Long Tail Vs Short Tail

Short Tail - A short 3 word or less keyword phrase

Example: free design templates

Long Tail - A keyword phrase over 3 words

Example: where can I find a template for my website for free

Down to some facts you need to look at though.

1) Short Tail can be tough to compete with if there is a bunch of competitiion. Normally in these highly competitive markets the long tail can be the way to go.

2) Traffic/Research is absolutely necessary. Use something like semrush to find out what kind of traffic different keywords or sites generate. Dont just foolishly start stuffing title tags and keywords/content into your site without really studying the keywords, simple things like singular and plural make a big difference.

3) Get some good content on the site. If you have got 3 sentences on a page and your competitor has 10 sentences with more words describing the service or product and you both have similar page authority.. guess whose getting the long tail? Yep, your friendly competitor.
So, add content and build links and you will be shocked to see the kinds of content that come to the site after amonth or two.