Difference between ranking Short and Long Tail Keywords

[mediamonster]

Long tail keywords are hard to find and short tail keywords are hard to rank. What is the basic difference in between Short Tail Keywords and Long Tail keywords to get ranked in the SERP's?

[motionz]

There isn't any difference between them. Short tail keywords are highly competitive and if you want to get ranked in them then you will have to be one of the most popular site of your niche otherwise its not possible. And in the case of long tail keywords they may be hard to find but they are more specific and have mush less competition so they are much easier to rank.

[brian]

Basically there isn't any difference and no other strategy to rank them. Its just the fact that short tails are highly competitive so people target long ones, they may be hard to find but it worth the hard work.

[frank]

The major key to rank on short tail keywords is that you have to be one of the most authoritative and mass backlinked site.

[siva s]

Short tail keyword : Given the competitiveness of short tail keywords, you’ll have a hard time ranking high on search engines.
Long tail keyword : Since long tail keywords are phrases that make more sense within the text versus generic keywords, your content is more readable.

[amanrai]

There is no difference between them. One more thing, it is easier to rank long tail keywords.

[davidsmith21]

Short tail keywords are 3 words or less. Examples include: “athletic apparel,” “DVD player,” or “engagement ring.” Short tail keywords are also known as “head terms”.
Long tail words are more than 3 words.Long tail keywords are obviously a lot more specific than short tail keywords

[RH-Calvin]

Short tail keywords have high search volumes and are more difficult to rank. But ranking short keywords will give you maximum benefit in search engines. Alternatively long tail keywords have less number of searches in search engines and they can be easily used to rank webpages in search engines.

[EthanR]

Short Tail Keywords are short in size just like 2-3 words and hard to get in a Search engine. But Long tail keywords are bigger in size like 5-7 words or more than that and easy to get in a search engine as they have less volume.

[mediamonster]

I asked this question when I was a newbie. Now after all these years I feel stupid.