# What’s the difference between long-tail and short-tail keyword staking?

 Short-tail keywords (like “best”) trigger ads when a user starts their search with that word, for example,
 “best cookies.” Long-tail keywords (like “the best”) only trigger ads if a user searches that exact phrase
 with nothing after it. So if someone searches “the best bicycle brand,” the ad will only show if that full
 phrase was staked. If not, the ad staked on the first word (“the”) would show instead.

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