticket! I’ll just buy the most popular media. Baloney!

How does the “distinguished” Harvard professor explain that the 1,999,998th song on iTunes gets one play a year? If that’s not conclusive proof of the long tail, nothing can be.

By: Hamilton Wallace

Hamilton Wallace — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:10:24 +0000

I’m a firm believer in the value of Long Tail terms when maximizing search marketing. They cost fewer PPC dollars, are more realistic for small companies to compete on for organic traffic and I agree, they often represent a more qualified search. If you’re doing PPC on a small budget you’re probably maxing out your daily budget every day. Try pausing your big traffic general terms and allowing your “longer tail” terms to soak up some of that budget. You may be pleasantly surprised. I have been.

By: PS3

PS3 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:42:00 +0000

The theories have been studied by statisticians since 1946 according to Wiki – about time they gave a definitive answer !

By: Graham Jones - Internet Psychologist

Graham Jones - Internet Psychologist — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:26:02 +0000

It’s not an “either-or” situation; you can have Long Tail economics AND the social economics that Elberse is talking about. Indeed, it has always been thus. Elberse is right that we tend to behave in a sheep like manner, but that does not in itself negate the Long Tail. Even before the Internet arrived we had Long Tail behaviour in a sheep like way. For instance, small groups of people would enjoy a particular movie or food – they’d be fanatical about it even. But the rest of us ignored them. They, however, continued to support their interest because of their social group. There is not one social group we belong to; we are members of myriads of social groups, online and offline. We are influenced by the groups, but those groups may have tiny interests – hence even group behaviour can support the Long Tail.

By: WD

WD — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:08:12 +0000

I knew when the long tail reached it’s tipping point that if you blinked it’d just disappear. Will marketers ever tire of someone stating the obvious and somehow filling a book to do so?