How to Find Keywords for SEO
- Rhiannon
- Nov 15, 2022
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 7
When carrying out SEO (search engine optimisation) on your small business website, it is important to know which keywords (also known as search terms) you are going to target. Keyword research forms the foundation of your small business SEO strategy. Getting your keyword research right means you can optimise your website content for keywords that are relevant and realistic, so that your website optimisation efforts will actually drive visibility, traffic, and sales. This guide shows you how to find keywords for SEO, including which free tools you can use and what you should look for when deciding on your focus keywords.
In This Article:
Why is Keyword Research Important for SEO?
Carrying out keyword research before you start optimising your website content or writing blog posts can help you get the results you want faster and easier. This is because you will be targeting keywords that your audience is actually using, that are attainable, and that are relevant to your business, content and offers. Whilst common sense can help us to a degree, my clients are often surprised to discover what keywords their target audience is actually using.
There are four main reasons why keyword research is important for SEO:
Keyword research will help guide your SEO and blogging strategy
Keyword research can help you target the keywords that your target audience are actually using
Keyword research can help you identify a handful of attainable keywords to focus on for the next 3-6 months, so that you don't get overwhelmed
Keyword research can help you identify keywords you may not have thought of
Ultimately, getting your keyword research right can help you to achieve better rankings, more traffic and more sales faster than if you just guess. Learn more about the importance of keyword research for SEO with my guide for small business owners.
Best Free Keyword Research Tools for SEO
When carrying out your SEO keyword research, it is always a good idea to use an online keyword research tool. Some of these are free, whilst others are paid. Below is a list of some free keyword research tools that can help you get started:
Simply choose a tool, enter a word that's relevant to your business, product(s), or service(s), and the tool will generate keyword ideas for you. These free tools are absolutely fine if you are just starting out and want a keyword research tool that's easy to use. Be aware that they do not always provide data such as search volume of keyword difficulty (some do) and they may struggle with very niche subject areas. However, it's absolutely worth giving them a try.
Paid tools, such as SE Ranking or Semrush give much more accurate data (and more of it), but they can be expensive and much more complicated to use. I have used both in the past, and currently use SE Ranking for my own SEO.
Some tools (mainly the free ones) don't allow you to store your keyword research, so you may want to create a spreadsheet where you record your keywords and any relevant data.
Get Support With Your Keyword Research
Keyword research is fundamental to an effective SEO strategy that drives visibility, traffic, and sales. However, it's also one of the aspects small business owners struggle with the most. That's why I teach you how to do keyword research for your small business in my new marketing programme, starting summer 2025. Plus, I offer live marketing support as part of this programme, so you can get tailored keyword research help from a professional marketing consultant.
Keyword Research: Getting Started
Start by making a note of your main products and services. Think about what your business is and what it does. For example, a horse riding school could start with words such as: “riding school”, “riding lessons”, “dressage lessons”, etc. You can then type these words into your keyword research tool in order to get data and other relevant keyword suggestions. For example, typing in “riding lessons” may then lead the tool to suggest “beginners horse riding lessons” or "how old do you have to be to have riding lessons".
If you are carrying out SEO for the first time, stick to specific, easier, and less competitive keywords. Don’t overwhelm yourself by gathering too many keywords. The next sections outline how to work out which keywords to focus on, and which ones to leave for later or get rid of altogether.
Search Volume, Keyword Difficulty & Competition
Many people assume that they need to target high search volume keywords straight away, because they think using higher search volume keywords means more people will find their website. However, this is not always an effective keyword strategy for small businesses to start with.
High search volume keywords tend to be more generic and more competitive. Lots of people are searching for them, so lots of websites are competing to rank for them. Trying to optimise your website for high search volume keywords from the start can mean you make less progress than if you target lower search volume, less competitive keywords and gradually build up.
Some keyword research tools will give you data on search volumes and / or keyword difficulty. For example, “horse riding boots” has a search volume of around 6,600 per month, whilst “short horse riding boots” has a search volume of 260 per month (SE Ranking, October 2022). In this case, it would probably be easier to begin by targeting “short horse riding boots” before thinking about “horse riding boots” generally.
Of course, by targeting “short horse riding boots” in your SEO strategy, you will be helping to optimise your website for “horse riding boots” as well, because the latter phrase is included in the former. However, whilst you could get your website to rank in the top 10 for “short horse riding boots” in 3-6 months, this will take much longer for “horse riding boots”.
