Local keywords are not the same as national ones

If you run a plumbing firm in Norwich, a bridal makeup business in Cardiff or a mobile dog grooming round in Sheffield, you do not need to rank for "plumber" or "makeup artist". You need to show up when someone in your patch types something like emergency plumber Norwich or dog grooming near me Sheffield. Those searches are smaller in volume, but they are far more valuable: the person typing them has a problem, a location and a credit card.

The good news is that local keywords are easier to research than national ones. There is less competition, the language is predictable, and you can build a solid starter list in an afternoon with nothing more than a notebook, a browser and a bit of patience.

Start with the words your customers already use

Before you open any keyword tool, write down the phrases people say to you on the phone. If a customer rings and says "my boiler's leaking and I need someone today", that is keyword research. If three people this month asked whether you "cover the Lanes", that is keyword research too.

Look through your enquiries from the last six months — texts, emails, quote requests, even notes scribbled on a job sheet — and pull out the exact wording. Then group those phrases into three buckets:

• Service terms: what the job is called, in plain English. "Boiler repair", "blocked drain", "end of tenancy clean", "wedding hair".
• Location terms: the town, suburb, village or county people name. Not just the big city — people in Stockport search "Stockport", not "Greater Manchester".
• Urgency or quality terms: "same day", "emergency", "cheap", "trusted", "near me", "open now".

Mix and match these and you already have the shape of your keyword list.

Use free tools to find the phrases you have missed

You will never guess everything. Customers describe things differently to how you do, and the gaps are where a little research pays off.

• Google autocomplete. Start typing "mobile nail technician…" and watch what Google suggests. Add each letter of the alphabet after your service and town to pull out longer suggestions.
• People also ask. Search your main service and expand the question boxes. These give you content ideas for pages and FAQs.
• Related searches. The list at the bottom of results pages is a goldmine of near-miss phrases.
• Google Keyword Planner. Free with a Google Ads account. Ignore the huge national figures and focus on terms with your town in them.
• Your competitors' websites. Not to copy word for word, but to see which towns and services they have built pages around. If they have a page for every village in your area, they have probably done this already.

Judge each term by intent, not just volume

A keyword with 20 searches a month that converts is worth more than one with 2,000 that does not. Ask three questions about every phrase on your list:

• Is it commercial? "How to unblock a drain" is research; "blocked drain plumber near me" is someone about to spend money.
• Is it local enough? A phrase with a town name will bring you work. A generic one will bring you tyre-kickers from three counties away.
• Can you genuinely serve it? If you cover a 20-mile radius, do not chase "London" just because the volume looks nice.

Aim for a spread: a handful of high-intent money terms, a cluster of town-level terms, and a few informational phrases that let you answer common questions.

Map each keyword to one helpful page

This is the step most small businesses skip, and it is the one that matters. Every keyword group should have a single page on your website that answers it properly. Do not throw twenty phrases onto your homepage and hope.

• Homepage: your main service plus your core location — the phrase you would want to rank for above all others.
• Service pages: one page per service, written plainly, with prices or price ranges where you can, and photos of your actual work.
• Location pages: one page per town or area you genuinely cover. Include local landmarks, travel time, and any neighbourhoods you serve. Keep each one distinct — do not just swap the town name and publish it five times.
• FAQs and guides: where your informational terms live. These build trust and often lead to enquiries.

Use the keyword naturally in your title tag, main heading, opening paragraph and once or twice in the body. If it reads awkwardly out loud, rewrite it. Google is now good enough to spot a page written for humans.

Review your list every few months

Local demand shifts. New housing estates appear, a competitor closes, a cold snap turns "boiler repair" into a scramble, and seasonal work like gutter clearing or garden maintenance comes and goes. Check your Google Search Console performance every quarter: which phrases bring impressions, which bring clicks, and which pages get nothing.

Then do something small and useful. Add a paragraph to a thin location page. Answer a question you keep getting asked. Ask two happy customers for a review that mentions the service and the town — reviews are local SEO fuel and no keyword list can replace them.

Keyword research for a local business is not a one-off project. It is a habit: listen, write it down, give each phrase a page, and improve it a little each month.