Keyword research is an essential first step before creating digital content. Paid tools are plentiful, but you can still start keyword research for a local business with an effective manual approach. This article covers how to research keywords at no extra cost, from understanding your business needs and finding relevant keywords to deciding which content to prioritise.
1. Understand your business needs
Before looking for keywords, get to know your target audience and what they are searching for. Local businesses such as food shops, repair services, or beauty clinics all have different needs. For example, if you run a food shop in South Jakarta, your audience may be people searching for “restaurants near me” or “cheap lunch menu”.
Before going further, answer these three questions:
- Who are your main customers, and where are they?
- What problem are they trying to solve?
- What words do they use when asking friends or posting on social media?
2. Use Google Autocomplete
Type your main keyword into Google and look at the suggestions that appear. Autocomplete shows what people search for most often. For example, if you type “ac cleaning”, Google might suggest “ac cleaning jakarta”, “ac cleaning bandung”, or “cheap ac cleaning”. This helps you find specific long-tail keywords with lower competition.
Note the patterns that appear
Copy every suggestion into a simple spreadsheet, then group them by location, price, or service type. The patterns that show up most often are the topics most worth writing about.
Compare with Google Trends
To compare two keywords, open Google Trends and choose Indonesia as the region. You can see which keyword is searched more often and when interest rises.
3. Analyse your competitors
Look at your competitors’ websites. Pay attention to their page titles, meta descriptions, and subheadings. This shows you which keywords they are targeting. Also note the gaps in their content, so you can write something more complete and relevant.
Follow these three steps for each main keyword:
- Search for your main keyword on Google and open the top three results.
- Note the title, meta description, and subheadings on each page.
- Mark the topics they have not covered, and turn them into your content.
4. Prioritise local keywords
If your business focuses on a specific area, make sure to include the city or district name. For example, “photocopy service east jakarta” or “cooking class bogor”. Local keywords have smaller search volumes, but they convert better because people searching for them are usually ready to act.
Local keywords may not be searched often, but the people typing them are usually ready to walk into your shop.
— *Jonathan Anderson T., SEO Lead & Editorial Reviewer*
If your website still isn’t showing up in search results, find out why in why your website isn’t on Google’s first page yet.
Conclusion
Keyword research without paid tools takes longer, but the results are well worth it. By understanding your audience and using free resources like Google, you can create relevant content and improve your local business’s visibility in search engines.
