A short-tail keyword is a broad search term, usually one to three words long, that covers a whole topic. Examples are “coffee machine” or “running shoes”. Also called a head keyword.
What characterizes short-tail keywords?
Sources agree on the pattern, though the exact word count varies between one to two and one to three words. These terms tend to have high search volume and heavy competition. The intent behind them is often mixed, since someone typing “coffee machine” may want to compare, buy, or learn how one works. All of this is a rule of thumb from SEO practice, not a definition from Google.
How do they differ from mid-tail and long-tail?
Mid-tail terms add a qualifier and long-tail terms describe a specific need in several words. Specific phrases usually have less volume and clearer intent. Many guides therefore use short-tail terms to map out topics and demand, and assign more specific phrases to individual pages.
Example
“coffee machine” is a short-tail keyword, “coffee machine with grinder” a mid-tail keyword and “coffee machine with grinder under 300 euros” a long-tail keyword. The table compares these types with other keyword types and search intents. The examples are invented.
| Type | Characteristic | Example | Category in Google's rater guidelines | Origin of the label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short tail (this term) | short, broad term at the head of the demand curve; intent is often unclear | “coffee machine” | – | counterpart to the long tail; no clear first source |
| Mid tail | between the head and the long end of the curve; more specific than short tail, broader than long tail | “coffee machine with grinder” | – | no clear first source |
| Long tail | specific, rarely searched query, usually several words long | “coffee machine with grinder under 300 euros” | – | term from Chris Anderson, “The Long Tail”, Wired, October 2004 |
| Informational | find information on a topic | “how to descale a coffee machine” | Know, special case Know Simple | Broder 2002, “A taxonomy of web search” |
| Navigational | reach a specific website or page | “reddit login” | Website | Broder 2002, “A taxonomy of web search” |
| Transactional | perform an activity on the web, such as buying or downloading | “buy coffee machine” | Do | Broder 2002, “A taxonomy of web search” |
| Commercial investigation | consider a purchase and compare first | “best coffee machine” | no category of its own | industry usage; neither in Broder nor in the rater guidelines |
| Visit-in-person | go to a nearby place, such as a shop | “gas stations” | Visit-in-Person | Search Quality Rater Guidelines, section 12.7.4 |
No primary source defines the boundaries between short, mid and long tail, whether by word count or by search volume. The table therefore gives no thresholds; the characteristics of the three tail types are based on practical experience. Google said in 2019 that 15 percent of daily queries were ones it had never seen before. Mapping Broder's types to Know, Website and Do is an inference, not a Google statement. According to the rater guidelines, a query can have several intents, and the line between Know and Do is often blurry. Examples are chosen freely; “reddit login” and “gas stations” come from the guidelines. Sources: Google: Search Quality Rater Guidelines, Abschnitt 12.7 Understanding User Intent (Ausgabe 11.09.2025); Broder, A.: A taxonomy of web search. SIGIR Forum 36(2), 2002; Anderson, C.: The Long Tail. Wired, Oktober 2004; Google Blog: Understanding searches better than ever before (2019). Last checked: .
Sources
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