Keyword Research Services That Find the Searches Your Buyers Actually Use

1. Free audit (a few days). A first look at your current rankings and top competitors.
2. Strategy (weeks 1–2). The 7-step research above, delivered as your plan.
3. Build and optimize (months 1–3). We optimize existing pages and create new ones from the plan.
4. Monthly reporting and growth. We track every target keyword and add new ones as your market shifts.

Keyword research and tracking are included in every plan, and plans start at $950/month. Price depends on how many products or services you sell, how many locations you target, and how competitive your market is. A local plumber's research is smaller than a store with 2,000 products. See all plans on our pricing page.

What affects the cost and timeline of keyword research?

• Catalog or service count: Each product line or service needs its own set of terms.
• Locations: Every city or service area you target adds local versions to research and track.
• Competition: In crowded markets, more work goes into finding terms you can realistically win.
• Existing site: A site with years of pages needs its current rankings mapped before new targets are chosen.
• Languages: If you serve Spanish-speaking customers, their searches need separate research. We have Spanish-speaking team members for this.

There are no long-term contracts. Plans run month-to-month or on a 6-month agreement, with 30 days' notice to cancel.

Brian Vastola does the strategy himself. With 25 years of hands-on SEO, he's seen which keywords turn into revenue and which only look good in a spreadsheet. Our senior team handles the data gathering and tracking. You review the plan with the person who built it, and you can ask why any keyword is on the list.

Research itself takes one to two weeks. The payoff shows as pages built from it start ranking:

• Month 1: Optimized existing pages often move first, especially those already ranking on page two.
• Months 3–6: New pages from the plan start ranking for long-tail terms, then for their main terms.
• Months 6–12: Topic groups mature and harder, higher-value terms start to move.

Keyword research is not a document you file away. Search habits change, competitors move and your own site earns new rankings. So the plan gets worked on every month.

• Rank tracking: Every target keyword is tracked, so you can see which pages are climbing, holding or slipping.
• New terms from your own data: Search Console shows searches your site already appears for that nobody planned. The good ones get added to the plan.
• Close-to-page-one list: Keywords sitting just off the first page are flagged, because a small push there pays back fastest.
• Intent re-checks: Google changes what it shows for a search. If a term that used to show service pages now shows guides, the page type has to change too.
• New questions: We collect fresh questions from search results, your sales team and AI tools, and turn them into FAQ sections or new pages.
• Re-prioritizing: As quick wins are won, harder and more valuable terms move to the top of the list.
• Mapping new pages: Each new page gets its own keyword before it is written, so it never competes with a page you already have.

The first research takes one to two weeks. After that, regular upkeep each month keeps the plan pointed at the searches that pay.

You can learn a lot in an hour with free tools. These checks show whether your site is aimed at the right searches.

• Read your Search Console queries: Open the Performance report and look at the searches that bring clicks. If most are your own brand name, new customers aren't finding you yet.
• Search your main service: Type what a customer would type, not your industry term. Look at who shows up and what kind of pages rank.
• Check one keyword per page: For each main service or product, ask which single page is meant to rank. If the answer is "two" or "none," that is a gap.
• Listen to your customers: Write down the exact words people use on calls, in emails and in reviews. Those phrases are keywords.
• Use Google's own hints: Autocomplete, "People also ask" and related searches at the bottom of the results show real wording for free.

Value tip (even if you never hire us): ask the person who answers your phone to write down the first sentence of every new inquiry for two weeks. Compare that list to the headings on your website. Wherever customers say one thing and your site says another, change the site to match the customer.

Mistakes to avoid

• Picking keywords by search volume alone.
• Targeting the same keyword on several pages.
• Ignoring "small" long-tail terms, which often convert best.
• Never checking what Google actually shows for a term before writing.

Keyword research vs. keyword stuffing

Keyword research is choosing what to target. Keyword stuffing is repeating a word on a page to try to trick Google. The first is smart planning. The second breaks Google's spam policies and reads badly. We write naturally for people, with the keyword in the places that matter.

People type short phrases into Google and full questions into AI tools. "Roof repair Raleigh" becomes "who should I call for a roof leak in Raleigh, and what should it cost?" The need is the same. The wording is longer and more specific.

That changes research in a few ways:

• Questions matter more: We research the full questions buyers ask, not only the short keyword.
• Topics beat single terms: AI tools look for sources that cover a subject well. A group of pages that answer related questions makes your site a stronger source than one page aimed at one phrase.
• Follow-up questions count: After a first answer, people ask about price, timing, risks and alternatives. Pages that answer those follow-ups are more useful to quote.
• Your brand is a keyword too: We check what AI tools say when asked about your company by name, and which competitors they list beside you.
• Volume numbers are rough: Keyword tools don't report how often a question is asked in an AI tool, so we judge by buyer intent and by what your own customers ask.

Classic keyword searches have not gone away, so we plan for both. See our GEO and AI search services for how the AI side is tracked.

Ask whether every keyword is mapped to a page and labeled by intent. A list of 500 keywords with volumes and nothing else isn't a plan. Use these questions to tell the difference:

1. How did you choose these keywords? The answer should include your services, your customers and your competitors, not only a tool export.
2. Which page targets each keyword? Every term should point to one existing or planned page.
3. What does Google show for my top terms right now? They should have looked at the live results, not just the numbers.
4. Which keywords did you leave out, and why? Good research rejects terms that are too broad, too hard or wrong for your business.
5. What should I build first? A plan has an order. A list does not.
6. How often will this be updated? One-time research goes stale. Ask how new searches get added.

A freelancer with good tools can produce a solid list. The value is in the judgment calls: which terms your site can win, and which will bring buyers instead of browsers.