How to Find Long Tail Keywords using Ahrefs

Most people using Ahrefs are sitting on a goldmine and don’t even know it. They run a keyword search, look at the volume column, filter for anything above 1,000 searches per month, and call it a day. That approach works fine if you’re competing against nobody. For the rest of us, long tail keywords are where the real traffic – the kind that actually converts – lives.

I’ve been doing SEO professionally for years, and I’ll tell you straight: the clients who see the fastest organic growth aren’t the ones targeting “running shoes.” They’re targeting “best trail running shoes for wide feet under $100.” That specificity is exactly what long tail keyword research in Ahrefs helps you uncover. Let me walk you through exactly how I do it.

What Are Long Tail Keywords and Why Do They Matter?

Long tail keywords are search phrases typically containing three or more words that reflect specific user intent, lower search volume, and reduced keyword difficulty. Despite lower individual search volumes, long tail keywords collectively account for the majority of all search queries and tend to drive higher conversion rates because they match more precise user intent.

The term “long tail” comes from the statistical distribution of search demand. A handful of head terms command the bulk of search volume, but the long, extended tail of millions of specific, niche queries actually represents the larger opportunity – especially for newer or smaller websites that can’t yet compete for the big keywords.

What I find particularly useful about long tail keywords is their intent clarity. When someone searches “how to fix a leaking bathroom faucet without a plumber,” there’s no ambiguity about what they need. Compare that to someone searching “faucet” – you genuinely don’t know if they want to buy one, fix one, or find out who invented the thing. Long tail searches collapse that ambiguity entirely.

“Long tail keywords aren’t the consolation prize in SEO. For most websites, they’re the main event. Ignoring them in favor of high-volume head terms is one of the most common and costly mistakes I see site owners make.”

Setting Up Ahrefs for Effective Long Tail Keyword Research

Before diving into specific methods, you need to understand the Ahrefs tools that matter most for this kind of research: Keywords Explorer, Site Explorer, and Content Gap. Each serves a distinct purpose in your long tail keyword discovery workflow.

Keywords Explorer is your primary weapon. It pulls from Ahrefs’ enormous keyword database and gives you filtering capabilities that, when used properly, let you drill directly into the long tail with precision. Site Explorer is where you reverse-engineer competitors. Content Gap is where you find the keywords your competitors rank for that you don’t – which is often loaded with long tail gold.

Method 1: Using Keywords Explorer to Find Long Tail Keywords

To find long tail keywords in Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, enter a broad seed keyword, then apply filters for low Keyword Difficulty (KD under 20), low monthly search volume (100–1,000), and word count of three or more words. This combination surfaces specific, lower-competition queries your site can realistically rank for.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Enter your seed keyword. Start broad. If you’re an accountant targeting small businesses, enter “small business accounting” or just “accounting.” Don’t overthink the starting point – the filtering does the heavy lifting.
2. Go to the “Matching Terms” or “Related Terms” report. Matching Terms shows keywords that contain your seed phrase. Related Terms casts a wider net and includes semantically related queries that Ahrefs has identified through clickstream and correlation data.
3. Apply the KD filter. Set Keyword Difficulty to a maximum of 20, or even 15 if your domain authority is on the lower end. This removes the high-competition terms and exposes the long tail landscape underneath.
4. Filter by word count. Use the “Include” filter and set minimum words to three or four. This eliminates most head terms by definition.
5. Set a volume range. I typically look at 50–1,000 monthly searches. Anything below 50 may not be worth a dedicated page unless you’re in a niche where every visitor has very high commercial value. Anything above 1,000 with a KD under 20 is rare and worth extra attention.
6. Sort by Traffic Potential, not Volume. This is a nuance many people miss. Traffic Potential in Ahrefs estimates the total traffic the top-ranking page gets across all the related keyword variations – not just that one query. A keyword with 200 monthly searches might have a Traffic Potential of 2,000 because of all the semantic variants people use to find the same information.

Using the “Questions” Filter

Inside Keywords Explorer, there’s a “Questions” tab that filters results to show only question-based queries: who, what, how, why, when, which, where. This is especially powerful for long tail discovery because question-format queries are almost always long tail by nature, and they align with high-intent information seekers who are in a research phase before making a decision.

When I use this filter for a client in the legal services space, for example, I regularly find question-based long tail terms like “how much does a small claims court filing cost” that have almost no competition, direct commercial relevance, and map perfectly to a specific FAQ page or blog post.

