Find the right keywords: speak the way your clients search

You know your trade by heart, so you use your own words. The trouble is your clients type their words into Google. A plumber says “water heater descaling”; the client searches “hot water smells like rotten eggs.” Keyword research is simply the art of discovering the real words your people use, so you can put them on your site.

Think about intent, not just the topic

One topic hides several intentions. Someone typing “how much does a move cost” is gathering info; someone typing “movers Trois-Rivières Saturday” wants to book right now. That second person is almost a client. Aim first at searches where the person is ready to act, because those are the ones that fill your calendar.

For each service you offer, ask yourself: what would someone type just before calling me? Write those phrases down exactly. That’s your starting point, and it’s already gold.

The long tail: fewer people, but the right ones

“Hairdresser” is a hugely searched word… and impossible to win against the big chains. “Hairdresser for curly hair in Sherbrooke,” on the other hand, is searched less often, but by exactly the people you want. These long, specific phrases, the “long tail,” bring fewer visitors, but visitors who become clients.

• Add your town or region: “electrician Rimouski.”
• Add the specific need: “plus-size wedding dress.”
• Add the context: “caterer for an office party.”
• Keep the words simple, the ones people actually say.

Where to find these words without guessing blindly

You already have the best sources on hand. Listen to the questions clients ask you on the phone. Look at the suggestions that appear as you start typing in Google. Scroll to the bottom of the results page, to “People also ask.” Every phrase Google suggests is a real person who searched it before you.

The best keyword isn’t the most searched one. It’s the one your next client says just before finding you.

Put the words where they matter

Once you’ve found your words, don’t cram them everywhere like filler. Google hates that, and so do your readers. Place them naturally: in your headings, in the first sentences of your pages, in your service names. Write for a human first; if a sentence sounds forced out loud, rewrite it.

If you’d like, we sit down together and build the list of words your clients truly search for, service by service. Write me and we’ll look at it. Often, two or three good phrases well placed change everything.