SEO · 10 min read · Updated:
How to do keyword research: a step-by-step guide for small businesses
What does your customer type into Google? A page written without knowing that answers a question nobody asks. Keyword research turns that guess into data.
In short
- Keyword research means finding the phrases customers use when they look for your service and mapping each one to the right page.
- Every search has an intent: to learn something, to buy, or to find a business nearby; the page has to match that intent.
- For a small business the most valuable keywords are usually not broad, high-volume terms but long-tail searches that include a city and a service.
- Google suggestions, Search Console, Google Trends and Keyword Planner are free starting tools.
- Keyword research in Heyşirket's Professional plan turns a seed keyword into suggestions, questions, intent and topic clusters, and gives each phrase an opportunity score.
Your site has a nice service page, but nobody arrives from Google. Most of the time the problem isn't the quality of the text, it's that the page isn't written in the words your customer uses. You write “gum treatment”, your customer searches “why do my gums bleed”.
Keyword research closes that gap. In this article we explain step by step how to do keyword research, what search intent is, which free tools to use and which page each keyword belongs on. By the end you'll have a clear target keyword for every page.
Part 1 · Definition What is a keyword and why research it?
A keyword is the phrase people type into the search box. It can be a single word (“accounting”), but more often it's a question of a few words (“how much does a bookkeeper cost for a sole trader”). In SEO, “keyword” means all of these phrases.
The research answers three questions. Which phrases does your customer use? How many people search for them? Does your site have a page that answers this search? The third is often the most valuable, because every phrase where the answer is “no” is a page waiting to be written.
Part 2 · Intent What is search intent? Informational, commercial and local searches
Two searches on the same topic can want very different things. Someone typing “what is business email” wants information; someone typing “business email prices” is close to buying. Google shows results according to that intent. A page that doesn't match it struggles to rank, however well written it is.
| Intent | Example search | Matching page |
|---|---|---|
| Informational | what is an e-invoice, how is an implant done | Guide or blog post, FAQ |
| Commercial | website prices, most affordable accounting software | Service or pricing page, comparison |
| Local | physiotherapist near me, vet in Kadıköy | Service page with clear city and address, Google Business Profile |
A practical test: type the keyword into Google yourself and look at the first page. If most results are blog posts, the intent is informational; if service pages and a map appear, it's commercial or local. Build your page to match.
Part 3 · Method How to do keyword research in 6 steps
A keyword list from scratch
Write down seed keywords
Describe each service or product you offer in 1 to 3 words, in your customer's language: “bookkeeping”, “teeth whitening”, “dry cleaning”. These are your seed keywords.
Collect suggestions
Type each seed keyword into Google and note the autocomplete suggestions. The “People also ask” box and the related searches at the bottom of the results page are valuable sources too.
Try question patterns
Add “what is”, “how to”, “how much”, “price” or “near me” to the seed keyword. Each pattern opens the door to a different intent and gives you article topics.
Check volume and trend
Use Google Trends to compare interest over time and by region. If Search Console is connected, see which searches your site already appears for.
Group by intent
Put phrases that answer the same question together. “Website price”, “how much is a website” and “cost to build a website” belong on one page; don't open a page for each.
Assign one page per group
Pick a main phrase for each group and map it to a page. If there's no page yet, add it to your to-write list. The result is your site's content plan.
Part 4 · Tools Free keyword tools
You don't need a paid tool to start. All the tools below are free and cover most of what a small business needs.
| Tool | What it gives you | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Google search suggestions | Phrases real users type | No volume; it only shows that people search for it |
| People also ask | Question-style searches | Great for blog and FAQ topics |
| Google Search Console | Real searches your site appears for, with impressions, clicks and position | Only searches where you already appear |
| Google Trends | How interest changes over time and by region | Relative values, not search counts |
| Google Ads Keyword Planner | Monthly search ranges and new ideas | Needs a Google Ads account; without an active campaign volumes show as ranges |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Impression and keyword data from Bing | You need to verify the site in Bing |
Search Console is the most overlooked tool. If your site appears at position 15 for a search, Google already associates you with that topic. A small improvement has a far better chance of reaching page one than starting a brand-new keyword from zero. For the setup, see connecting Search Console and Analytics.
