How to Do Keyword Research for Your Small Business Website
Good keyword research for a small business starts with specific, less competitive phrases and works up. A new or small site can’t beat established rivals for short, popular words like “plumber” or “web design”. Target longer phrases instead, like “emergency plumber Bristol weekend”. Fewer sites compete, the searcher’s need is clearer, and a new site can reach page one.
- Updated Nov 2026 first published May 2026
What is keyword research and why does it matter?
Keyword research for a small business website means finding the exact words your customers type into Google when they look for what you offer.
Get it right and people who are ready to buy find you. Skip it and you write pages nobody searches for. It is easy to guess, or to chase words far too competitive for a small site.
All SEO work starts here. Before you improve a page or write one that ranks, you need to know:
- Which words your customers actually search.
- How many people search for them each month.
- How hard they are to rank for.
- What the searcher intends to do (buy, learn, compare, find a local business).
- Which ones your site can realistically rank for today.
Without this, you’re guessing. You might write a great page about “digital marketing solutions” while your customers search “SEO agency Bristol”. Keyword research closes the gap between how you describe your work and how customers search for it.
Understanding search intent
Search intent is what someone actually wants when they type a search. It’s one of the most important ideas in keyword research.
If your page doesn’t give searchers what they want, Google is unlikely to rank it, however good the rest is.
| Intent type | What the searcher wants | Example keywords | Best page type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informational | To learn something | “how does SEO work”, “what is a bounce rate” | Blog posts, guides, FAQs |
| Commercial | To compare options before buying | “best SEO agency Bristol”, “SEO vs PPC” | Comparison articles, case studies |
| Transactional | To buy or hire right now | “SEO services Bristol”, “hire web designer” | Service pages, product pages |
| Navigational | To find a specific website | “WP Web Tool contact”, “Yoast SEO login” | Homepage, brand pages |
For a small business, the keywords that bring in money tend to be transactional (people ready to hire or buy) and commercial (people comparing options). Informational keywords bring visitors and build trust in your topic, which helps your service pages too.
Step 1: start with seed keywords
Seed keywords are the broad, obvious words for what you do. They’re where your list starts, not always where it ends.
Example seed keywords for a Bristol web design agency: web design, web designer, website design, WordPress website, website development, web agency, website build, website cost, SEO, local SEO, Google Ads.
To generate your seed keywords, answer these questions
- What services or products do you offer? List each one.
- What problems do your customers have that you solve?
- What would a customer who has never heard of you type into Google?
- Which places do you serve?
Don’t worry about numbers yet. Write down every relevant word you can think of. You’ll sort them in the next steps.
Step 2: expand with free keyword research tools
Now use free tools to see what people actually search, including words you’d never have thought of.
Google Search Console
If your site is already live, Google Search Console is the best free source. Go to Performance → Search Results and open “Queries” to see the searches that already show your site. These are real searches. Filter to the UK and look for queries where you sit in positions 5–20. Those are the closest to page one.
Google Keyword Planner
Free with a Google Ads account, and you don’t have to run ads. Enter your seed keywords and it shows related searches with monthly volumes. Set the location to the United Kingdom and the language to English. Without ad spend you see ranges (100–1,000) rather than exact numbers.
Google search suggestions
Type your seed keywords into Google and see what comes up:
- Autocomplete: the suggestions as you type are real searches from other people.
- People Also Ask: the question boxes on the results page show related questions, often great longer phrases to target.
- Related searches: the list at the bottom of the page shows other searches people make.
AnswerThePublic
Free, with a daily limit. Enter a seed keyword and it lists hundreds of questions people ask: who, what, when, where, why and how. Great for guide and FAQ ideas. Set the country to the UK.
AlsoAsked
Shows Google’s “People Also Ask” questions as a tree, so you can see how they connect. Free for a few searches a day. Good for question ideas.
Step 3: analyse your competitors’ keywords
Your competitors’ rankings show which words work in your trade. Looking at them is one of the quickest ways to build your list.
Don’t copy them. Find the words they rank for that fit your business, then write better pages for them.
Manual competitor analysis (free)
- Search for your seed keywords in Google. Use a private window and set the location to your area.
- Identify the regulars. Which 3–5 local competitors keep appearing?
- Study their pages. Note the titles, headings and text on their service pages. They show which words they target.
- Check their navigation. Look for services or pages you might be missing.
Using free tools
- Ubersuggest (free tier): enter a competitor’s web address to see the words they rank for and roughly how many visits each brings.
- Semrush (free account, limited searches): shows top organic keywords for any domain.
- Similarweb (free, limited data): shows traffic sources and top search keywords for competitor sites.
Step 4: evaluate keywords against three criteria
You should now have dozens, maybe hundreds, of possible keywords. Judge each one to decide what comes first.
1. Search volume
How many people in the UK search for it each month? A word nobody searches is no use, however well it describes you. One with 10,000 searches a month is tempting but usually hard to win. Small business sites do well with a mix:
| Monthly search volume (UK) | Opportunity level | Competition typically |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000+ | High traffic potential | Very competitive, difficult for new sites |
| 1,000–10,000 | Good traffic potential | Competitive, requires strong content and authority |
| 100–1,000 | A solid target for a small business | Moderate, achievable with quality content |
| 10–100 | Lower volume but often high intent | Low, often quick wins, especially locally |
2. Keyword difficulty
How hard is it to rank? Tools like Semrush and Ahrefs score difficulty from 0 to 100, based on the strength of the sites already ranking. As a rough guide, a small site has the best chance below about 30–40, and above 60 tends to need a well-established site.
3. Business relevance
Will ranking for it bring customers who want what you sell? A Bristol plumber shouldn’t chase “plumbing history”, however easy it looks. Those people aren’t hiring. Relevance matters more than volume.
