How do you do local keyword research?
Local keyword research finds the words people near you use when they need what you sell. The output is not a long spreadsheet. It is a short map that tells you which categories to pick, which pages to write and which searches to track.
What is local keyword research?
It is the process of finding the searches local customers use for your services, grouping them by intent, and deciding which profile field or web page should answer each group.
Local searches have a different shape from national ones. Many contain a place ("Oakville", "east end", "near me") or none at all, because Google already knows where the person is. Most are short. The aim is to understand the handful of service searches that bring paying customers, then cover them well.
When should you do local keyword research?
Do it before you choose Business Profile categories, before you write or restructure service pages, and before you set up tracking. Repeat it once a year, or when you add a service or a location.
It also helps when calls are steady but the jobs are wrong. A roofer getting many "roof leak" calls but few "roof replacement" enquiries may find the replacement searches are going to competitors with better pages for that intent.
Seasonality is the other reason to look. Searches for furnace repair, snow removal, pool openings and tax help rise and fall by month in most Canadian cities. Keyword Planner shows monthly trends, so you can publish and polish pages a few weeks before the peak rather than in the middle of it.
A simple test tells you whether research is overdue: list your five most profitable jobs, then check whether each has a profile service and a page on your site. Any gap is where to start.
How do you find local keywords step by step?
- List your services in customers' words. Canadians type both "eavestrough" and "gutter"; trade jargon is typed far less.
- Add modifiers. Places you serve, urgency ("emergency", "same day", "open now"), audience ("commercial", "for seniors") and problems ("leaking", "won't start").
- Check volumes. In Google's Keyword Planner, set the location to your city or region and compare monthly search estimates and bid ranges. Treat the numbers as rough guides, especially in smaller places.
- Read your profile's search terms. Business Profile performance lists the searches that showed your profile. Google updates them at the start of each month, with up to a five-day delay, so review last month's list early in the next.
- Search each group yourself. Note whether a map pack appears, which businesses show and what kinds of pages rank in the organic links.
- Map each group to one destination. A category, a service in your profile, a service page or an FAQ answer. One group, one main page.
If you also run ads, the same list feeds your campaigns; our Google Ads keyword research guide covers match types and negatives.
What does a finished local keyword map look like?
Here is a keyword board for a fictional heating and cooling company in Oakville and Burlington. Each column is an intent group with a planned destination.
Service + place
Ready to hire. Destination: service page per core service.
Implicit local
No place typed; Google uses location. Destination: profile.
Urgent problem
High value, short window. Destination: profile hours and an urgent page.
Research
Early stage. Destination: guide or FAQ.
Not worth chasing
Wrong customer or job.
Notice the place names: residents search by the town (Oakville) and sometimes by the region (Halton). Pages for each matter only where you have real jobs, staff or customers there; location pages explains how to make them more than a name swap.
Group by intent, not by spelling.
"Furnace repair", "furnace fix" and "furnace not working" are one job and belong on one page. Splitting near-duplicates into separate pages thins out your site.
What mistakes do businesses make with local keywords?
- Chasing the biggest number. "Plumber" may outrank "backflow valve installation" on volume, but the second may bring higher-value jobs and fewer competitors.
- Writing one page per suburb with the same text. Google treats near-duplicate city pages as doorway pages. See location pages.
- Putting keywords in the business name. It breaks the profile name rules; categories and services are where relevance belongs.
- Skipping the results page. If a search shows a national retailer and articles, a local service page will struggle there; choose a different target.
- Ignoring the words in your reviews. Customers describe jobs in their own terms. Recurring phrases in reviews are a free source of service names and problems worth covering.
- Doing it once. New services, new neighbourhoods and seasonal swings change what people search.
How do you measure whether your keyword choices worked?
| Measure | What it shows | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Search terms showing your profile | Whether categories and services match real searches | Profile performance |
| Impressions per service page | Whether the page is being found | Search Console |
| Rank grid for each core group | Coverage across your area | Rank grid tool |
| Calls and forms per service | Whether the traffic brings work | Call tracking and form tags |
| Jobs by service | Whether it is the work you want | Your job or sales records |
Keep in mind that profile views count each person once per day, so a busy week of repeat lookups by the same people does not inflate the total. For tagging profile links so website visits are attributed correctly, see calls, directions and clicks.
Frequently asked questions
What is local keyword research?
It finds the searches local customers use for your services, groups them by intent, and assigns each group to a profile field or a web page.
Do I need to put my city in every keyword?
No. Many local searches have no place in them because Google already knows where the searcher is. Use place names where people actually type them.
Is Keyword Planner accurate for small towns?
Its numbers are estimates and are often rounded or blank for small places. Use them to compare options, not as exact counts.
Where can I see what people searched to find my profile?
In Business Profile performance, under searches. The terms update at the start of each month with up to a five-day delay.
How many keywords should a local business target?
Think in groups, not single keywords. Many local businesses do well with five to fifteen service groups, each with one main page.
Should I create a page for every keyword variation?
No. Variations with the same intent belong on one page. Separate pages only when the service or the customer is genuinely different.
How often should I redo local keyword research?
Once a year, and whenever you add a service, open a location or see the search terms in your profile shift.
Sources & further reading
Regulator rules, platform policies and local data change. These sources let you check the facts on this page, last checked October 7, 2026.