Part 5 · Choosing Which keyword to choose? Long tail and opportunity
Everyone wants to chase the most searched keyword. But for a broad phrase like “website”, big sites compete and it's unclear what the searcher wants. A long-tail keyword is a three or four word phrase that's searched less often but has a very clear intent: “dental clinic website in Bursa”. Fewer people search it, but the person who does is most likely a customer.
- Intent fit: Is the keyword about what your business sells? Informational searches are valuable too, but they should lead to your service.
- Realism: Are the page-one results big national sites, or businesses like yours? If the latter, your chances are good.
- Local modifier: If you serve a region, add the city or district. Local searches have fewer competitors.
- Existing visibility: Phrases where Search Console shows you between positions 4 and 20 are the fastest wins.
- Gap: If no page on your site answers the question, that's the clearest reason to write a new one.
Part 6 · Applying it How do you put the keyword on the page?
Finding the keyword is half the job. Placing it well is the other half. The main phrase should appear in the page's SEO title, meta description, first paragraph and at least one subheading. Beyond that, use synonyms and related questions naturally. Repeating the same keyword five times per paragraph doesn't improve rankings; it only spoils the reading.
We cover writing titles and descriptions in how to write a meta description, and turning informational keywords into an article in how to write an SEO-friendly blog post. For local keywords, the local SEO checklist will help.
| Seed keyword | physiotherapy |
|---|---|
| Local and commercial | physiotherapy centre in Konak → service page |
| Informational | exercises for a herniated disc → blog post |
| Question | how many physiotherapy sessions do I need → FAQ section |
| Result | 3 keyword groups, 3 separate pages |
This is a made-up example. On health pages, promises of treatment results, prices and superlatives such as “the best” go against Turkish health advertising rules.
Part 7 · Product Keyword research in the company panel
In the Heyşirket company panel, the SEO › Kelime araştırması (Keyword research) screen does most of the steps above in one place. You type your service in 1 to 3 words into the Tohum kelime (Seed keyword) field and press Araştır (Research). The panel scans Google's search suggestions with question patterns such as “what is”, “how to”, “how much”, “price” and “near me”; you can research in Turkish or English.
- Intent: Each phrase is marked as informational, commercial or local. You can also switch on the option to let AI refine intent and clusters; each use counts as one question from your monthly Leylek assistant allowance.
- Topic clusters: Similar phrases are grouped. Click a cluster to filter the table and see the keywords of one page together.
- Opportunity score: Search Console impressions or Bing's monthly impression estimate, your current position, whether your site already has content on the topic, and the intent are scored together. The reason is shown next to the score, for example “no content on the site covers this topic”.
- Target keywords: Add the phrases you pick to your target list and track them on the Anahtar kelimeler (Keywords) screen.
Keyword research and keyword tracking are in the Professional plan. Premium adds daily rank history and competitor comparison for target keywords, and in Premium our team also prepares your content plan. Plan details are on the Pricing and SEO tools pages. Step-by-step in the panel: Help › Keywords.
Keyword research checklist
- I wrote at least one seed keyword for each service.
- I built a phrase list from Google suggestions and question patterns.
- I sorted phrases into informational, commercial and local intent.
- I grouped phrases that answer the same question.
- I mapped each group to a single page; no keyword has two pages.
- I checked the searches where Search Console shows me at positions 4 to 20.
- I put the pages to write into a content calendar.
How do you do keyword research?
First write each service you offer as a seed keyword of 1 to 3 words. Then collect related phrases from Google suggestions, question patterns and Search Console, group them by intent and map each group to a single page.
Is there a free keyword tool?
Yes. Google search suggestions, the “People also ask” box, Google Search Console, Google Trends and Google Ads Keyword Planner are free. Keyword Planner needs a Google Ads account; without an active campaign, search volumes are shown as ranges.
What is a long-tail keyword?
A three or four word phrase that is searched less often but has a very clear intent, for example “set up business email in Izmir”. It has fewer competitors, and the searcher is often a direct prospect.
How many keywords should one page target?
Each page should have one main phrase. Synonyms and close variants that answer the same question can appear naturally on that page; phrases that answer a different question deserve their own page.
How often should keyword research be done?
Do the first round when you build the site, then update it every three months with Search Console data. When you add a new service, research that service separately.
Start your keyword research Type your service and get suggestions, questions, intent and an opportunity score in one table. Open keyword research
Author: Heyşirket Editorial Team