What Are Keywords?

Keywords are the words and phrases people type into Google, Bing or an AI assistant when they're looking for something. In SEO, "keyword" also means the specific phrase you want a page on your website to show up for, such as "commercial roof coating" or "forklift repair Indianapolis." Picking the right keywords tells you which pages to write. Using them well means saying, in plain words, what each page is about.

That's most of it. The rest is finding the right phrases.

Short phrases, long phrases

Marketers sort keywords by length. A short one, like "HVAC," is searched by huge numbers of people who want very different things: homeowners, students, technicians looking for work. A longer phrase, like "rooftop unit replacement for a warehouse," is searched far less often, but almost everyone typing it wants the same thing, and some of them want it soon.

For a company that sells to businesses, the longer phrases usually matter more. They're easier to show up for. And they bring the facility manager or the property manager who needs the work, instead of a crowd of people who don't.

What Google says about keywords

Google's SEO starter guide keeps its advice short, and four points from it are worth knowing.

• Write in your buyer's words. Google suggests thinking about the words a user might search for to find your content, and anticipating differences: its example is that some people search for "charcuterie" while others search for "cheese board."
• Avoid repetition. Repeating the same words over and over, even in variations, is tiring for readers, and keyword stuffing is against Google's spam policies.
• Skip the keywords meta tag. Google Search doesn't use it. If an agency quotes you for "meta keyword optimization," ask what else is in the package.
• Ignore domain keywords. Google says keywords in a domain name alone have hardly any effect. Pick a name that's good for your business.

Keywords in SEO versus paid ads

The same phrase works two ways. In paid search you bid on a keyword and pay each time someone clicks your ad. Stop paying and the ad disappears.

In SEO you write a page that answers the search well and hope it earns a spot in the regular results. It costs time instead of a per-click fee. It also takes longer: Google's guide says some changes take effect in a few hours while others can take several months.

Some companies use ads to learn which phrases bring calls, then build pages around the winners.

How to find your keywords

Start with what you have. If your site is connected to Google Search Console, the Performance report lists the searches your site already appears for, with clicks and impressions for each. It's free, and it's the most honest keyword list you'll find, because it's your actual results.

For new ideas, Google's Keyword Planner estimates how many times a keyword is searched each month. It's inside Google Ads, and Google asks you to finish account setup, billing details included, before you can use it. You don't need to run an ad.

Then go back to the people who talk to customers. The questions buyers ask your estimators, your project managers and whoever answers the main line, written down word for word with the odd phrasing left in, are keywords too, and they're often better ones than any tool will suggest because they come with the context of a real job attached. Most never make it onto a website.

Curious whether you show up for any of this right now? Our Free AI Visibility Check looks at your website, your mobile speed, whether you come up in a local search, and what an AI assistant says when a buyer asks who to call. No email needed.

One page, one main phrase

Give every important keyword its own page, and every page one main keyword. A service page for "industrial painting" and a separate page for "epoxy floor coating" can each answer one search completely. A single page trying to cover both tends to answer neither one well. Put the phrase where a reader would expect it: the page title, the main heading, the first paragraph. After that, write the page the way you'd explain the job to a customer on the phone, and let the phrase show up again only where it would come up naturally.

Who does this work for you

For a company with three or four services, a spreadsheet and an afternoon will cover it. For a company with a dozen services across several cities, the list turns into a website plan, and the plan turns into a lot of writing.

That's what Inbound SDR handles. We build a website of up to 100 pages in the first month, planned around every service you sell and every area you serve, then publish a new blog every business day aimed at the questions your buyers ask. Technical SEO, your Google Business Profile and directory listings are included. Packages start at $1,000 per month on a 12-month term. It doesn't include paid ads, so if you want someone to manage your Google Ads keywords, that's a separate hire.

Quick answers

How many keywords should a page target?

One main phrase. Close variations come along on their own.

Do keywords still matter now that people ask AI assistants?

Yes, though the phrasing changes. People type a few words into Google and ask a full question of an assistant, so a page that names the service plainly and also answers the questions a buyer would ask out loud, like what it costs, how long it takes and what can go wrong, covers both kinds of search at once.

See Inbound SDR