keywords: what they are, intent-first method, mistakes

web · 2026-10-13 · 6 min

keywords are simply the words customers type into google — your pages must speak them to be found by them. google understands related language, so the job is matching pages to intent, not stuffing phrases. the pillar guide: what they are, the beginner method, and the mistakes that waste months.

what keywords actually are

the search box text: boiler repair parma (buying), how much does a boiler service cost (learning), best plumber near me (choosing). every phrase carries intent — learn, compare, buy, find-local — and pages win by matching it. a service page targeting a learning phrase loses to guides; a guide targeting a buying phrase loses to service pages. intent first, volume second.

the beginner method (no paid tools)

list offers × questions × places (your raw list is 80% of local research). expand via autocomplete and people-also-ask (real searches, free, current). check live results per phrase (what page-type wins tells you what to build). assign one phrase per page — duplicates cannibalize each other. write naturally (title, heading, first paragraph carry it; repetition beyond that is spam). refine with planner volumes cautiously (ad estimates, not organic promises) and console data continuously: what is google search console. the quick version: how do i choose keywords.

the mistakes

chasing huge volume you can't win (national phrases vs local business: years of pain). targeting the same phrase with five pages (they split the vote; consolidate). stuffing (violates spam policies, reads terribly). ignoring the phrases you already near-win (console positions 5-15 are one good page from traffic). choosing by volume instead of buyers (10 buying searches beat 1,000 curious ones).

FAQ

short or long phrases?

both, matched to pages: head terms for service pages, long questions for answer-pages. long-tail converts better and competes thinner — beginners should live there.

how many keywords per page?

one primary, natural variants in prose. counting beyond that is 2010.