Find the Searches Your Local Customers Actually Use
Effective local SEO starts with understanding how potential customers search for the products and services your business provides.
Erikson Media provides local keyword research that identifies relevant search topics, evaluates search intent and maps those opportunities to the correct pages on your website.
Keyword research provides the foundation for our broader Local SEO Services and helps determine what your website should target before new pages are created.
What Is Local Keyword Research?
Local keyword research examines the search queries people use when looking for businesses, services and solutions within a geographic market.
These searches often combine commercial intent with geographic signals.
Examples include:
Service + City
Service + Neighbourhood
Service Near Me
Problem + Service
Business Type + Location
The objective is to identify meaningful search patterns and understand what searchers expect to find when they use them.
Search Volume Is Only Part of the Picture
A keyword with high search volume is not automatically valuable.
For a local business, a smaller number of searches from people actively looking to hire a company may be considerably more valuable than thousands of informational searches.
We evaluate keywords based on factors such as:
- Search intent
- Relevance to the business
- Geographic relevance
- Commercial value
- Competition
- Search-result composition
- Existing website authority
- Conversion potential
This helps prioritize searches that can realistically contribute to customer acquisition.
Understanding Search Intent
Different searches represent different stages of the customer journey.
Someone searching for general information may not be ready to contact a business. Someone searching for a specific service in their city may have much stronger commercial intent.
We generally separate searches into categories such as:
Informational → Commercial Research → Local Commercial → Transactional
Understanding this distinction helps determine whether a keyword belongs on a service page, location page, article or another type of content.
Keyword Mapping
Finding keywords is only the first step.
Each important search topic needs an appropriate destination on the website.
We create keyword maps that assign primary topics and related searches to specific pages.
For example:
Primary Service → Specialized Service → Location → Supporting Article
This creates clear keyword ownership across the website and reduces unnecessary overlap between pages.
Avoiding Keyword Cannibalization
Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages compete for substantially the same search intent.
For example, creating several slightly different pages around the same service can make it unclear which page should rank.
We identify overlapping topics before building the content architecture and assign each important search intent to a primary page.
This is particularly important for larger websites with many services and locations.
A Local SEO Audit can identify cannibalization and keyword targeting problems already present on an existing website.
Service Keyword Research
Service pages typically target searches from people actively looking for a particular solution.
We research how customers describe those services and determine whether individual services deserve dedicated pages.
The resulting structure might look like:
Core Service → Major Sub-Service → Specialized Service
This allows the website to cover meaningful search demand without creating unnecessary pages for every minor keyword variation.
Location Keyword Research
Geographic modifiers can reveal how customers search across cities, neighbourhoods and service areas.
However, search demand alone does not mean every city requires a separate page.
We evaluate whether there is enough distinct search intent and business relevance to justify additional location content.
For companies operating across several markets, our Multi-Location SEO service develops the broader architecture required to support those locations.
Google Maps Keyword Research
Keyword research can also help determine which services and search themes are most important for Google Maps visibility.
These findings can influence website content, Google Business Profile services and the relationship between the website and local listing.
Our Google Maps SEO and Google Business Profile Optimization services build on this research.
Competitor Keyword Research
Competitors can provide useful information about how Google currently interprets a market.
We examine businesses ranking for important searches to understand:
- Which pages rank
- What type of content Google favours
- How competitors structure services
- Which locations receive dedicated pages
- Where competitors have strong coverage
- Where opportunities may exist
The goal isn’t to copy competing websites. It is to understand the search landscape before making strategic decisions.
Keyword Research and Website Architecture
Keyword research should happen before a large website structure is finalized whenever possible.
It helps answer important questions such as:
Does this service deserve its own page?
Should two related services share one page?
Does this location have enough opportunity to justify dedicated content?
Should this keyword belong to a commercial page or an article?
These decisions create a cleaner site architecture and make future expansion easier.
Our WordPress Web Design process can incorporate keyword research before the website is built.
Keyword Research for Content
Not every valuable search belongs on a service page.
Informational searches can reveal questions, comparisons and problems customers research before hiring a business.
These topics can become supporting articles that strengthen the relevant commercial pages through internal linking.
The structure becomes:
Supporting Content → Service Page → Lead Generation
This allows informational content to support commercial objectives without competing directly with the service pages.
From Keywords to Leads
Keyword rankings are not the final objective.
The purpose of keyword research is to connect the business with potential customers searching for relevant services.
We therefore prioritize the progression:
Search Demand → Search Intent → Relevant Page → Website Visitor → Qualified Lead
Our Lead Generation Services can extend this strategy through conversion optimization, tracking and lead-management systems.
Build Your SEO Strategy on Better Data
Before investing in dozens of service pages, location pages or articles, establish which search opportunities actually matter.
Erikson Media can research your market, map search intent and create a keyword structure that supports long-term local search growth.
Explore our complete Local SEO Services or request a quote to discuss local keyword research.