Keyword research sounds technical, but it is really one simple question: what exact words do your customers type into Google when they need what you sell? Get that right and every page you write has a job. Get it wrong and you are writing for an audience that never searches those words.
The goal is not a spreadsheet of a thousand terms. It is a short, honest list of the phrases real customers use — and one page pointed at each of them.
Start where your customers already tell you
Before any tool, you already hold the best source: the questions customers ask you in person, on the phone, in emails. Those are keywords in their natural form. Write down every question you answered this week and you have your first list — in the customer’s own words, not your jargon.
Free tool 1: Google autocomplete
Start typing a phrase into Google and watch the suggestions drop down. Those are real, popular searches, ranked by how often people type them. Try the openings customers use:
- Seed with your service — type “physiotherapy Graz” and read what Google finishes it with.
- Try question words — “how much does…”, “best… near me”, “can a…” surface the exact phrasing of real intent.
- Add the alphabet trick — type your term followed by each letter, “a”, “b”, “c”, to pull out dozens more suggestions.
Free tool 2: People Also Ask
Search one of your phrases and scroll to the “People also ask” box. Each question there is one that real people search — and each is a ready-made page topic or FAQ entry. Answer them clearly on your site and you match the search word for word.
Free tool 3: Search Console, once you rank at all
If your site has been live a while, Google Search Console shows the actual queries that already brought people to you — often phrases you never thought to target. It is the single most honest keyword tool you have, because it is your real data, not an estimate. This is also where the wider SEO basics start to click into place.
Understand intent before you write a word
The same topic can hide very different intentions, and matching intent matters more than matching the term. Sort your phrases by what the searcher actually wants:
- Ready to buy — “emergency plumber Graz”, “book dentist Sunday”. These convert; give them a clear service page with a way to contact you.
- Still researching — “how much does a filling cost”, “are dental implants worth it”. Answer these honestly and you earn trust before the sale.
- Just browsing — “what is a root canal”. Useful for reach, but do not expect a booking today.
The best keyword is not the one with the most searches. It is the one your ideal customer types the moment they are ready to call.
Long-tail beats head terms for small businesses
A “head term” like “dentist” has huge search volume and impossible competition — you will not outrank national chains for it. A “long-tail” phrase like “children’s dentist in Graz Sunday hours” has less volume but almost no competition, and the person searching it is far closer to booking. For a local business, ten well-chosen long-tail phrases beat one impossible head term every time. Pairing them with a claimed profile is the heart of local SEO.
One keyword, one page
The last step is the one owners skip: give each core phrase its own page, and do not make two pages fight over the same term. A tradesperson serving three services builds three pages, each aimed at one search. Match the page title, the headline and the first paragraph to how customers phrase it — plainly, in their words.
Putting it to work
Spend an hour with autocomplete, People Also Ask and your own inbox, and you will have a keyword list better than most agencies start with. If you would rather have the pages built and pointed at those phrases properly, see what that would cost or tell me about your business — I answer within 24 hours.