Method 2: Competitor Analysis via Site Explorer

In Ahrefs Site Explorer, enter a competitor’s domain, navigate to the “Organic Keywords” report, then filter for low-KD keywords with three or more words and lower search volumes. This reveals the long tail keywords your competitors are already successfully ranking for, giving you a validated list of opportunities.

Why This Works Better Than Starting From Scratch

Here’s something I always tell clients: your competitors have already done part of the research for you. If a site similar to yours in authority and topic focus is ranking for a long tail keyword, that’s real-world proof that keyword is attainable. You’re not guessing at whether the difficulty metrics are accurate – you’re seeing actual evidence of ranking potential.

The Practical Workflow

1. Open Site Explorer and enter a competitor’s domain.
2. Navigate to Organic Keywords.
3. Filter by KD: set max to 20.
4. Filter by Position: set to 1–10 to see only keywords where they’re actually on the first page.
5. Apply a word count filter of 3+ words using the Include filter.
6. Export the list, then cross-reference with your own site to identify gaps.

What I often find when doing this is a cluster of long tail keywords that all orbit a similar topic. That’s your signal to build a content hub around that topic – one pillar page supported by multiple long tail focused supporting articles. It’s one of the most reliable content strategies I’ve seen work across industries.

Method 3: Content Gap Analysis for Long Tail Discovery

Ahrefs’ Content Gap tool lets you compare your domain against multiple competitors simultaneously, revealing keywords they rank for that your site doesn’t. When filtered for low difficulty and longer phrase length, this becomes one of the most efficient methods for finding actionable long tail keyword opportunities at scale.

How to Run a Content Gap Analysis

1. In Site Explorer, enter your own domain.
2. Click on Content Gap in the left sidebar.
3. Enter two to four competitor domains in the “Competitors” fields.
4. Run the analysis.
5. Filter results: set intersections to “2 competitors” or more – this means at least two of your competitors rank for the keyword, which doubles the validation that it’s worth targeting.
6. Apply your usual KD and word count filters.

The beauty of this method is efficiency. Instead of manually reviewing multiple competitor keyword profiles, you get a consolidated list of long tail opportunities that your market has validated, filtered to your specific competitive context.

Method 4: Mining the “Also Rank For” and “Also Talk About” Features

Inside Keywords Explorer, after you’ve looked at a specific keyword, Ahrefs shows you two additional data sets that are frequently overlooked: Also Rank For and Also Talk About.

Also Rank For shows other keywords that the top-ranking pages for your query also rank for. This is essentially how Ahrefs reverse-engineers the topical footprint of successful content around your target keyword – and it often surfaces long tail variations that keyword generators completely miss because they’re based on actual ranking behavior, not just search volume patterns.

Also Talk About goes one layer deeper. These are terms and entities that appear frequently in the content of pages ranking for your keyword, even if those pages don’t necessarily rank for those specific terms. Think of it as a semantic fingerprint of what the best-ranking content covers. Using these terms in your own content helps with topical relevance and often surfaces long tail angle ideas you hadn’t considered.

“The ‘Also Talk About’ data in Ahrefs is one of the most underused features in the tool. It’s essentially a free semantic SEO analysis telling you exactly what related concepts should appear in your content to compete with the top-ranking pages.”

Method 5: Using SERP Features to Validate and Expand Long Tail Keywords

Within Keywords Explorer, when you click on any keyword, you can see the SERP overview including what features appear in the results – featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, related searches, and so on. This matters for long tail research because:

• People Also Ask (PAA) boxes are direct windows into related long tail queries Google considers semantically connected to your target keyword. Click through these in actual Google SERPs to find nested PAA questions – they go several layers deep and often contain highly specific long tail questions that have thin competitive coverage.
• Featured snippet eligibility: If a long tail keyword already shows a featured snippet, that’s a sign that question-format, direct-answer content is what ranks. You have a clear content format to target.
• SERP volatility: Ahrefs shows position history and SERP volatility for keywords. A long tail keyword with high volatility but low KD might mean Google is still figuring out what the best result is – which is an opportunity to claim that position with well-optimized content.

