How to Do Local Keyword Research

Local Keyword Research

How to Do Local Keyword Research: A Comprehensive Guide

Local keyword research is an essential component of local SEO that can help your business attract more local customers by ensuring your website ranks well for location-specific search terms.

As more people turn to search engines like Google to find local businesses, mastering the art of local keyword research is vital to stand out in your community and outpace your competitors.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the entire process of local keyword research, providing step-by-step instructions, practical tips, and expert advice on how to identify the most effective local keywords for your business.

We’ll also cover tools, strategies, and optimization techniques to make sure your website is fully aligned with local search intent.

Understanding Local Search Intent

Before diving into the nitty-gritty of local keyword research, it’s important to understand what local search intent is and why it matters.

Search intent is the reason a person performs a particular search, and when combined with location, it shapes the kind of content and optimization needed to attract local customers.

Local search intent can generally be categorized into three types:

1. Transactional Intent

Users with transactional intent are ready to make a purchase or take action—whether that’s buying a product, booking an appointment, or requesting a quote.

For example, someone might search for “buy handmade jewelry in Austin” or “best plumber near me.”

These searches are highly valuable because they indicate a strong likelihood of conversion. Transactional searches often include location-based terms like “near me,” “in [City],” or even specific neighborhood names.

2. Informational Intent

People with informational intent are looking for information rather than making a purchase. They might be searching for things like “how to fix a leaking faucet” or “best hiking trails near San Francisco.”

While these searches aren’t immediately transactional, they can still help attract local traffic to your site by answering relevant questions and providing solutions to common problems.

3. Navigational Intent

Navigational intent involves users who are searching for a specific business or website. For example, a search for “Joe’s Pizza Chicago” shows clear intent to find that particular pizza shop in Chicago. For local SEO, targeting navigational searches is crucial, as it ensures that people searching for your business find you easily.

By understanding the nuances of local search intent, you can develop a keyword strategy that targets customers at each stage of the search journey, from researching solutions to making a purchase.

Step-by-Step Guide to Local Keyword Research

Now that we have a clear understanding of local search intent, let’s dive into the step-by-step process of performing effective local keyword research.

By following these steps, you can identify the best keywords for your business and optimize your website to drive relevant local traffic.

Step 1: Define Your Target Audience and Location

Before you can start researching keywords, you must first define the target audience and location for your business.

Target Audience: Understanding your ideal customer is crucial for identifying relevant keywords. Consider demographics like age, gender, income level, and interests. Also, take into account the challenges your customers face and the types of solutions they are likely to search for. For example, a luxury spa might target high-income individuals seeking relaxation, while a local pet groomer would focus on pet owners in the area.
Target Location: Defining your geographic service area is equally important. This could be a city, county, state, or even a specific neighborhood. For local businesses, targeting specific regions is key to improving rankings in those areas. For example, if you run a restaurant in San Francisco, you’ll want to target keywords like “best sushi San Francisco” or “top restaurants in San Francisco.”

When you define both your target audience and location, you can create a more focused keyword strategy and ensure your website appears in local search results that matter.

Step 2: Brainstorm Seed Keywords

The next step is to brainstorm a list of seed keywords—the foundational terms that will guide the rest of your keyword research. These are broad terms related to your business and industry that you’ll use to generate more specific long-tail keywords.

Core Business Keywords: Start by listing the primary products or services you offer. For example, a plumber might list seed keywords like “plumbing services,” “pipe repair,” or “drain cleaning.” These serve as the basis for discovering more specific keywords.
Location Modifiers: Add location-based terms to your seed keywords. Location modifiers are words or phrases that specify your service area and help you appear in local searches. For example, “Dallas plumbing,” “Brooklyn cleaning services,” or “best massage therapist in [City].” These modifiers narrow your keyword focus to local customers.
Customer Pain Points: Consider the problems your target audience is trying to solve. If your ideal customer is searching for a solution to a common problem, those phrases can become effective keywords. For example, “emergency plumber near me” or “best pest control services for ants in [City].”
Brand and Service Names: Don’t forget about specific service names or your business’s name. If your business name is recognized locally, it’s important to incorporate this into your keywords. For example, “Joe’s Roofing [City]” or “Best local bakery [Neighborhood].”

This brainstorming phase lays the groundwork for more refined keyword research, so take your time and generate as many relevant terms as possible.

Step 3: Use Keyword Research Tools

Once you have a list of seed keywords, the next step is to use keyword research tools to refine your keyword list and uncover additional relevant keywords. Here are some of the best tools for local keyword research:

Google Keyword Planner: A free tool from Google Ads, Keyword Planner helps you discover related keywords and provides insights into search volume, competition, and trends. You can input your seed keywords and filter by location to get a more localized set of keyword suggestions.
Ahrefs: This is one of the most powerful tools for SEO, offering a comprehensive keyword research suite. Ahrefs allows you to see search volume, keyword difficulty, and detailed SERP (Search Engine Results Page) analysis. It also provides data on competitor rankings, which can help you identify keyword opportunities that your competitors are missing.
SEMrush: Like Ahrefs, SEMrush is another all-in-one SEO tool that’s great for keyword research. It allows you to find keywords that are performing well in your niche, track competitor strategies, and even monitor your keyword rankings over time.
Moz Keyword Explorer: Moz’s Keyword Explorer tool provides valuable insights into search volume, competition, and keyword difficulty. It’s particularly useful for identifying long-tail keywords and determining how competitive a particular keyword is in your area.

