Expensive SEO software like Ahrefs or SEMrush costs hundreds of euros a month. For many SMEs and independent business owners, that kind of subscription isn't necessary to discover what their audience is searching for. While these tools offer detailed charts and estimated search volumes, the most valuable data is often simply there for the taking.

After all, the goal of keyword research isn't to collect thousands of random terms in a spreadsheet. It's about understanding your potential client's search intent and making sure your website connects to it seamlessly. When someone searches for a specific problem, a comparison, or a price, you want that person to land on your page, not a competitor's.

When you ignore specific search queries, you leave direct conversions on the table. A well-known example for online stores and service providers is people searching for promo codes, discounts, or specific terms and conditions. If you don't set up a clear landing page for these yourself, external affiliate websites or comparison sites will claim those positions instead. That way you lose control over the visitor right before the final decision.

In this article we walk through a practical step-by-step plan. With this checklist you can carry out thorough keyword research yourself, without having to take out any monthly software licenses.

Step 1: Map the client journey and buying intent

Before you open any tool or search bar, you need to understand the logic behind your clients' search behavior. Not every search query delivers the same value. A visitor searching for general information is in a completely different stage than someone searching for specific rates or delivery times.

The difference between informational and transactional searches

At a basic level, you can split keywords into two main categories:

  1. Informational searches: the searcher is trying to understand a problem or looking for a general explanation. Think of terms like "how does process optimization work" or "what is custom code".
  2. Transactional searches: the searcher knows what they need and is comparing options or ready to do business. Think of "have a custom CRM built", "hire a web developer Ghent area", or "online store custom code pricing".

For an SME, transactional searches often deliver the fastest results. Visitor numbers for these searches are lower, but the conversion rate is many times higher.

Stop searchers from wandering off to external platforms

Take a critical look at searches directly tied to your brand or services. Do people search for your company name combined with terms like "reviews", "rates", "quote", or "discount code"?

If you haven't set up your own landing page for these searches, Google fills the results with external websites instead. Those can be review platforms, but also affiliate sites collecting commission, or competitors buying ads against your brand name. So make sure you write down these "high-intent" keywords to build specific pages for them on your own domain later.

Step 2: Use free data sources straight from Google

Google holds the most accurate search data there is, and gives away a large part of it for free. You just need to know where to look.

Pull search data from Google Search Console

Google Search Console is the single most important tool for any website owner. It shows exactly which search queries are already bringing people to your website in the organic results.

Log in to Search Console and go to the performance report. Look at these two things:

  • Keywords with a high position but a low CTR (click-through rate): this means your page is being found well, but the title or meta description isn't compelling searchers enough yet.
  • Keywords ranking between position 8 and 20: these are searches your page is already considered relevant for, but where you're not quite ranking at the top yet. With a small content expansion or better internal links, you can quickly push through to the first page.

When you type a search term into Google's search bar, the engine automatically completes your text. These suggestions are based on real searches from other users.

You can work through this process systematically:

  1. Open an incognito window in your browser so your own search history doesn't influence the results.
  2. Type in your core term, for example "custom software".
  3. Add a letter of the alphabet after the search term each time (for example "custom software a", "custom software b") and note which suggestions appear.
  4. Scroll all the way down on the search results page. Under the heading "related searches" you'll find even more relevant variations.

Make use of the "People also ask" block

For many searches, Google shows a block titled "People also ask". These are real questions being asked live by users.

Click one of the questions to expand the answer, then collapse it again. You'll see that Google immediately adds new, related questions to the bottom of the block. This is an excellent source for structuring subheadings, FAQs, or blog topics.

Step 3: Draw on your own organization and client contacts

The best keywords often don't come from SEO software, but from the daily practice of your own business. Clients rarely use the jargon you use as a specialist.

Analyze emails and quote requests

Look at the emails, intake forms, and quote requests from the past six months. What words do prospects use to describe their problem?

If, in your field, you talk about "headlessly connected data files", but the client asks for a "fast link between online store and inventory", then that last phrasing is your keyword. Write down the exact wording your clients use.

Ask your sales team or customer service for input

If you work with a team, the people answering the phone or running sales conversations are a valuable source. Ask them about:

  • The top three doubts or objections clients raise before buying.
  • The specific features or terms that get asked about most often.
  • The comparisons clients make with alternative solutions on the market.

Every objection and every frequently asked question can be turned into a targeted page or section on your website.

Check searches on your own website

If your website has an internal search bar, check your web analytics to see what visitors type into it. When visitors use the search bar on your site, they're telling you directly what they can't find quickly enough in your menu structure. This gives a clear signal of missing landing pages or unclear navigation.

Step 4: Manually analyze the search results page

Now that you've put together a list of potential keywords, you need to check what kind of content Google expects for these searches. This is called analyzing search intent.

Assess the top search results

Enter your selected keywords into Google one by one and look at the first five organic results. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • What type of page ranks at the top? Is it a commercial services page, a category page from an online store, an in-depth blog article, or a short tool?
  • How deep does the information on these pages go?
  • What angle do the top-ranking websites take?

If the top five consist only of short, business overview pages, there's little point in writing a five-thousand-word blog article for that keyword. Google is signaling that searchers at that specific moment want to quickly select a service or product.

Find content gaps in your competitors

Take a critical look at your competitors' top-ranking pages. You'll often notice that the information is outdated, full of generic marketing language, or doesn't give a concrete answer to the searcher's question.

This is an opportunity. You don't need to be the biggest player in the market to rank higher. If your page loads faster, answers the question more directly, and is built without unnecessary bloat, Google will favor your content over slow, cluttered sites over time.

Step 5: Structure your keywords and map them to pages

A long list of keywords is only useful once you give it a clear structure. Without structure, you risk multiple pages on your website competing for the same search term, which leads to what's known as keyword cannibalization.

Group keywords that share the same intent into a single cluster.

For example:

  • "Have a custom dashboard built"
  • "Custom admin panel"
  • "Custom dashboard software SME"

These three terms have virtually the same intent. Searchers want a custom-built dashboard for their business. There's no need to create three separate pages for this. One strong, well-structured page can easily rank for all of these variants at once.

Assign each cluster to a specific URL

Create an overview mapping each keyword cluster to one specific page on your site:

  • Which page becomes the main page for this theme?
  • Which supporting articles or FAQs will link to this main page?
  • What action should the visitor take once they land on the page (for example, requesting a quote, scheduling a meeting, or running a calculation)?

Work the cluster's most important keyword into the page title (H1), the URL structure, the first paragraph, and at least one subheading (H2). Use the remaining synonyms and related questions naturally throughout the rest of the text.

Keyword research without expensive tools takes a bit more manual work, but it often delivers a sharper insight into what your audience is really searching for. By focusing on the exact needs and questions of your prospects, you build a solid foundation for sustainable organic growth.

Want to discuss how best to set up your website structure and content for more inquiries? Schedule a free thirty-minute call via ferhat.io/contact to look at your current position and options together.