SEO
How to Do Keyword Research
Keyword research is listing the questions and jobs buyers already type, then choosing pages you can honestly serve — not harvesting a spreadsheet of vanity phrases. You start from language sales already hears, you check what Google currently shows for those phrases, and you assign one URL to each job you will keep. Volume estimates are a later filter. If you need the ranking loop around those pages, read how SEO works first.
Start from real buyer language
Open the last twenty enquiries, call notes, or chat transcripts. Write down the words people used, including the awkward ones. “Fix the website so leads stop disappearing” is a better seed than “digital transformation.” Ask whoever answers the phone which questions they repeat. Those phrases are your first list. Autocomplete and “people also ask” are useful after that, not before. They suggest variants; they do not tell you whether you fulfill the job.
Add the phrases already producing impressions in Search Console. That is demand you have touched, even if the page is a poor match. Group the list by the job, not by a tool’s folder names. “Emergency plumber Saturday,” “plumber near me,” and “24 hour plumber Memphis” may be one service page with a clear after-hours section, not three articles. Small-business SEO fails when each synonym becomes a thin URL you will not maintain.
- Seed the list from sales language, not from a competitor’s footer.
- Keep the messy phrasing; you can clean it when you write the title.
- Note the constraint in the query: city, industry, budget, emergency, DIY versus hire.
- Drop any phrase you cannot fulfill this quarter.
Intent types
Search intent is the job behind the query: learn something, compare options, find a local business, or buy. A page that answers the wrong job will not satisfy the searcher, and the result will not stay. You do not need a taxonomy of twelve intent labels. You need to say, in one sentence, what the person is trying to finish, and whether your URL can finish it.
| Job behind the query | What the results usually look like | Page you should consider |
|---|---|---|
| Learn | Definitions, how-tos, short explainers | A guide that answers, then links to a service |
| Compare | Tables, “versus” pages, roundups | An honest comparison you can stand behind |
| Find nearby | Map pack, local packs, location pages | Business Profile plus a page that names the place |
| Hire or buy | Service pages, product pages, pricing | A commercial URL with scope and a next step |
Mixed intent exists. “Wyoming LLC” can be a how-to for a founder and a formation service for a buyer. If the live results are mostly explainers, a hard-sell page will struggle. If they are mostly vendors, a 2,000-word history of entity types will struggle. Do not force one URL to win both jobs; pick the job you can keep, or write two pages and link them.
SERP clues
The live results are the cheapest research tool you have. Search the phrase in a private window, on a phone if the query is local. Note the page types, the presence of a map, ads, and whether Google is answering the query in a short box. Those clues tell you the shape of a page that can compete. They do not tell you a secret algorithm name, and you should not invent one. They tell you what searchers have been rewarding lately.
Read three titles that already earn a click. They are showing you the promise that works. If every title names a city and a service, your title should too. If every title is a question, your H1 should answer that question in the first paragraph. This is also where you steal structure, not sentences: a table of included versus not-included work, a numbered process, a short FAQ. The writing craft after you choose the URL is the on-page SEO guide.
Choosing which pages to create
You are not obligated to create a page for every row in a spreadsheet. Create a page when you can uniquely serve the job, you will keep the page accurate, and it will not cannibalize a URL you already have. Merge leftovers. If two drafts target “website maintenance” and “website care plans,” you have one page with two title options, not two competing URLs.
Map each keeper phrase to an existing URL or to a URL you will actually ship. That map is the start of an SEO strategy. High-volume head terms are often vague and crowded. Specific phrases from real buyers frequently convert better even when a tool shows a smaller number. “PHP intake form for a clinic” may matter more than “web design” if that is the work you sell. Do not target a phrase whose results are dominated by brands you cannot resemble this year; pick a narrower job you can win.
- Group phrases that share a job and a likely URL.
- Mark each group: exists, needs a rewrite, or needs a new page.
- Ship the rewrites on money URLs before you invent new paths.
- Add a new URL only when no existing page can honestly own the job.
Tools vs listening
You do not need an expensive keyword tool to start. Search Console shows queries you already appear for. Autocomplete, related searches, competitor titles, and the questions sales hears will fill a useful list. A paid tool can estimate relative demand and show gaps you missed. Treat those estimates as ranges, not as promises. Tools invent precision; they do not take the sales call.
Do not let a volume column bully you into writing pages you cannot support. Google’s spam policies against scaled thin and mass-produced pages exist because that spreadsheet-to-URL pipeline creates junk. Write fewer pages, each with a job. Revisit the list quarterly: drop phrases you no longer fulfill, and add the new questions from the inbox. When you want help turning a raw list into a page map, Scriplit’s SEO services start from Search Console and the services you actually sell. Send both through the SEO contact form.
Frequently asked questions
What is search intent?
It is the job behind the query: learn something, compare options, find a local business, or buy. A page that answers the wrong job will not satisfy the searcher, even if the same words appear in the title.
Should I target only high-volume keywords?
No. High volume is often high competition and vague intent. Specific phrases from real buyers frequently convert better, and they are easier to serve with a page you can keep honest.
Do I need an expensive keyword tool?
Tools help estimate demand. You can start with Search Console, autocomplete, competitor titles, and the questions sales already hears. Buy a tool later if you need to compare a large set of phrases, not to begin the list.