Good SEO starts with the words real people search, not the words you wish they did. This is the simple, free way to find the phrases L.A. customers use to look for a business like yours — and turn them into pages that get found.

Before you start

  • A Google account — Free access to Keyword Planner and the search results that power most of this — no paid tools required.
  • A spreadsheet — Anywhere to track keyword, intent, search volume, and the page that targets it. Google Sheets is plenty.
  • An hour — The first pass takes about an hour. Revisit it once a quarter as your business and customers evolve.

1. List how customers describe you

Forget industry jargon. Write down the plain words a customer would use: "coffee shop near me," "emergency plumber Highland Park," "wedding photographer Echo Park." Ask a few real customers how they found you — their words are gold.

2. Sort by search intent

Group your list into three buckets: people ready to buy ("book," "near me," "open now"), people comparing ("best," "vs," "reviews"), and people learning ("how to," "what is"). The ready-to-buy phrases come first — they pay the bills.

3. Expand the list for free

Type a seed phrase into Google and read the autocomplete suggestions, the "People also ask" box, and the "Related searches" at the bottom. Each one is a real query someone typed. Add the relevant ones to your list.

4. Pull real volume numbers

Open Google Keyword Planner (free with any Google Ads account) or a free tier of a tool like Ubersuggest. Paste your list to see rough monthly search volume and how competitive each term is. You now have data, not guesses.

5. Aim for winnable keywords

As a small local business, skip the giant generic terms. Go after specific, lower-competition phrases with clear local intent — "dog groomer Silver Lake" beats "dog grooming" every time. These are realistic to actually rank for.

6. Map one keyword per page

Give each priority keyword a home: your service page, a location page, or a blog post. One main keyword per page keeps Google clear on what each page is about. Build a simple spreadsheet: keyword, intent, the page that targets it.

7. Use the words naturally

Work your target phrase into the page title, the H1, the first paragraph, and the meta description — written for humans, not robots. No stuffing. Then check back in a month to see which pages are climbing and refine from there.