How to Evaluate Long Tail Keywords Beyond Search Volume

One of the biggest mistakes I see is treating Keyword Difficulty and search volume as the only filters that matter. Here are the other factors I evaluate when shortlisting long tail keywords:

The clicks-to-searches ratio deserves special attention. A long tail keyword with 500 monthly searches but a 0.4 click ratio – where 60% of searches result in no clicks because Google answers the query in the SERP itself – has far less actual traffic potential than the volume number suggests. Ahrefs shows this metric, and it’s worth checking for every keyword you’re considering.

Organizing Long Tail Keywords Into Clusters

Finding long tail keywords is only half the work. The other half is knowing what to do with them. My approach is to group related long tail keywords into topic clusters based on shared search intent and semantic similarity.

Ahrefs helps with this through its Parent Topic feature. When you look at a keyword in Keywords Explorer, Ahrefs shows you the “Parent Topic” – the broader keyword that the top-ranking page tends to rank for. If multiple long tail keywords share the same Parent Topic, they should probably be addressed within the same piece of content rather than as separate pages.

For example, if your long tail keywords are “how to track keyword rankings in Ahrefs,” “Ahrefs keyword position tracking,” and “check keyword rankings using Ahrefs,” these all map to the same parent topic and the same user intent. You don’t need three separate pages. You need one well-structured page that answers all three with natural, comprehensive coverage.

This cluster approach also protects you from keyword cannibalization – a situation where multiple pages on your site compete for the same query and effectively cancel each other out in the SERPs.

Common Mistakes When Finding Long Tail Keywords in Ahrefs

• Ignoring Traffic Potential in favor of raw volume. Volume tells you how many searches a specific phrase gets. Traffic Potential tells you the realistic upside of ranking for it. Always prioritize Traffic Potential.
• Setting KD as the only competition filter. KD is calculated based on the number of referring domains pointing to the top-ranking pages. A keyword with KD 15 might still be dominated by authoritative pages from large sites that are just weakly linked. Always look at the actual SERP to see who you’re competing with.
• Chasing volume instead of intent. A long tail keyword with clear commercial or transactional intent and 150 monthly searches is worth more to most businesses than an informational keyword with 2,000 monthly searches where no one is anywhere near making a decision.
• Not checking whether Ahrefs can actually show meaningful data for ultra-low volume terms. Below about 10 monthly searches, the data becomes estimated and less reliable. These terms can still be worth targeting, but don’t make major content decisions based on them.
• Creating thin content for each long tail keyword. Targeting a long tail keyword with a 300-word page optimized exclusively for that phrase is a relic of old SEO thinking. Modern search requires substantive, expert content that earns rankings through genuine topical depth.

Expert Tips for Advanced Long Tail Keyword Research in Ahrefs

Use the “Newly Discovered” Filter

In the Matching Terms report, Ahrefs lets you filter for keywords that have been recently added to their database. These are emerging queries – often long tail – that haven’t yet attracted competitor content. Being early to these keywords before competition develops is one of the fastest paths to first-page rankings.

Combine Ahrefs Data With Your Own GSC Performance

Connect Google Search Console to Ahrefs through the integrations feature, or simply cross-reference your GSC data manually. GSC often shows you long tail keywords your site is already appearing for in positions 11–30 – queries you’re close to ranking for but haven’t fully optimized. These are your fastest wins because the search engine already considers you relevant to the query.

Target Long Tail Keywords With Existing Featured Snippets You Can Steal

In Keywords Explorer, filter for keywords where the SERP feature “Featured snippet” appears. Then check which site currently holds the snippet. If it’s a weaker site (lower Domain Rating than yours), or if the existing snippet content is thin and poorly structured, this is a direct opportunity to produce better-formatted content and capture that position.

Run Keyword Research Against Industry Forums and Q&A Sites

Enter domains like Reddit, Quora, or industry-specific forums into Site Explorer. Look at their organic keyword profiles filtered for your niche. These sites rank for enormous numbers of long tail, question-format queries – and they’re essentially showing you exactly what real people in your industry are searching for in their own language.

Myths vs. Facts About Long Tail Keywords and Ahrefs

Building a Long Tail Keyword Research Workflow You Can Repeat

Here’s the simplified workflow I use and recommend to clients who want a repeatable, scalable process for finding long tail keywords in Ahrefs:

1. Define your seed keywords – broad topics relevant to your business (5–10 seeds per research session).
2. Run Matching Terms and Related Terms in Keywords Explorer for each seed.
3. Apply filters: KD max 20, volume 50–1,500, word count 3+, Questions tab if applicable.
4. Sort by Traffic Potential descending.
5. Review the SERP for the top 20–30 results to confirm real-world rankability.
6. Run competitor analysis in Site Explorer for your two to three closest competitors.
7. Run Content Gap analysis against the same competitors.
8. Group keywords by Parent Topic and intent into content clusters.
9. Prioritize clusters by business relevance and Traffic Potential.
10. Create or update content with genuine depth and expert-level coverage.

