How to Find the Keywords Your Customers Actually Search
Most small businesses optimize for words their customers never use. This guide shows you exactly how to find the search terms real people type when they need what you sell, using free tools and a little common sense.
TL;DR: Your customers don't search the way you think they do. A plumber thinks 'pipe rehabilitation services'; their customer types 'water coming up from floor drain.' Finding the gap between those two phrases is keyword research, and this guide walks you through it step by step using mostly free tools.
What You Need
- A Google account (free)
- Access to Google Search Console (free, takes 10 minutes to set up)
- Google Keyword Planner inside Google Ads (available to eligible Google Ads accounts; data detail can vary)
- A notes app or spreadsheet
- About two hours the first time, much less after that
You don't need a $500/month SEO platform to start. You need the above list and honest answers to one question: what problem does my business solve, and how would someone who has never heard of me describe that problem out loud?
Step 1: Start With What You Already Rank For
Before you go hunting for new keywords, look at what Google already associates with your site. This is the fastest win most small businesses ignore.
Log into Google Search Console, click Search results on the left rail, and look at the Queries tab. You'll see real searches that brought real people to your site, ranked by impressions and clicks.
Sort by impressions. A high-impression query with low click-through rate is worth investigating. Ranking position, search features, and the displayed title or snippet can all affect clicks. That's low-hanging fruit.
Review queries with average positions around 8-20. Average position varies by query and context, so inspect the relevant page before deciding whether to improve it.
If you want a deeper tutorial on reading these reports, check out our post on how to read Google Search Console like a marketer.
Takeaway: Your existing data is the best keyword list you've never looked at.
Step 2: Interview Your Customers (Seriously, Just Ask)
This sounds obvious. Almost nobody does it.
Call three recent customers, not to sell them anything, but to ask: 'When you needed what we do, what did you type into Google?' Write down their exact words. Don't clean them up.
A law office might assume clients search 'estate planning attorney West Palm Beach.' Their actual clients searched 'who gets my house if I die without a will Florida.' Those are completely different pages to write.
If calling feels weird, look at your Google reviews. The language customers use to describe the problem you solved is often the language they searched in the first place. Our guide on how to get more Google reviews without begging can help you collect more of this raw material.
Also scan:
- Reddit threads in your niche
- Quora questions
- The 'People also ask' boxes in Google search results
- Amazon reviews for products adjacent to your service
These are your customers talking without a filter. Mine them.
Takeaway: Customers describe their pain, not your solution. Build your keyword list around their words.
Step 3: Use Google's Own Tools to Validate Demand
Once you have a raw list of phrases from Steps 1 and 2, you need to know which ones people actually search at volume worth caring about.
Google Keyword Planner
Go to Google Ads Keyword Planner. Create a Google Ads account if needed and check the current access requirements. Use 'Discover new keywords' and paste in 5-10 phrases from your list.
Planner will show you average monthly searches and competition level. For a small local business, look for terms with clear local or problem-specific intent even when the reported volume is modest. A plumber ranking for 'emergency water heater repair [city]' with 200 monthly searches is worth more than a vague term with 10,000.
Google Autocomplete
Open a private browser window to reduce some personalization, while remembering that location and trends still affect suggestions and start typing your core service into Google. Watch what autocomplete suggests. Autocomplete suggestions reflect a mix of real search activity and other factors; they are ideas to validate, not volume estimates.
Do the same thing at the end of the alphabet trick: type your keyword followed by 'a,' then 'b,' and so on. 'Roof repair a...' might give you 'affordable,' 'after storm,' 'and gutters.' Each suggestion is a potential page or at minimum a phrase to work into existing content.
'People Also Ask' and Related Searches
Search one of your target phrases and scroll to the 'People also ask' section. Click each question to expand it. That triggers more questions to appear. These questions can reveal related topics worth investigating.
Where available, 'Related searches' can provide more variants. Screenshot them. All of it.
Takeaway: Google practically hands you keyword data for free. Use it before you pay for anything.
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Step 4: Sort Keywords by Intent, Not Just Volume
Here's where most DIY keyword research falls apart. People build a list of 200 keywords and then have no idea what to do with it.
Sort every keyword into one of three buckets:
Ready-to-buy intent: 'emergency AC repair near me,' '24 hour locksmith West Palm Beach,' 'same day auto glass replacement.' These people have their wallet out. Your homepage, service pages, and Google Business Profile should be optimized for these first.
Comparison intent: 'how much does a new HVAC system cost,' 'best pest control companies in [city],' 'is it worth repairing a 10-year-old furnace.' These people are close but not ready. A blog post or FAQ page with honest answers wins them over.
Problem-awareness intent: 'why is my water bill so high,' 'mold smell in bathroom,' 'circuit breaker keeps tripping.' These searchers don't know they need a plumber, mold remediation company, or electrician yet. Content that educates them and ends with a clear call to action captures demand before your competitors even show up.
