How to Find the Keywords Your Customers Actually Search

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's Keyword Planner inside Google Ads (free to use without running ads)
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. Every query near the top of that list with a low click-through rate is a signal: Google is showing you for that term, but your title or description isn't compelling enough to earn the click. That's low-hanging fruit.

Sort by position and filter for positions 8-20. Those are keywords where you're close to the first page. A little focused content can move them up.

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 free account if you don't have one (you don't need to run a single ad). 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, you're not chasing 50,000 searches a month. You want terms with clear local or problem-specific intent, even if volume is 100-500 searches per month. 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 (important, so your search history doesn't skew results) and start typing your core service into Google. Watch what autocomplete suggests. Those suggestions are real searches aggregated from real users.

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. This is Google telling you exactly what follow-up information searchers want.

At the bottom of the page, 'Related searches' gives you eight 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. One primary keyword per page. Supporting phrases can live on the same page naturally.

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 take an afternoon and can move the needle within weeks.

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 phrase with 150 monthly searches in your city is worth ten times more.

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, which update in real time.

Stuffing instead of covering. Repeating a keyword 15 times does nothing. Thoroughly answering what the keyword implies is what earns rankings. Google reads comprehension, not repetition.

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.

Get your free audit

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. Within 60-90 days of publishing optimized pages, Google Search Console will start showing you query data you can act on.

How many keywords should a small business target?

Focus on one primary keyword per page, not one keyword for your entire site. A local business with 10 service pages and a blog can realistically target 30-60 distinct keyword clusters over time. 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 data from your own site is more accurate than any external tool.

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.