Keyword Research.

What is keyword research?

Keyword research is the process of finding the words and phrases people type or speak into search engines when looking for what you sell, then judging which are worth targeting. It weighs search demand, commercial intent and how hard each term would be to rank for. The output shapes which pages a website needs and what each one should cover.

Why it matters

Businesses routinely describe themselves in their own jargon while customers search in plain terms. A manufacturer may say 'precision fabrication' while buyers search for 'sheet metal cutting'. Good keyword research closes that gap. It stops you writing pages nobody searches for, shows which services have real demand in your area, and points paid search budget at terms that bring enquiries rather than browsers.

What to weigh up

• Searcher intent Is the searcher learning, comparing or buying? 'Boiler service cost Cardiff' signals a buyer; 'how does a boiler work' does not.
• Search volume How often a term is searched. Treat tool figures as rough estimates, especially for niche B2B terms.
• Ranking difficulty How strong the pages already ranking are. Some terms are realistically out of reach for a smaller site.
• Business value What a visitor on that term is worth. A rare search that brings one large contract a year can beat a popular one.

What to do about it

Start with what you already have. Pull the queries from Google Search Console, read twenty recent enquiry emails, and ask your sales team what customers call your services. Group the phrases by intent and map each group to one page on your site. Where a valuable group has no page, that is the next page to write. Use a keyword tool afterwards to sense-check demand rather than set the agenda.