Good keyword lists start with the business and its customers, not with a tool. Tools are excellent at expanding a list into hundreds of variations, but they can't tell you which problems your customers lose sleep over, what words they use on the phone, or which services make you money. This lesson gives you a repeatable process for gathering keyword ideas from five sources, and for keeping them organised so they turn into a plan.
Step 1: Seed ideas from the business
A seed is a short phrase that describes something you offer or a problem you solve. Start by listing:
- Products and services, including the names customers use rather than internal jargon. A plumbing company may say "hydro-jetting"; customers type "blocked drain".
- Problems you solve: "leaking hot water system", "tax return for sole trader", "website not showing on google".
- Audiences: "for small business", "for tradies", "for NDIS providers", "for students".
- Places you serve: cities, suburbs, regions and, for international businesses, countries.
- Differentiators: "same day", "eco-friendly", "after hours", "fixed price".
Mine customer language
The best seeds come from customers' own words:
- Sales calls and emails: ask the people who talk to customers what questions come up again and again.
- Support tickets and live chat transcripts: problems are described in plain language.
- Reviews on your Google Business Profile, product reviews and competitors' reviews. Customers describe outcomes ("finally sleeping through the night") and frustrations ("couldn't get a straight answer on price").
- Forums and communities such as Reddit, Whirlpool (popular in Australia for tech and finance), industry Facebook groups and Q&A sites.
- Internal site search logs, if your site has a search box. GA4 can report site search terms if configured. These show what visitors expected to find and didn't.
Write everything down, even phrases that seem obvious. Obvious to you is often not obvious to search engines or competitors.
Step 2: Your own search data
If the website already exists, Google Search Console is the most valuable keyword source you have, because it shows real queries for which Google already shows your site.
In the Performance report:
- Set the date range to the last 3–12 months.
- Open the Queries tab and export it.
- Sort by impressions and look for queries with high impressions but low clicks or an average position between about 5 and 20. Google already associates you with these, so improving the relevant page is often the quickest win.
- Filter by page to see every query a specific page appears for. This often reveals subtopics the page should cover better.
Bing Webmaster Tools offers similar query data plus a keyword research tool based on Bing's own data.
Step 3: The search results page
Search each seed and note what Google and Bing suggest:
- Autocomplete: suggestions as you type. Add a letter after the seed ("accountant a", "accountant b") or a question word ("how accountant") to see more.
- People also ask: real related questions; click one to load more.
- Related searches at the bottom of the page.
- Things to know or refinement chips that appear for some queries.
These are especially good for informational content and FAQ sections. Remember that suggestions vary by country, so research from the market you're targeting.
Step 4: Keyword tools
Tools expand seeds into large lists with estimated volumes and other metrics.
- Google Ads Keyword Planner (free with a Google Ads account): suggests keywords from seeds or a website, with search volume ranges and bid estimates. Volumes are often shown as ranges unless the account has active spend.
- Microsoft Advertising Keyword Planner: similar data for Bing.
- Google Trends: relative interest over time and by region, useful for seasonality and comparing terms (for example "solar batteries" in Queensland versus Victoria).
- Commercial SEO tools (such as Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, SE Ranking and others): large keyword databases by country, difficulty scores, SERP features, and the keywords competitors rank for. Their volumes are modelled estimates.
- Specialist sources: YouTube search suggestions for video, Amazon or marketplace suggestions for products, and app store search for apps.
Always set the country (and language) in a tool to match your market. "Mobile phone plans" in Australia and "cell phone plans" in the US are different markets with different words.
Step 5: Organise the list
A raw list of 2,000 keywords is not a plan. Organise it in a spreadsheet with columns such as:
| Column | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Keyword | The phrase |
| Intent | Informational, commercial, transactional, navigational |
| Topic / cluster | Groups related terms for one page |
| Estimated volume | Relative demand (an estimate) |
| Current ranking URL | Which page already ranks, if any |
| Current position | From Search Console or a rank tracker |
| Business value | High, medium or low relevance to what you sell |
| Notes | SERP features, competitors, ideas |
Remove anything irrelevant early: wrong products, other brands' navigational terms, places you don't serve, and jobs or "free" queries if they don't fit.
Short tail, long tail and why the tail matters
Head or short-tail keywords are broad, high-volume terms ("insurance", "shoes"). They're usually very competitive and vague in intent.
Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific ("public liability insurance for cleaners nsw", "wide fit running shoes for flat feet"). Individually they have low volumes, but there are so many that together they often make up most of a site's search traffic. Because they're specific, they usually convert better: someone searching for "public liability insurance for cleaners nsw" knows exactly what they want.
Search engines also see a constant stream of queries they've never seen before, which is why covering a topic thoroughly (with clear structure and related subtopics) matters more than chasing every phrasing.
Worked example: an Auckland accounting firm
Seeds from the partners: "accountant auckland", "small business accountant", "xero setup", "gst return", "company formation nz".
From Search Console: the firm already gets impressions for "provisional tax explained" (position 14) and "how to register for gst nz" (position 18), from an old blog post.
From People also ask: "Do I need an accountant for a sole trader in NZ?", "How much does an accountant cost for a small business NZ?".
From Keyword Planner and an SEO tool: variations such as "accountant for contractors auckland", "xero accountant auckland", "rental property accountant auckland".
Organised result:
- A service page for small business accounting in Auckland (transactional/local).
- Specialist service pages for contractors and rental property owners (transactional, high value).
- A pricing guide answering "how much does an accountant cost for a small business in NZ" (commercial).
- An improved, updated provisional tax guide and a new GST registration guide (informational, already showing promise in Search Console), each linking to the relevant services.
Avoid these traps
- Chasing broad head terms with vague intent and enormous competition.
- Ignoring zero- or low-volume terms that are highly specific to your services; tools often under-report niche B2B and local demand.
- Copying a competitor's keyword list without checking it fits your offer, audience and location.
- Researching in the wrong country or language variant.
- Never revisiting the list: language, products and demand change.
How many keywords do you need?
There's no target number. A local trade business might build its plan around 50 to 150 meaningful keywords grouped into 15 to 30 pages. A national ecommerce store may track thousands across hundreds of categories. What matters is coverage of the topics your customers care about and a clear page for each one. If your list is growing faster than your ability to create and improve pages, stop researching and start prioritising.
Key takeaways
- Start with seeds from the business and customer language, not a tool.
- Search Console shows real queries you already appear for; high impressions with low clicks are opportunities.
- Use autocomplete, People also ask and related searches for question ideas.
- Keyword tools expand lists, but their volumes are estimates; set the right country.
- Organise keywords with intent, cluster, value and current ranking so they become a plan.
- The long tail is collectively large and often converts best.