How do you target keywords?

[Claraviolet]

So, how exactly do you target keywords? Do you go for long-tail keywords? They are likely to get indexed unlike the normal keywords. Also, do you use these keywords often in your article? Also, do you use keywords in the alternate title of the image tag? I don't know whether it is an effective strategy or not, but most of the people these days, use that for some unknown reason.

As for me, I do target long tail keywords from time to time but I prefer the usage of normal keywords.