Effective SEO starts with understanding what your potential customers are searching for and what your competitors are doing to capture that traffic. This is the foundation of any successful local SEO strategy.

What Is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the process of identifying the words and phrases people use when searching for businesses like yours. For local businesses, this typically includes:

Service keywords: "plumbing repair," "roof replacement," "dental cleaning"
Local modifiers: "in Salt Lake City," "near me," "in Utah"
Intent modifiers: "emergency," "24/7," "best," "affordable"
Question keywords: "how much does X cost," "who is the best"

Types of Keywords for Local Businesses

High-Intent Commercial Keywords

These are the money keywords—searches from people ready to buy. Examples for a HVAC company:

"AC repair Phoenix"
"emergency heating repair near me"
"HVAC installation quote"

Informational Keywords

These attract people earlier in the buying process. They're less likely to convert immediately but build awareness and authority:

"how often should I replace my AC filter"
"signs I need a new furnace"
"best time to replace roof"

Local Keywords

Keywords that include geographic modifiers. These are essential for local businesses targeting specific service areas like Utah, Nevada, or Colorado.

How to Do Keyword Research

Step 1: Brainstorm Seed Keywords

Start with the obvious terms your customers might search. Think about your services, specialties, and the problems you solve.

Step 2: Use Keyword Tools

Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Ubersuggest can expand your list and provide search volume data.

Step 3: Analyze Search Intent

For each keyword, understand what the searcher is actually looking for. Are they ready to buy? Just researching? Looking for DIY information?

Step 4: Assess Competition

Check who currently ranks for your target keywords. If major national brands dominate, you might focus on longer-tail variations or more specific local terms.

Step 5: Prioritize Keywords

Balance search volume, competition, and relevance. The best keywords have decent volume, manageable competition, and high relevance to your services.

Competitor Analysis

Understanding what your competitors are doing helps you find opportunities and avoid their mistakes.

What to Analyze

Keywords they rank for: What terms drive their traffic?
Content strategy: What content have they created?
Backlink profile: Where are their links coming from?
Google Business Profile: How is it optimized? How many reviews?
Website structure: How is their site organized?

Finding Gaps

Look for keywords your competitors are missing. These represent opportunities to rank without direct competition. Also look for topics they've covered poorly that you could cover better.

Applying Research to Your Strategy

Keyword research and competitor analysis inform every aspect of your SEO strategy:

Homepage optimization: Target your primary service + location keyword
Service pages: Create pages for each major service keyword
Location pages: Target each city or area you serve
Blog content: Address informational keywords and questions
Link building: Target sites linking to competitors

For more on implementing local SEO, see our guide on local SEO strategies that actually work.

Get Professional Keyword Research

Keyword research and competitor analysis are core components of our SEO services. We help businesses across Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, California, and Idaho identify the best keywords for their markets and build strategies to capture them.

Keyword Research and Competitor Analysis for Local Businesses