Keyword Research
Keyword research is finding the words and phrases people type into search engines when they look for what you sell, and checking roughly how often each one is searched. Google's Keyword Planner, its tool for Google Ads advertisers, describes the job as finding keywords related to your business and viewing estimates of the searches they receive.
Source: Google Ads Help, Use Keyword Planner, checked October 29, 2026
What Keyword Research means for your business
Keyword research is still part of what we do. For a small business, we'd say the search counts matter less than you'd think. Google's help page calls them estimates and says keywords with very low search volume aren't shown at all. A search for your trade plus your town can fall in that group, and a blank count doesn't mean nobody searches it.
We'd begin with your services and the towns you work in. Write them the way customers say them on the phone and in reviews, not in trade words. Run that list through Keyword Planner or a paid tool for related ideas and rough sizes. Then open the Queries list in Search Console to see the searches that already bring people to your site.
Next, search your top few phrases yourself and note what Google shows: a map, an AI Overview, directories or other local businesses. That tells you what kind of page has a shot. One main phrase per page, with close variations on that same page. Google's SEO starter guide says you don't need to guess every way someone might search, because its systems can match a page to searches that don't use its exact words.
Keyword tools count what people type into Google. A few now sell estimates for AI tools too, built from other search data, so we'd also ask your buyers' questions in ChatGPT and note which businesses get named. If you have a keyword list but can't tell which questions each page should answer, matching buyer questions to the right pages is the first thing our answer engine work does.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. All terms
How AI answers it today
On October 29, 2026, Google's AI Overview cited Wikipedia, SEO tool makers, Reddit and YouTube, and listed volume, difficulty and intent. ChatGPT used a shoe store as its example and linked to the home pages of keyword tools, Google's Keyword Planner among them.
Our run through ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview, October 29, 2026. A sample, not what every buyer sees.
Related terms in answers and how content gets used
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