Can a Weaker Site Outrank a Stronger Site for a Long-Tail Keyword the Strong Site isn't Optimized for?

[Bobish]

I have a KW Research question -

For product reviews I am trying to look for long-tail keywords as recommended - I have had success for a few in the past 3-4 months but there are certain areas of my niche that seem to be completely overtaken by a DR 70 site no matter how long the tail.

For example, if I was trying to write about lamps and "Best Outdoor Lamp" was taken by Site A and that article was also top ranked for "best outdoor lamp for small patios" and "best outdoor lamp for low roofs" despite not being specific to those or targeting them.

Is it possible to overtake these high DR sites by building a page with the right SEO for the long tail keyword or should I seek greener pastures for now?

For context - my DR is VERY low and I'm about 4 months into a completely fresh site.

 

[JamaicanMoose]

I have a KW Research question -

For product reviews I am trying to look for long-tail keywords as recommended - I have had success for a few in the past 3-4 months but there are certain areas of my niche that seem to be completely overtaken by a DR 70 site no matter how long the tail.

For example, if I was trying to write about lamps and "Best Outdoor Lamp" was taken by Site A and that article was also top ranked for "best outdoor lamp for small patios" and "best outdoor lamp for low roofs" despite not being specific to those or targeting them.

Is it possible to overtake these high DR sites by building a page with the right SEO for the long tail keyword or should I seek greener pastures for now?

For context - my DR is VERY low and I'm about 4 months into a completely fresh site.

Yes, it's possible. A good portion of my income comes from doing just that. One caveat is I build on extremely strong expired domains. It'll probably be more difficult for a brand new site like yours, but certainly not impossible.

 

[bernard]

I would say the general idea is to niche down until you find the sweet spot where you can get the top spots.

It makes sense as well in terms of the quality Google would like to see. You're raising the bar and giving better information for more specific searches. This is good. The more specific you can get the better.

Build your way up.

You can and should do a page for the top search, but it can be more general, and then you build it out as you work with the easier long tails.

 

[Ryuzaki]

@Bobish, to add to what the two gentlemen above said, all of which I agree with, I would argue that this is very possible and that I see it every day.

The key to beating them all boils down to the word "intent". You want to understand what the intent of the searcher is when they type the long-tail phrase. Then you want to serve that intent as specifically as possible with your content.

That's how a general page on a big site can be taken down. They rank well for random keywords they shouldn't because they have so much link power, age, and branding behind them. Google would rather see them in the SERPs than some random spammer. That's why those 3 variables are so strong.

But if you come in and you're not a spammer, but you deal with the intent of the query perfectly... you can win the SERP.

It's not going to be a freebie all the time though. You may still need more age, more links, more brand signals yourself so that "those + your intent" overcomes the bigger site just having "those" (those being age, links, brand signals).

Of course, don't forget about making sure you have perfect on-page SEO, too. Take every advantage you can get over bigger, lazier, more bureaucratic sites. Have better page speed, etc.

It is doable but the ROI might not be worth it when you can find other types of keywords to rank for for the time being until you yourself become a stronger competitor. Food for thought!

 

[Bobish]

This was super helpful everyone - I'll go for nailing the search intent and chipping away at the edges of the big guys. It might take some time but nothing like BuSo to help increase confidence that it can be done!

 

[Elon Tusk]

Definitely possible, I have several rankings at #1 "for best x for the money", but 50+ for "best x" in some cases (same product). Optimize titles for the long tails and you can rank by laser targeting low comp, if you get a stronger domain over time then you can rank for the "best x" kw as well.