Once you have started to rank for those easier keywords, you can start working on the more difficult ones.
SEO is Like Dressage - Yes, Really
Little horsey analogy for you: Think of your keyword research and SEO strategy as being a little like training a dressage horse. You wouldn’t get a horse doing piaffe, passage and pirouettes before you have established a steady, balanced, trot and canter. Whilst I’m no expert, I imagine that doing so is likely to result in an unbalanced horse with a fried brain. It won’t get you to Grand Prix any faster than if you were to bring the horse through the levels slowly, getting the basics right before trying the more advanced movements.
And if you're not familiar with the equestrian world, think of your SEO strategy and keyword research as being like an onion. It's made up of lots of layers that build up over time to give you the overall result.
Keyword Research For Website Pages & Blog Posts
Another important aspect of choosing your focus keywords is which page(s) you will use to target each keyword. There are two main types of keyword:
Commercial keywords, which are most often used to describe a product or service
Informational keywords, which search engine users tend to use when looking for answers, solutions, inspiration or instructions
I will take an equestrian retailer as an example, to describe how you can use both types of keyword in your SEO and blog content strategy.
Keywords that describe the products (commercial keywords), such as "horse riding boots" or "horse turnout rug" would be best targeted using the individual product pages or category pages, depending on how specific the keyword is.
Questions-based keywords (informational keywords) such as "what is a saddle pad used for" or "how to measure a horse for a rug" would likely work better as blog posts designed to educate and inform the reader.
My Top 10 Keyword Research Tips For SEO & Blogging
Keyword research for SEO and blogging can sometimes feel quite overwhelming, and it is easy to get lost trying to find the "perfect" keywords for your website and blog posts. Here are my top 10 keyword research tips for small businesses that want to get the SEO strategy underway quickly:
Your keyword research is not a one-time task. You can and will come back to it every few months, so it does not need to be perfect the first time around.
Start with attainable keywords - these keywords will usually have a lower search volume, be more specific, and be less competitive than other keywords. By starting with these easier keywords, you can get your website ranking and driving traffic more quickly.
Start with one free keyword research tool - you do not need to invest in subscriptions to complicated and expensive keyword research tools to get you started. A combination of free tools, Google, and your intuition will work just fine for now.
Identify a combination of commercial and informational keywords, which you can use to optimise your main website pages and your blog posts.
Use your keyword research as a guide only. It should help and support your SEO strategy, not hinder it.
Lots of keywords do not make sense when written in a sentence. So, you may need to adjust how you actually use those keywords when it comes to optimising your website content. This is fine, but it's worth bearing in mind as a slightly different keyword might be easier to optimise for.
Don't try to pick too many keywords to start with. Try identifying 10 target keywords, and focus on optimising a handful of key pages on your website. You can expand your target keyword list as your SEO improves.
Google any keywords you find, and see what comes up. This will give you a good idea of what the search intent of those keywords is, so you know what Google and its users are looking for in content that targets those keywords.
Try to pick keywords that you can easily integrate into your website content. This will make your SEO much more straightforward.
Don't overthink it! Starting somewhere, taking imperfect action, and making some progress is so much better than doing nothing whilst you try to make everything perfect. Perfect does not exist.
Get Found for the Right Keywords with Quiet Horsepower
Since 2020, I have helped many small businesses find and target the right keywords for their business and audience. Keyword research forms the foundation of a successful SEO strategy, and is something I support my clients with.
Starting summer 2025, Quiet Horsepower is my new marketing programme for small business owners and introverted entrepreneurs who want to liberate themselves from marketing overwhelm and maximise their website as a revenue-generating asset. I will help you identify relevant, attainable keywords for you to target as part of your SEO and blogging strategy, so you can drive organic traffic and sales to your business authentically and consistently.
Subscribe to my newsletter to hear more about Quiet Horsepower, and receive my free AI prompt kit to help you write your next blog post with ease.
About The Author
Rhiannon is an experienced independent marketing consultant who has planned, run and optimised SEO campaigns since 2020. She has helped a range of small and independent businesses drive organic visibility, traffic, and sales through targeted SEO strategies. Now, she is on a mission to help introverted entrepreneurs use SEO, blogging, and email marketing to grow their businesses quietly, authentically, and in alignment with their values and personality.
