If you want to improve your visibility in Google, the first step is to figure out which searches you want to be visible for. That might sound obvious, but it is the step most small business owners skip.
Most businesses have some idea of what they want to rank for. They have a few “dream keywords,” usually the broad term that describes their type of business, like “dentist” or “plumber” or “accountant.” But effective keyword research goes well beyond that. You need to map out a full list of keywords that ranges from those dream keywords, to the specific services and products you provide, to the research-focused terms people search when they are looking for information about what you do.
From there, you map each keyword to a page on your website. Sometimes you will find that a keyword fits a page you already have. Other times you will discover that there is no page on your site for a keyword that your customers are clearly searching for, which means you have found a gap worth filling with a new page or blog post.
That process is what turns SEO from a guessing game into a strategy. In the 4 Rs of SEO, Research comes first for a reason. If you target the wrong keywords, everything that follows, your content, your optimization, your link building, is pointed in the wrong direction.
Over the years, our team has done keyword research for hundreds of small businesses, and the most common mistake we see is not a lack of research. It is picking keywords that are either too broad to rank for or too vague to attract the right audience. The goal is to find the keywords where the person searching is most likely to become your customer.
Start with What Your Customers Are Actually Searching
Before you open any keyword tool, start with your customers. What do they ask you when they call? What questions come up during sales conversations? What problems are they trying to solve when they find you?
These conversations are keyword research in its most natural form. A plumber who hears “my basement is flooding” three times a week has just identified a keyword opportunity. An accountant whose clients keep asking “do I need to file quarterly taxes” has found a content topic that real people are searching for.
Write down every question, problem, and phrase you hear from customers. Then use a keyword research tool to check the search volume and competition for those phrases. You will almost always find that the things your customers ask you are the same things they are typing into Google.
You do not need an expensive tool to get started. Ubersuggest is a free keyword research tool that shows you search volume, competition, and related keyword ideas. Google Keyword Planner is also free if you set up a Google Ads account (you do not need to run ads to use it). If you want to go deeper, our team uses Ahrefs, which is a paid tool but gives you more detailed data on competition, backlinks, and what your competitors are ranking for. Any of these will work. The important thing is to start with real search data rather than guessing.
Separate Buying Intent from Research Intent
This is the most important distinction in keyword research, and it is the one most businesses miss.
Buying Intent Keywords
Buying intent keywords are phrases from people who are ready to hire or buy. “Emergency plumber near me,” “accountant for small business,” or “SEO services for dentists” all signal that the person is looking for a solution right now.
We sometimes call these “bullseye keywords” because someone searching that phrase is an A+ prospect for your business. Your services are a perfect match for their search intent.
These are your highest-priority keywords because they are the ones most likely to generate a phone call or a form submission. Your dream keywords often fall into this category, but the broad version (“dentist”) is usually too competitive. The more specific version (“cosmetic dentist in Hartford”) is where the real opportunity is. For more on finding those less competitive variations, read our article on how to find low-competition keywords.
Research Intent Keywords
Research intent keywords are phrases from people who are still gathering information. “How to fix a leaky faucet,” “do I need a CPA,” or “what is SEO” all indicate curiosity, not urgency.
These are valuable for blog content and building long-term authority, but they should not be your starting point.
Start with Buying Intent, Then Build Out
When our team builds an SEO strategy for a client, we always start with buying intent keywords. We optimize the homepage and service pages for the terms that attract people who are ready to take action. Then we build out content targeting research intent keywords over time to capture people earlier in their decision-making process.
If your website only targets research intent keywords, you will get traffic from people looking for free information. If it only targets buying intent keywords, you will miss the chance to build trust with people before they are ready to buy. You need both, but start with buying intent.
Think Local Before You Think Broad
For most small businesses, adding your city or service area to a keyword changes everything. “Dentist” has enormous competition and is impossible to rank for nationally. “Dentist in West Hartford” is a completely different story.
Local keywords are almost always less competitive, more relevant to your actual customer base, and more likely to convert. When we do keyword research for a local SEO campaign, the local modifier is where we start, not where we end up.
If you serve a specific geographic area, make sure every important keyword on your list has a local variation. Then check which ones have enough search volume to justify a dedicated page. For more on how long-tail keywords work and why they often outperform shorter, more competitive phrases, we have a dedicated article on that.
Look at What Your Competitors Are Doing
One of the fastest ways to find good keywords is to look at which ones are already working for your competitors. If a competitor in your market is ranking on the first page for a relevant keyword, that tells you two things: the keyword has value, and it is possible to rank for it.
Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush let you enter a competitor’s website and see which keywords are driving their organic traffic. You are not trying to copy their strategy. You are looking for opportunities they are ranking for that you are not, and keywords where you could create stronger, more relevant content. For a step-by-step walkthrough of this process, read our guide on how to conduct an SEO competitor analysis.
When our team does a competitive analysis, we often find that competitors are ranking for keywords with outdated or thin content. Those are the best opportunities because the bar to outrank them is lower than you might expect.
Evaluate and Prioritize Your List
It is tempting to chase high-volume keywords because the numbers look impressive. But a keyword that gets 10,000 searches per month and is dominated by national brands is not an opportunity for most small businesses. A keyword that gets 200 searches per month with low competition and strong buying intent might generate more leads than the high-volume term ever would.
When evaluating a keyword, ask three questions:
Is it relevant? Would someone searching this phrase be a potential customer? If the intent is ambiguous, it is probably not worth targeting.
Can you compete? Look at who is currently ranking. If the first page is dominated by national brands, major publications, or sites with hundreds of backlinks, you will need to find a less competitive variation.
Will it convert? A keyword that drives traffic but not leads is not helping your business. Buying intent keywords convert at a much higher rate than research intent keywords, which is why they should be prioritized.
When we evaluate keywords for clients, we think about it as grading opportunities. An A-grade keyword is highly relevant, has manageable competition, and signals buying intent. A C-grade keyword might get more searches but is vague, competitive, or unlikely to convert. Start with your A-grade keywords and work your way down.
Map Your Keywords to Pages
Once you have a prioritized list, map each keyword to a specific page on your website. Your homepage should target your most important keyword. Each service page should target a specific buying intent keyword. Blog posts should target research intent keywords and long-tail variations.
This is where you will find the gaps. If you have a keyword on your list that does not match any existing page, that is a signal that you need to create one. Maybe you offer a service that has no dedicated page on your site. Maybe your customers are asking questions that you have never addressed in a blog post. Those gaps are your biggest opportunities.
A simple spreadsheet with three columns works well: keyword, search volume, and the page it maps to. This becomes your SEO roadmap and makes it easy to see where you have coverage and where you need to build. If you are creating new pages to fill those gaps, make sure the structure of your website supports them properly.
One important note: make sure each keyword maps to only one page. When two pages on your site target the same phrase, Google has to choose which one to show, and it does not always pick the one you would want.
Keyword Research Is Not a One-Time Project
Your keyword list should evolve as your business grows and as search behavior changes. New services, new competitors, and shifts in how people search all mean that the keywords that matter today may not be the same ones that matter next year.
We recommend revisiting your keyword research at least once a quarter. Check which keywords are driving traffic and conversions in Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Look for new opportunities. Drop the ones that are not performing. Treat your keyword list like a living document, not a finished project.
Need Help with SEO?
If you want help identifying the right keywords and building an SEO strategy that generates leads, request a free SEO assessment and our team will take a look.
