Most keyword research advice is written for companies with a team and a subscription to expensive software. A small business needs something different: a short list of searches it can realistically rank for, and the confidence to ignore everything else.
This method takes an afternoon and uses free tools. The output is a spreadsheet mapping searches to pages, which is what actually drives what you write next.
- 1
Start with the words your customers already use
Before any tool, list the phrases that appear in your enquiries, quotes and phone calls. These are pre-qualified: real people used them to describe a real need. Trade jargon rarely appears here, which is itself the finding — customers do not search for what the industry calls it.
- 2
Expand the list with Google itself
Type each phrase into Google and read the autocomplete suggestions, the "People also ask" box and the related searches at the bottom. This is Google telling you, free, what else people search around that topic. Twenty minutes here beats most paid tools for a local business.
- 3
Add the intent qualifiers that matter locally
Take your core terms and add "near me", your town, "cost", "prices", "best" and "vs". A search with a town or a price in it is closer to buying than the bare term. These longer phrases are less competitive and convert far better, which is exactly the trade a small business wants.
- 4
Check what already ranks before you commit
Search each candidate phrase and look at page one. If it is dominated by national directories, big brands and comparison sites, you are unlikely to break in with one page. If it is small local businesses and thin content, that is your opening. This single check saves more wasted effort than any other step.
- 5
Group phrases by the question behind them
Several phrasings usually share one intent. "Resin driveway cost", "how much is a resin driveway", "resin driveway prices UK" are one page, not three. Splitting them across pages makes your own pages compete with each other, which is the most common self-inflicted SEO problem.
- 6
Map one group to one page
For each group, decide whether an existing page should target it or a new one is needed. Be honest about how many new pages you will realistically write. Ten well-written pages beat forty thin ones, and the thin ones actively drag the rest down.
- 7
Record where you started
Note today’s position for each target phrase before you change anything. Without a baseline you cannot tell whether the work paid off, and six months later nobody remembers where things stood. A screenshot of Search Console and a dated spreadsheet is enough.
On search volume
Free tools give volume in wide bands, and for local searches the numbers are often unreliable at the level that matters. Do not agonise over whether a term gets 90 or 140 searches a month. For a small business, a phrase with fifty searches and clear buying intent is worth more than one with five thousand and none.
When to revisit
Every six months, or whenever you add a service. The list ages faster than most people expect, particularly as the way people phrase questions shifts towards how they would ask a person.
Frequently asked questions
Not to start. Google autocomplete, People Also Ask and Search Console cover most of what a local business needs. Paid tools mainly help with competitor analysis and tracking at scale, which matters more once you have exhausted the obvious.
Would rather we did it?
These guides are here so you can do it yourself. If you would rather hand it over, that is what we do.
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