Using these tools, you can gather a more comprehensive list of local keywords and prioritize them based on factors like search volume, relevance, and competition.

Step 4: Analyze Competitor Keywords

One of the most effective ways to uncover keyword opportunities is to analyze your competitors’ keywords. By researching which terms your local competitors are ranking for, you can discover gaps in their strategy and target keywords they may have missed.

Identify Local Competitors: Start by identifying who your local competitors are. Search for businesses in your area that offer similar services or products. You can also use Google’s local pack (the three businesses that appear at the top of the search results) to see who is competing for your target keywords.
Analyze Competitor Keywords: Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to uncover the keywords that your competitors are ranking for. Look at their top-ranking pages and take note of the keywords they are targeting, especially those related to local search.
Identify Keyword Gaps: Once you’ve identified your competitors’ keywords, look for keyword gaps—search terms that your competitors are not ranking for but that could drive relevant local traffic to your site. Targeting these keywords can help you differentiate your business and attract untapped traffic.

Step 5: Leverage Google’s Search Features

Google’s search features can provide valuable insights into user search behavior and help you identify additional keywords to target.

Google Suggest: As you type a search query into Google, the search engine will offer suggestions for related searches. These suggestions are based on popular searches that are relevant to your seed keyword. For example, searching “best pizza in Chicago” may trigger suggestions like “best deep-dish pizza Chicago” or “best pizza in downtown Chicago.”
People Also Ask: Google’s “People Also Ask” box displays related questions that users commonly search for. This is a goldmine for long-tail keywords and can help you identify content opportunities. For example, if you’re a chiropractor, you might see questions like “How can I relieve back pain at home?” or “When should I visit a chiropractor?”
Google Maps and Local Pack: Local businesses should also focus on Google My Business (GMB) optimization to appear in the Google Maps and Local Pack results. Search results that include “near me” or location-specific terms often show results from Google Maps, making GMB an essential tool for local SEO.

Step 6: Optimize Your Content for Local Keywords

Now that you’ve identified your target local keywords, it’s time to optimize your content for those terms. Here are some key areas to focus on:

Homepage and Main Navigation: Incorporate your most important local keywords in your homepage title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags. This will ensure that search engines understand what your site is about and can match it to relevant local search queries.
Location Pages: If your business operates in multiple locations, create separate pages for each location. Optimize these pages with localized content and keywords specific to that area. For example, if you run a chain of salons, each location page should be optimized for the city or neighborhood it serves.

Blog Posts: Blogging is an excellent way to target long-tail local keywords. Write posts that address local events, issues, or interests while incorporating relevant keywords. For example, if you run a landscaping business in San Diego, you could write a post about “Best plants for San Diego gardens.”
Service/Product Descriptions: Make sure your service or product pages include location-specific keywords. For example, a plumbing service in Los Angeles might optimize its page for keywords like “Los Angeles plumbing repair” or “24/7 plumber in LA.”
Meta Tags and URLs: Ensure that your meta tags (titles and descriptions) and URLs contain relevant local keywords. This helps both search engines and users understand the context of your content and boosts your chances of ranking locally.

Step 7: Monitor and Adjust Your Strategy

Local keyword research is an ongoing process, and it’s important to monitor the performance of your keywords and adjust your strategy as needed.

Track Keyword Rankings: Use tools like Google Search Console, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to track your keyword rankings. This will help you understand which keywords are driving traffic and identify areas for improvement.
Analyze Website Traffic: Google Analytics can help you measure how well your local keyword strategy is working by showing which keywords are driving the most traffic to your site. Look for trends and make adjustments based on which keywords are performing best.
Refine Your Strategy: Keyword trends can change, and your competition may evolve, so it’s important to continually refine your strategy. Keep testing new keywords, optimizing existing content, and adjusting based on performance.

Final Thoughts

Local keyword research is an essential component of any local SEO strategy. By targeting the right keywords, you can attract more relevant traffic from your local community, drive more conversions, and ultimately grow your business.

By following the steps outlined in this guide—defining your audience, using keyword research tools, analyzing competitors, optimizing content, and continuously monitoring performance—you can build a robust local SEO strategy that works.

Remember that local keyword research is an ongoing process, and staying ahead of the competition requires constant refinement and adaptation.

Keep experimenting with new keywords, adjust your strategy based on performance data, and optimize your website regularly to stay visible in local search results.

With persistence and the right approach, you can dominate local search rankings and capture the attention of potential customers in your area.

Tags: local keyword research local keyword research and optimization local keyword research tools