A search query with low individual volume but high specificity, typically three or more words long. Named for the long-tail shape of search-query frequency distributions: a small number of generic queries get the bulk of search volume, but the cumulative volume of millions of specific queries is larger still. Long-tail terms are usually easier to rank for, convert better, and stack — covering a topic comprehensively means picking up many low-volume related queries. Modern AI-generated query reformulations and "people also ask" boxes have further increased the value of long-tail coverage.