You can do keyword research without paying for expensive tools by using Google itself (autosuggest, “People also ask”, related searches), your own data in Search Console, and one free spreadsheet, then turning those keywords into actual pages that win calls.
If you’re about to drop £99 a month on a tool because you think it’ll magically fix your rankings, it won’t. You’ll just have a fancier way to avoid doing the work.
This post shows you a free, practical keyword research process for UK local businesses. It’s for trades, local services, and anyone who paid for a new website and is now staring at a grand total of zero enquiries. You’ll finish with a usable list of keywords and a clear idea of which pages to build.
Here’s the uncomfortable bit that proves why this matters: a Backlinko CTR study found the #1 result in Google gets about 27.6% of clicks on average. If you’re not showing up near the top for the words that make you money, your competitor is literally siphoning off the majority of buyers before they even see you. Source: Backlinko’s organic CTR study.
The mistake that wastes months: chasing “big” keywords
Most small businesses don’t lose at SEO because they’re not clever enough.
They lose because they pick dumb targets.
Example: a builder in Chester trying to rank for “home extensions” nationally. That’s like trying to win the lottery by punching a seagull.
What you actually want is purchase intent, with a location (or at least a service that screams “hire me”). Stuff like:
- “loft conversion Chester”
- “house extension builder Chester”
- “garage conversion company near me”
Not glamorous. Not huge volumes.
But those searches convert. And you don’t need a £300-a-month tool to find them.
Start with the only list that matters: what you sell, where you sell it
Open a spreadsheet. Two columns:
- Service
- Location
Write down your actual services (not the fluffy ones your web designer invented) and your actual service areas.
If you’re a plumber in Crewe, don’t write “solutions”. Write “boiler repair”, “leak repair”, “emergency plumber”, “boiler service”, “bathroom plumbing”.
For locations, don’t just write “Cheshire”. Write the towns people actually search:
- Crewe
- Nantwich
- Sandbach
- Northwich
- Chester
- Warrington
This is the base of your keyword research. Everything else is just evidence.
Google is literally telling you what to target (if you stop ignoring it)
This is the free part most people mess up by overthinking.
Use Google autosuggest like a wiretap
Go to Google.
Start typing: emergency plumber cre...
Google will complete the phrase with what real humans type.
Write down the suggestions that match what you do.
Do it again for:
service + locationservice + near meservice + costservice + time(example: “how long does a boiler service take”)
This is keyword research. It’s just not wearing a suit.
Steal from “People also ask” (because it’s full of buyer questions)
Search one of your core terms.
Open the “People also ask” box.
Click a few questions so it expands.
You’ve just found:
- blog topics
- FAQ content for service pages
- the exact wording customers use when they’re deciding
For example, an accountant in Nantwich might see:
- “How much does an accountant cost for a small business?”
- “Do I need an accountant or can I do it myself?”
Those are conversion questions. If your site answers them clearly, you win trust, and you pick up leads other firms never even see.
Don’t forget the bottom of the page
Scroll to “Related searches”.
Those are more keyword variations, usually closer to how people actually speak.
Your own website already has keyword data (and you’re probably not using it)
If your site is connected to Google Search Console, you’ve got a free keyword tool sitting there right now.
If it’s not connected, fix that first. Google’s own guide is here: Google Search Console.
Once you’re in, go to Performance and look at Queries.
You want two types of gold:
1) High impressions, low clicks
That means Google is already showing you, but nobody’s choosing you.
Usually because your page title is boring, irrelevant, or both.
If you see something like:
- Query: “boiler repair Crewe”
- Impressions: loads
- Clicks: rubbish
That’s not a “need more backlinks” problem.
That’s a “your listing looks worse than the one above it” problem.
2) Queries ranking 8 to 20
These are your “one decent update away” keywords.
A bit of better page copy, clearer headings, a tighter title tag, maybe an FAQ section, and you can push onto page one.
This is where website SEO optimisation actually pays off, because you’re improving something Google already understands.
Keyword Planner: yes it’s free, and yes it’s good enough
Google Keyword Planner is inside Google Ads.
You don’t need to run ads to use it, but Google will sometimes show ranges instead of exact numbers unless you spend. That’s fine.
Exact volume is not the point for local SEO anyway.
What you’re using Keyword Planner for is:
- spotting obvious demand vs zero demand
- finding variants (repair vs service vs installation)
- sanity checking seasonality (some jobs spike)
If you’re obsessing over whether a keyword gets 90 searches or 140 searches a month, you’re procrastinating.
Google Trends: the free way to avoid picking dead terms
If you’re in a niche that changes, use Google Trends to check whether people are searching more, less, or not at all.
This matters for stuff like:
- “air source heat pump installation”
- “EV charger installer”
- “solar panel cleaning”
If a term is rising, you want to build the page before everyone else in Cheshire wakes up and copies you.
Competitor research without tools: the “who’s stealing my dinner?” method
You don’t need Ahrefs to see what’s working.
You need eyes.