For local businesses, the first bucket drives revenue. The second and third build trust and pull in leads who weren't ready until they read your content.
If you want to understand how this connects to ranking in the local map results, our breakdown of how to rank in Google's local map pack covers the other half of the equation.
Takeaway: A keyword without intent context is just a word. Sort before you write a single sentence.
Step 5: Map Keywords to Pages and Prioritize
Take your sorted list and assign each keyword cluster to either an existing page or a page you need to create. Group closely related queries on a useful page. There is no rule requiring exactly one primary keyword per page.
Build a simple spreadsheet:
- Column A: Keyword
- Column B: Intent bucket
- Column C: Monthly volume (approximate)
- Column D: Existing page or 'needs new page'
- Column E: Priority (high, medium, low)
High priority = ready-to-buy intent, existing page just needs optimization. These may be practical first updates, but ranking and traffic changes have no guaranteed timeline.
Medium priority = comparison intent, needs a blog post or FAQ update.
Low priority = problem-awareness content. Valuable long-term, but don't start here.
If you've gone through this process and want someone to check your work, our free marketing tools include resources that can help you spot gaps, and you can always run a free AI readiness audit to see how your current site stacks up against what customers are actually searching.
Takeaway: A keyword list without a page assignment is a wish list. Assign everything.
Common Mistakes
Optimizing for your industry's language, not your customer's. A roofing company that optimizes for 'commercial membrane systems' when their customers search 'flat roof leak repair' is talking to nobody.
Chasing volume over fit. 'Lawyer' gets millions of searches. It tells you nothing about intent, location, or whether the searcher would ever hire you. A specific local phrase may bring more relevant leads despite lower volume.
Ignoring local modifiers. For most small businesses, 'near me,' city names, and neighborhood names are essential. 'AC repair' is a national competition. 'AC repair Lake Worth FL' is a local one you can win. For more on this, see how local SEO and paid ads compare for small businesses.
Doing it once and walking away. Search behavior shifts. New competitors enter your market. Seasonal patterns matter. Revisit your keyword data quarterly, especially your Search Console queries. Recent Search Console data can be preliminary and should not be treated as real time.
Stuffing instead of covering. Repeating a keyword mechanically is less useful than answering the reader’s question clearly. Google’s guidance warns against keyword stuffing.
Bottom Line
Keyword research is not a technical exercise. It is a listening exercise. Your customers tell Google exactly what they need in plain language every single day. Your job is to intercept that conversation with a page that answers it better than anyone else in your market.
Start with Search Console data you already have. Ask customers what they searched. Validate with free tools. Sort by intent. Map to pages. Repeat every few months.
Do that consistently and you won't need to guess whether your SEO is working. You'll see it in the clicks.
Find out what your site is leaving on the table
SmartAleck's free AI readiness audit scores your search presence and shows the exact gaps costing you customers. Two minutes, no sales call.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find keywords if my website is brand new with no data?
Start with Google Autocomplete and the 'People also ask' boxes for your core service phrases, since those reflect real searches without needing any existing traffic. Also interview recent customers by phone or email and ask exactly what they typed when they were looking for help. Once the pages receive search impressions, Search Console can show query data; timing and volume vary.
How many keywords should a small business target?
Group related search intents on useful pages rather than applying a fixed keyword count per page. A local business can start with a small set of high-intent topics and expand as it learns which pages serve customers. Start with the 5-10 highest-intent phrases tied to your most profitable services and build from there.
Is Google Keyword Planner accurate for local search volume?
It gives directional estimates, not precise counts, especially for smaller local markets where it tends to round down or show ranges. Use it to compare relative demand between phrases rather than to predict exact traffic. Search Console shows how your own site performed in Google Search; Keyword Planner estimates broader demand and serves a different purpose.
What is search intent and why does it matter for keywords?
Search intent describes what a person actually wants to accomplish when they type a query, whether that is buying something, comparing options, or learning about a problem. A keyword without intent context can lead you to create the wrong type of page, like a blog post when Google is clearly ranking service pages, or vice versa. Matching your page format to the intent behind the keyword is often what separates a page that ranks from one that does not.
How often should I redo keyword research?
Check your Google Search Console queries monthly to catch new ranking opportunities and unexpected traffic. Do a full keyword research refresh every three to six months, or any time you add a new service, enter a new market, or notice a competitor pulling ahead. Search behavior evolves and your keyword strategy should evolve with it.
Should I target 'near me' keywords explicitly?
You do not need to stuff 'near me' into your content because Google automatically applies local context when a user searches with that phrase. What you should do is make sure your city, neighborhood, and service area are clearly named on your pages and in your Google Business Profile. That is what gets you surfaced for 'near me' searches without sounding awkward.
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