Step 5: focus on long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases. Each gets fewer searches, but they’re usually easier to rank for, and they can turn into more enquiries because the searcher knows what they want.
| Short-tail keyword | Long-tail equivalent | Why the long-tail wins |
|---|---|---|
| web designer | web designer for small business Bristol | Local intent + specific buyer type = easier to rank; clearer intent |
| plumber | emergency plumber Bristol south | Local + urgent = ready to hire right now |
| SEO | affordable SEO for small business UK | Budget-conscious buyer clearly defined |
| accountant | accountant for sole trader Bristol | Specific business type = close audience match |
Add words to your seed keywords: a place, a service type, a customer type, a budget, urgency or timing. Each one makes a longer phrase that’s usually easier to rank for, and can be worth more than the short word.
Step 6: map keywords to pages
Give each page one main keyword and a few closely related ones.
If two pages target the same main keyword, they can compete with each other (“keyword cannibalisation”), and neither may rank as well as it could.
Keyword mapping for a small business website
- Homepage: your main service and place (for example “web design Bristol”).
- Service pages: one main keyword per service (for example “SEO services Bristol”).
- Location pages: if you serve several areas, one page per area (for example “web design Bath”).
- Blog posts and resource pages: questions people ask (for example “what is SEO”).
- FAQ or resource sections: questions and longer phrases.
Keep a simple spreadsheet: page address, main keyword, related keywords and current position. Update it each month. Our on-page SEO service handles keyword mapping and page-by-page optimisation as part of a full SEO strategy.
Step 7: prioritise for quick wins
Last, decide where to start.
Quick wins are keywords where you already sit in positions 5–20. A small push, like better text, more internal links or a few backlinks, can move you onto page one much faster than starting from nothing.
- Highest priority: keywords where you sit in positions 5–15 and the searcher wants to hire or buy. These can pay off soonest.
- Second priority: buying keywords where you have no page yet. Create a service or area page.
- Third priority: questions linked to your main services. They build trust in your topic and lead readers to your service pages.
- Ongoing: longer phrases for guides and blog posts. Little competition, and the gains add up.
Local keyword research for UK small businesses
If you serve a particular area, local keywords can be your easiest wins and the closest to an enquiry.
They pair your service with a place, and the people searching often want to hire now.
Types of local keywords to target
- [service] + [city] (e.g. “web designer Bristol”)
- [service] + [neighbourhood] (e.g. “plumber Clifton”)
- [service] near me (captured by Google using location data)
- best [service] in [city] (commercial intent comparison)
- [service] + [city] + price or cost
- [service] + [nearby area] (e.g. “web design Bath”, “web design Weston-super-Mare”)
In Bristol, don’t stop at “Bristol”. Check searches for areas like Clifton, Bedminster, Redland, Stokes Croft and Fishponds, and nearby towns like Weston-super-Mare and Bath. They can have less competition. Read our local SEO for Bristol businesses guide for a deeper look at local search strategy.
Free and paid keyword research tools for small businesses
| Tool | Cost | Best for | UK data? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Free | Seeing what keywords your site already ranks for | Yes |
| Google Keyword Planner | Free (Google Ads account) | Volume estimates, seed keyword expansion | Yes (filter by UK) |
| AnswerThePublic | Free (limited), paid plans | Question and informational keyword discovery | Yes (UK option) |
| Ubersuggest | Free (limited), paid plans | Competitor analysis, keyword suggestions | Yes |
| Semrush | Free (limited), paid plans | Comprehensive keyword research and competitor analysis | Yes |
| Ahrefs | Paid plans (some free tools) | In-depth keyword and backlink research | Yes |
| Keywords Everywhere | Paid credits | Volume data shown in Google search as you browse | Yes |
Tool prices change often and are usually charged in dollars, so check each tool’s own site. To start, Google Search Console, Google Keyword Planner and AnswerThePublic give you plenty for free. Pay for a tool like Semrush once your site is established and you want deeper competitor data.
Keyword research questions
Want the bigger picture first? See all our SEO guides.
How many keywords should I target per page?
One main keyword and usually 3–7 related ones. Don’t aim one page at 20 keywords: it loses focus and may rank well for none. A page that answers one topic properly beats a page that tries to cover everything.
What is keyword density, and does it matter?
It’s how often a keyword appears compared with the total words. It mostly doesn’t matter now. Google doesn’t reward a keyword in every paragraph, and it understands similar words and context. Write for your reader. Use the keyword in the title, the first paragraph and a heading or two, and vary the wording elsewhere.
Can I rank for keywords my competitors are dominating?
Yes, but it takes time. If the results are full of big, established brands, a new small site won’t pass them quickly. Target longer, more specific versions first, build up your site, then go after the bigger words from a stronger position.
How often should a small business do keyword research?
Do a full round when you build or refresh your site. Then review your keyword map every 3–6 months, because searches and your rankings change. Do a quick check before writing any big new page too.
What’s the difference between a keyword and a search query?
A search query is the exact text someone types. A keyword is what you aim at: one phrase that stands for many similar searches. Target “web designer Bristol” and you’re aiming for “web designers in Bristol”, “Bristol web designer”, “website designer Bristol UK” and more.
Should I target the same keywords as my biggest competitors?
Not at first. Big competitors have years of links behind them, so going head to head is a long, uphill fight. Find the gaps instead: words they don’t rank for, or rank poorly for, and win those first.
Want us to handle keyword research for your small business?
We find the words your customers search, match them to your pages and plan which to tackle first, starting with ones you can win. £30 an hour.
On-page SEO services
Keyword mapping and page-by-page optimisation, so each page targets one phrase it can win.
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See which keywords you already rank for and where the quick wins are. A plain-English report, no access needed.