Pick 5 searches that would make you money.
Example for a roofer in Warrington:
- “roofer Warrington”
- “roof repair Warrington”
- “emergency roofer Warrington”
- “flat roof replacement Warrington”
- “leaking roof repair Warrington”
Now open the top results.
You’re looking for patterns:
- Are the winners service pages or blog posts?
- Do they mention the town in the title and headings?
- Do they show prices, timescales, guarantees, accreditations?
- Do they have photos of real jobs in the area?
Then copy the structure, not the wording.
If the top pages are all “Roof Repair Warrington” service pages with before/after photos and clear CTAs, don’t write a 2,000-word essay about the history of slate.
Map keywords to pages, or your site turns into a junk drawer
This is the bit most people skip, then wonder why rankings wobble.
A keyword list is useless unless you know where each keyword is going.
Here’s a simple mapping that works for local businesses:
| Keyword type | Example | Best page type | What to include |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core service + town | “boiler repair Crewe” | Service page | Prices (if you can), areas covered, proof, FAQs, clear contact |
| Emergency intent | “emergency plumber Chester” | Dedicated emergency page | Phone-first layout, response times, what counts as emergency |
| Comparison intent | “gas boiler service vs repair” | Blog/support page | Plain-English explanation, when to choose which, links to service pages |
| Cost intent | “how much is a boiler service” | Blog or FAQ section | Ballpark ranges, what affects price, what’s included |
| “Near me” | “electrician near me” | Google Business Profile + strong service pages | GBP categories, reviews, on-site location signals |
If you want a deeper version of this, read The SEO Dating Game: Matching Keywords with Content. It covers intent properly, without making your eyes bleed.
The three keywords most businesses should stop targeting today
Not because they’re bad words.
Because they’re bad targets.
“Best” keywords
“Best plumber in Crewe” sounds lovely.
It’s also a pain.
Google tends to reward brands with serious review volume and authority for “best” terms.
If you don’t have that yet, focus on:
- “emergency plumber Crewe”
- “boiler repair Crewe”
Win those first. Get the reviews. Then go after “best”.
“Cheap” keywords
“Cheap” searchers are often tyre-kickers, and they complain more.
If you do want them, build a page that qualifies them.
Example: “Affordable boiler repair in Crewe (what ‘affordable’ actually means)”. Be honest. Filter the time-wasters.
Ultra-broad national keywords
If you’re a local service business, national keywords are usually vanity.
You don’t need traffic.
You need enquiries.
If you’re not sure where to focus, SEO on a Budget? is the quick reality check.
A quick Cheshire example you can copy tonight
Let’s say you’re a joiner in Northwich.
You start with seed terms:
- “bespoke wardrobes”
- “alcove units”
- “under stairs storage”
You run autosuggest and get:
- “bespoke wardrobes Northwich”
- “fitted wardrobes Northwich”
- “alcove units cost”
- “under stairs storage ideas”
Then you check Search Console and find you’re already getting impressions for “fitted wardrobes Northwich” but you’ve got no dedicated page for it.
So you build a page:
- Title: “Fitted Wardrobes in Northwich (Made to Measure, Properly Built)”
- Photos of real installs
- FAQs pulled from “People also ask”
- Clear “Request a callback” style CTA
That’s how you turn “keyword research” into money.
Not by exporting 3,000 keywords you’ll never use.
The tool you actually need: a brand people remember
Keyword research gets you found.
Brand gets you chosen.
If your website looks like every other “trusted local experts” site in Cheshire, you’ll bleed conversions even when you rank.
Sometimes the right move is sorting your positioning and message so your page doesn’t read like it was generated by a sleepy robot. If you need a proper brand and go-to-market team, have a look at Boil, a branding and go-to-market agency and see how challengers build something people actually recognise.
Where we come in (once, clearly)
SEO Bridge is an SEO agency based in Cheshire. We help small businesses get found, trusted, and contacted, without the smoke and mirrors.
If you want the wider framework around this (Maps, pages, tracking, the lot), read The No-Bullsh*t Guide To Getting Found On Google.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need search volume numbers for keyword research? No. For local services, intent beats volume. “Boiler repair Crewe” with 30 searches can out-earn a vague keyword with 300.
What’s the best free keyword tool? Google Search Console, because it shows what you already appear for, and where you’re close to page one.
How many keywords should I target on one page? Usually one main term and a handful of close variants that mean the same thing. If the intent changes, it deserves a different page.
Can I use ChatGPT for keyword research? You can use it to brainstorm services, questions, and page outlines. Don’t trust it for search demand or what people actually type. Validate with Google autosuggest and Search Console.
Why am I ranking for the wrong keywords? Because your pages are unclear. Fix titles, headings, and on-page wording so Google understands exactly what you do and where you do it.
If any of this sounds horribly familiar, and you’d rather not spend your evenings arguing with spreadsheets and Google autosuggest, give us a shout. seobridge.co.uk. Free consultation, no waffle, no suits.
