You don’t need to be an SEO expert to find the right keywords. Follow these simple steps to discover what your customers are actually searching for.
If you’re new to SEO, “keyword research” might sound intimidating — but at its core, it’s simply about understanding what your customers type or say when looking for a business like yours. Get this right, and everything else in your SEO strategy becomes easier.
This guide breaks the process into 6 simple, beginner-friendly steps — designed specifically for Indian business owners who are just getting started with SEO in 2026.
Why Keyword Research Comes First
Before writing a single blog post or optimizing a single page, keyword research tells you:
- What your potential customers are actually searching for
- How competitive each search term is
- Which keywords are worth targeting first based on your business size and budget
- What content gaps your competitors haven’t filled yet
Skipping this step is one of the most common reasons small business websites struggle to get traffic — they end up creating content nobody is actually searching for.
The 6-Step Keyword Research Process
List Your Core Business Topics
Start simple. Write down 5–10 broad topics directly related to your business. For example, a digital marketing agency might list: SEO, Google Ads, social media marketing, website design, and local SEO. These broad topics become the foundation you'll expand into specific keywords in the next steps.
Expand Each Topic Into Specific Phrases
For each core topic, think about the specific questions or phrases a customer might use. Consider different search intents:
- Informational: “what is local SEO”
- Commercial: “best SEO agency in Navi Mumbai”
- Transactional: “hire SEO expert for small business”
Use Free Keyword Research Tools
You don't need expensive software to start. These free tools give solid beginner-level data:
Google Keyword Planner
Google Search "related searches"
Google "People Also Ask"
Ubersuggest (free tier)
AnswerThePublic
- Type your core topics into these tools to discover related keywords, search volume estimates, and question-based queries people are actually using.
Check Search Volume and Competition
For each keyword idea, note two things:
- Search volume — roughly how many people search this term per month
- Competition level — how many established websites are already ranking for it
As a beginner, prioritize keywords with decent search volume but lower competition — these are realistic to rank for without years of SEO history behind you.
Add Local Modifiers
For Indian local businesses, adding location-based modifiers dramatically improves relevance and reduces competition:
- “digital marketing agency” → “digital marketing agency in Ghansoli”
- “best dentist” → “best dentist in Vashi Navi Mumbai”
Local keywords typically have lower competition and higher conversion rates since the searcher’s intent is location-specific.
Organize and Prioritize Your Keyword List
Group your final keyword list into categories — by topic, by intent, or by page type (homepage, service pages, blog posts). Then prioritize based on:
- Relevance to your business offerings
- Realistic ranking potential (search volume vs. competition)
- Business impact (which keywords are closest to a paying customer’s search intent)
Local keywords typically have lower competition and higher conversion rates since the searcher’s intent is location-specific.
💡 A simple spreadsheet with columns for Keyword, Search Volume, Competition, Intent, and Target Page is often all a beginner needs to stay organized — no fancy software required.
Common Keyword Research Mistakes to Avoid
- Only targeting high-volume keywords — these are often the most competitive and hardest to rank for as a new website.
- Ignoring long-tail keywords — longer, specific phrases often convert better and are easier to rank for, even with lower search volume.
- Not considering search intent — targeting a keyword that doesn’t match what your page actually offers leads to poor rankings and high bounce rates.
- Doing keyword research once and never revisiting it — search trends shift; revisit your keyword strategy every few months.
FAQs
Do I need paid tools to do keyword research?
How many keywords should I target per page?
What's the difference between short-tail and long-tail keywords?
How often should I update my keyword research?
Conclusion
Keyword research doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. By starting with your core business topics, expanding them using free tools, and prioritizing realistic, locally-relevant keywords, you’ll build a solid foundation for every other part of your SEO strategy.
Not sure where to start with keyword research for your business?
Viser Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Viser Digital) — Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai — can build a custom SEO keyword strategy for you.