For local businesses, keyword research requires a different approach. Unlike national-level websites, local business websites need to focus on proximity and geography. Through this, they can target the right audience and enjoy the most visibility.

Contrary to some beliefs, local keyword research isn’t very difficult. It may sound very technical, but with the right steps and tools, you can perform this process easily.

Here are three easy steps that you can follow:

Search for industry-related keywords

To make it easy, we will dissect the process into three different steps. We start by looking for industry-related keywords. These are general keywords that internet users enter on search engines to look for a specific business.

For example, if you have a law firm, some industry-related keywords include divorce lawyer, corporate lawyer, DUI lawyer, and so on.

Use keyword modifiers

Next, we will add a keyword modifier. These are words that indicate buyer intent, or the intention to use a specific service or product. Some of these words are best, top, affordable, cheap, where, and so on.

For the example above, you will then come up with modified keywords like best divorce lawyer, top corporate lawyer, where to find DUY lawyer, etc.

Attribute your location

Lastly, we’re going to add your business’ location. With the law firm keyword examples, it will then become best divorce lawyers in Toronto, top corporate lawyer in Newark, or affordable DUI lawyer in Santa Monica. It depends on where you are located.

You can now use these keywords for your website’s content and in launching your SEO campaign. Take note that these are just some of the basic steps. Advanced SEO will include more than this process.

Added hacks for keyword search

Use online tools

We highly recommend that you use online keyword research tools to check your keywords. This way, you’ll see how many are searching for that specific phrase, how the competition is going, and what is your chance of ranking with such phrases.

Check autocomplete suggestions

Google autocomplete suggestions are helpful in inspiring new ideas for other keywords and content. It’s also where you’ll see phrases that internet users typically search for.

Check what your competitors are doing

You should spy on your competitor’s keywords so you’ll have an idea what they are optimizing. There are online tools that will help you scrape competitor keywords easily. Through this, you can do better what your competitors are currently doing in their SEO.

Don’t forget about proximity

Lastly, always prioritize the proximity of your keywords to your target audience. This way, your pages will be indexed properly and your website will appear on the right places.

Final words

Local businesses should pay attention to how they choose the keywords they plan to rank for. It may sound intimidating, but the keyword research process is easy with enough practice. Besides, numerous online tools will make the job easy. Just play your way around it until you get past the learning curve.