# Keyword Research

How to find the right keywords for any site, with an emphasis on free tools and methods applicable to small business WordPress sites.

## Fundamentals

### Primary vs Secondary Keywords

**Primary keyword:** The single most important search term a page should rank for. Every page gets exactly one. It should appear in the title tag, H1, URL slug, and first 100 words.

**Secondary keywords:** 3-5 closely related terms or synonyms that support the primary keyword. These go in H2/H3 headings, body content, and image alt text.

Google's NLP (BERT, MUM) understands synonyms and related concepts, so exact-match repetition is unnecessary — semantic relevance matters more.

**Example for a motorcycle safety course in Alaska:**
- Primary: "motorcycle safety course Anchorage"
- Secondary: "MSF basic rider course Alaska", "learn to ride motorcycle Anchorage", "motorcycle license training Alaska", "beginner motorcycle class near me"

### Long-Tail vs Short-Tail

| Aspect | Short-tail (1-2 words) | Long-tail (3+ words) |
|--------|----------------------|---------------------|
| Example | "motorcycle course" | "weekend motorcycle safety course Anchorage AK" |
| Search volume | High | Low |
| Competition | Very high | Low to moderate |
| Conversion rate | Low (vague intent) | High (specific intent) |
| Best for | Brand awareness, pillar pages | Service pages, blog posts, local pages |

**For small business sites, long-tail keywords are the priority.** You won't outrank national brands for "motorcycle course" but you can rank #1 for "motorcycle safety course Anchorage Alaska."

### Search Intent Types

Google categorizes every query by intent. **Matching intent is more important than keyword density or backlinks for ranking.**

| Intent | Signals | Content Type | Example |
|--------|---------|-------------|---------|
| **Informational** | "how to", "what is", "guide", questions | Blog posts, guides, FAQs | "how to prepare for a motorcycle safety course" |
| **Navigational** | Brand names, specific products | Homepage, branded pages | "Alaska Safe Riders" |
| **Commercial** | "best", "vs", "review", "top" | Comparison pages, service pages | "best motorcycle training courses in Alaska" |
| **Transactional** | "buy", "register", "near me", "price" | Service pages, registration, contact | "register motorcycle safety course Anchorage" |

**Check the current SERP for your target keyword** to see what Google considers the correct intent. If the top results are all blog posts, Google expects informational content — don't try to rank a service page there.

### Keyword Difficulty vs Search Volume

For small/local business sites, **ignore high-difficulty keywords at first.**

| Combination | Strategy |
|-------------|----------|
| Low difficulty + moderate volume | **Best opportunities — quick wins** |
| Low difficulty + low volume | Still valuable if commercial/transactional intent |
| High difficulty + high volume | Long-term goals only |
| High difficulty + low volume | Skip entirely |

**Quick difficulty check without paid tools:** Search your target keyword. If page 1 is dominated by Wikipedia, major publications, and government sites — too competitive. If you see other small businesses, local directories, and niche sites — achievable.

## Free Research Tools

### 1. Google Search Console (Your Best Tool)

Shows exactly what queries people use to find (or almost find) your site.

**Quick wins from Search Console:**

- **Performance > Queries > Sort by impressions:** See what Google shows your site for. High impressions + low clicks = fix your title/description or create dedicated content.
- **Position 8-20 keywords ("striking distance"):** These are queries where you're on page 1-2 but not top 5. A small content improvement or better title tag can push these up.
- **Pages report:** See which pages rank for which queries. If one page ranks for many unrelated queries, split content into separate focused pages.
- **Filter by query containing your location:** Find local search opportunities.

### 2. Google Autocomplete / People Also Ask / Related Searches

Free and directly reflects what people search for.

- **Autocomplete:** Type your service in Google and note every suggestion. Use the "alphabet soup" method: type `[service] a`, `[service] b`, etc.
- **People Also Ask (PAA):** Click on PAA questions to expand — Google loads more each time. Each question is a potential blog post or FAQ entry.
- **Related Searches:** At the bottom of the SERP. Semantically related queries Google considers relevant.

**Use incognito mode** and set location to your target area for accurate local results.

### 3. Google Trends

- **Compare seasonal patterns:** When do people search for your services most?
- **Compare keyword variations:** "motorcycle safety course" vs "motorcycle riding course" vs "motorcycle training"
- **Filter by region:** National trends may not match Alaska or Nashville patterns
- **Rising queries:** Terms growing in popularity — early opportunities

### 4. Free Tool Tiers

| Tool | Free Limit | Best For |
|------|-----------|----------|
| **Google Keyword Planner** | Unlimited (with Google Ads account) | Volume ranges, related keywords |
| **Ubersuggest** | 3 searches/day | Volume, difficulty, suggestions |
| **AnswerThePublic** | 3 searches/day | Questions people ask about a topic |
| **Keyword Surfer** (Chrome ext.) | Unlimited | Volume in Google search results |
| **AlsoAsked.com** | 3 searches/day | PAA data visualization |
| **Ahrefs Webmaster Tools** | Unlimited (site owner) | What you currently rank for |

### 5. Competitor Analysis (No Paid Tools)

- **Search your target keywords** and study who ranks on page 1:
  - Their title tags and meta descriptions
  - Content structure and length
  - Header tags (view source)
  - What topics they cover that you don't
- **Check competitor sitemaps:** `competitor.com/sitemap.xml` reveals their full content strategy
- **Google `site:competitor.com [your service]`** to see their pages targeting similar keywords
- **Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker:** Shows top backlinks for any URL

## The Keyword Matrix

For local businesses, create a grid:

| | Anchorage | Fairbanks | Wasilla | Eagle River |
|---|-----------|-----------|---------|-------------|
| motorcycle course | Target | Target | Assess | Assess |
| rider training | Target | Assess | -- | -- |
| motorcycle license | Target | Target | Assess | -- |

Each intersection with "Target" gets its own page or section. "Assess" means check volume before investing.

## Research Process

### Step 1: Seed Keywords

List everything you think your customers might search for. Include:
- Service names
- Problem descriptions ("how to get motorcycle license")
- Location variations
- Competitor brand names (for comparison content)

### Step 2: Expand with Tools

Run seed keywords through Google Autocomplete, PAA, Keyword Planner, and Ubersuggest. Note every relevant variation.

### Step 3: Classify by Intent

Tag each keyword as informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional.

### Step 4: Assess Difficulty

For each keyword, quick-check the SERP. Can you realistically compete?

### Step 5: Prioritize

Use the [Keyword Research Template](../templates/keyword-research-template.md) to organize and prioritize.

### Step 6: Map to Pages

Assign one primary keyword to each existing page. Create new pages for keywords that don't have a natural home.