This process, done quarterly, gives most sites a consistent pipeline of content opportunities grounded in real search demand rather than guesswork.

Work With an SEO Expert Who Knows How to Turn Data Into Rankings

Ahrefs gives you the data. Knowing exactly what to do with it – how to filter intelligently, how to evaluate real opportunity versus misleading metrics, how to structure content around long tail clusters – that’s where experience makes the difference.

At Affordable SEO Expert, I help businesses move beyond surface-level keyword research and build content strategies grounded in deep, methodical keyword analysis. If you’re spending time in Ahrefs but not seeing the rankings growth you expect, the issue is usually not the tool – it’s the methodology behind how you’re using it.

If you want a keyword strategy built specifically for your site’s authority level, competitive landscape, and business goals, get in touch. Let’s turn your Ahrefs data into traffic that actually matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What filters should I use in Ahrefs to find long tail keywords?

In Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, use the following filter combination for effective long tail discovery: set Keyword Difficulty (KD) to a maximum of 20, set monthly search volume between 50 and 1,500, and apply a word count filter of three or more words using the “Include” option. Sort results by Traffic Potential rather than raw volume to prioritize keywords with the highest realistic traffic upside. For question-format long tail keywords, use the “Questions” tab within the report.

How is Traffic Potential different from search volume in Ahrefs?

Search volume in Ahrefs shows the estimated number of monthly searches for that specific keyword phrase. Traffic Potential estimates the total organic traffic the top-ranking page receives across all keyword variations related to the topic – including synonyms, related phrases, and long tail variants. Traffic Potential is a more accurate representation of the actual ranking opportunity because content rarely ranks for just one keyword; it typically attracts traffic from dozens or hundreds of semantically related queries.

Can I find long tail keywords in Ahrefs without using Keywords Explorer?

Yes. Ahrefs Site Explorer and Content Gap analysis are both highly effective for finding long tail keywords without starting in Keywords Explorer. In Site Explorer, enter a competitor’s domain and navigate to Organic Keywords, then filter for low-KD, multi-word phrases. Content Gap lets you enter multiple competitor domains simultaneously to reveal long tail keywords they rank for that your site doesn’t target, providing a validated list of opportunities directly relevant to your niche and competitive landscape.

What is a good Keyword Difficulty score for long tail keywords when using Ahrefs?

For most websites, targeting long tail keywords with a Keyword Difficulty of 0–20 in Ahrefs is the most realistic starting range. Sites with a Domain Rating (DR) below 30 should focus primarily on KD 0–10. Sites with a DR between 30 and 60 can comfortably target KD 10–25. Domains with DR above 60 can push into KD 25–40 territory for long tail terms. However, KD should always be verified against the actual SERP to confirm whether the top-ranking pages are realistically beatable with your current authority level.

How often should I perform long tail keyword research in Ahrefs?

Long tail keyword research should be performed at minimum quarterly for any actively growing site. Search behavior evolves continuously – new questions emerge, user language shifts, and competitor content landscapes change. Ahrefs continuously updates its keyword database with newly discovered terms, so running regular research sessions ensures you capture emerging long tail opportunities before competitors do. Sites in fast-moving industries like technology, finance, or health should consider monthly research cycles to stay ahead of shifting demand patterns.

Summary: Key Takeaways for Finding Long Tail Keywords in Ahrefs

• Use Keywords Explorer with KD max 20, volume 50–1,500, and word count 3+ as your baseline filter set.
• Sort by Traffic Potential, not raw search volume, to find keywords with the greatest realistic upside.
• Use the Questions tab for question-format long tail queries that align with informational and research-phase intent.
• Mine competitor organic keyword profiles in Site Explorer to validate attainable long tail opportunities.
• Use Content Gap analysis against multiple competitors to find validated keyword targets at scale.
• Check the Parent Topic to determine whether multiple long tail keywords should be consolidated into one comprehensive piece of content.
• Always verify Ahrefs data against the actual SERP to confirm real-world competitiveness.
• Treat long tail keyword research as a recurring process, not a one-time project.