Keyword research guide
Find Search Demand Without Turning It Into a Spreadsheet Exercise.
Use customer language, first-party search data and observed search context to group meaningful demand and map it to the right pages.
How to use this guide
Work from observed evidence, record uncertainty, and turn only supported findings into actions.
The operating principle
Research decisions, not just phrases.
A useful keyword represents a need your business can satisfy. Volume and rankings are incomplete without intent, commercial relevance, the right page and a clear evidence source.
01 · Collect language
Start with customer needs and first-party evidence
Keyword research begins with the problems, offers and decisions relevant to the business, not a large exported list.
- 01
Map the commercial decisions
List the problems customers recognise, solutions they compare, risks they assess and actions they take before choosing. Include the language used in enquiries, calls and sales conversations.
- 02
Review Search Console queries
Use one named property and reporting period. Export queries with their matching pages, clicks, impressions, CTR and average position, keeping historical data labelled as historical.
- 03
Expand with observed search context
Review related searches, result formats and recurring wording for representative themes. Record the date, location and device; do not invent absent volumes or rankings.
- 04
Capture meaningful modifiers
Note service, product, audience, problem, location, comparison and decision stage qualifiers. Preserve the customer's language instead of forcing every phrase into industry terminology.
Review before moving on
- Every theme connects to a relevant customer or offer.
- Search Console property and dates are recorded.
- Observed search context is dated.
- Unknown volume, intent and ranking data remain unknown.
02 · Group intent
Organise searches around the decision they represent
Group phrases that require the same useful answer. Similar wording can represent different needs, while different wording can belong to one page.
- 01
Identify the task behind the query
Decide whether the searcher needs to understand, compare, locate, evaluate, buy or complete another action. Mark ambiguous themes for validation.
- 02
Inspect the result format
Observe whether results favour service pages, products, guides, maps, videos, tools or comparisons. Treat this as contextual evidence, not an instruction to copy the current results.
- 03
Form intent groups
Combine phrases when one page can satisfy the same audience and decision comprehensively. Separate them when the required answer, page type or next action is materially different.
- 04
Name the evidence level
Distinguish themes supported by first party data, customer evidence, observed search context or a hypothesis that still needs testing.
Review before moving on
- Each group has one stated audience need.
- Page type follows the need rather than the phrase length.
- Ambiguous intent is labelled, not asserted.
- Variants are not automatically assigned separate pages.
03 · Map and prioritise
Assign demand to the right existing or missing page
A useful keyword map connects evidence to assets and decisions. It is not a requirement to place every phrase into a page.
- 01
Map groups to current pages
Compare each intent group with the purpose, title, heading and content of the strongest existing page. Flag clear alignment, mismatch, overlap and genuine gaps.
- 02
Choose the content decision
Keep a well aligned page, improve a defined weakness, consolidate overlapping pages or create a new asset only when no current page can meet the need.
- 03
Prioritise commercially
Consider relevance to the offer, evidence of demand, strategic fit, confidence and effort. Do not let a high third party volume override weak business relevance.
- 04
Measure the mapped page
Record the implementation date and review the same page, query themes and useful actions over a comparable future period. Search outcomes are not guaranteed.
Review before moving on
- One primary page owns each intent group.
- No page is created solely for a minor wording variant.
- Priorities balance demand evidence with commercial relevance.
- Every action has an owner and review date.
Continue learning
Connect this work to the rest of your search plan.
Put it into practice
Review the evidence, then build a dated action plan.
Need experienced direction?