What Keywords Should I Target?

Start with the keywords you already rank for. Most small businesses overlook keywords where they appear on page 2 or 3 of Google, but these are often the easiest wins. A keyword where you rank #12 needs much less effort to reach page 1 than a keyword where you have no presence at all.

This guide shows you how to find your existing keywords, evaluate new opportunities, and build a keyword strategy that does not require expensive tools.

Quick Navigation

• Why Keywords Matter for Your Business
• Types of Keywords
• How to Find Keywords You Already Rank For
• Low-Hanging Fruit: Keywords Where You Rank #5-20
• How to Evaluate Keyword Difficulty
• Building a Simple Keyword Strategy
• How Brass-SEO Finds Keyword Opportunities
• Keyword Opportunity Finder AI Prompt
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why Keywords Matter for Your Business

Keywords are the words and phrases people type into Google when they are looking for something. If your website ranks for the right keywords, the right people find your business.

The key word there is "right." Ranking for irrelevant keywords sends you traffic that never converts. Ranking for the right keywords, even with modest traffic numbers, can drive actual customers.

A local plumber ranking for "emergency plumber [city name]" gets more valuable traffic from 50 monthly searches than ranking for "how does plumbing work" with 5,000 monthly searches. The first person needs a plumber. The second person is writing a school report.

Types of Keywords

Not all keywords serve the same purpose. Understanding keyword intent helps you target the ones that matter most for your business.

For most small businesses, commercial and transactional keywords drive the most revenue. Informational keywords are valuable for building awareness and trust, but they convert at much lower rates.

A balanced keyword strategy targets all types but prioritizes the ones closest to a purchase decision.

How to Find Keywords You Already Rank For

The best starting point for keyword research is data you already have, not a paid tool. If your website is connected to Google Search Console, you can see exactly which search terms bring up your site in Google results.

Our GSC guide explains how to set it up if you have not done so yet.

In GSC, go to Performance > Search Results and look at the Queries tab. This shows you:

• Every search term where your site appeared in results
• How many impressions (times shown) each term received
• How many clicks you got
• Your average position for each term

Sort by impressions to see which queries Google already associates with your site. Many of these will be keywords you did not intentionally target but rank for naturally. These are opportunities.

Pay special attention to keywords where you have high impressions but a low click-through rate. This often means your title tag and meta description need improvement. A better title can significantly increase clicks without changing your ranking position. Read more about quick SEO fixes that improve results.

Low-Hanging Fruit: Keywords Where You Rank #5-20

The biggest opportunities in your GSC data are keywords where you rank between positions 5 and 20. These are terms where Google already considers your page relevant, but you are not on the first page (or you are at the bottom of page 1).

Why positions 5-20 are valuable:

• You already have some authority for these terms
• Improving from position 12 to position 7 is much easier than going from position 50 to page 1
• Moving to the top 3 results dramatically increases click-through rates

How to find them in GSC:

1. Go to Performance > Search Results
2. Set date range to last 3 months
3. Click on the "Average position" box to show position data
4. Sort by position
5. Look for keywords between positions 5 and 20 with meaningful impression counts

For each keyword in this range, look at the page that ranks for it. Ask yourself:

• Does the page directly address this search query?
• Could the content be more comprehensive?
• Is the title tag optimized for this keyword?
• Are there internal links pointing to this page from related content?

Improving the content and on-page SEO for these pages often yields results within a few weeks.

How to Evaluate Keyword Difficulty

You do not need expensive tools to estimate keyword difficulty. Here is a practical approach that works for small businesses without platforms like SEMrush or Ahrefs.

Search the keyword yourself. Look at what currently ranks on page 1:

Additional signals that suggest a keyword is within reach:

• Your site already ranks for related terms
• Page 1 results have low word counts or outdated information
• Few results directly answer the search query
• Your business has genuine expertise on the topic

Signals that a keyword may be too competitive (for now):

• Page 1 is all major brands and authority sites
• Top results have thousands of backlinks
• The keyword is extremely broad (e.g., "shoes" vs. "running shoes for flat feet")

Focus your effort where you can realistically compete. As your site builds authority, you can target more competitive terms.

Building a Simple Keyword Strategy

A keyword strategy does not need to be complicated. Here is a practical framework:

Step 1: List your core services or products. These become your main keyword themes.

Step 2: For each theme, identify 3-5 keywords using your GSC data and manual search:

• 1 primary keyword (your main target)
• 2-3 secondary keywords (related terms)
• 1-2 long-tail variations (specific phrases with lower competition)

Step 3: Map keywords to pages. Each important keyword should have one primary page targeting it. Avoid having multiple pages compete for the same keyword (this is called keyword cannibalization).

Step 4: Prioritize by impact. Focus first on:

1. Keywords where you already rank #5-20 (fastest wins)
2. Commercial/transactional keywords (highest business value)
3. Keywords with manageable competition

Step 5: Create or improve content. For each target keyword:

• Optimize the title tag to include the keyword
• Write content that directly answers the searcher's question
• Add internal links from related pages
• Make sure the page is indexed by Google

Review and update your keyword strategy quarterly. Search trends change, competitors publish new content, and your own site authority evolves over time.

How Brass-SEO Finds Keyword Opportunities

Brass-SEO connects to your Google Search Console and Google Analytics data, then uses AI to find keyword opportunities automatically. Instead of manually sorting through GSC data, you can ask questions like:

• "What keywords am I ranking for?"
• "Where are my biggest opportunities?"
• "Which keywords have high impressions but low clicks?"
• "What keywords am I ranking for on page 2?"

Brass-SEO pulls your actual data from both GSC and GA4, cross-references it, and identifies patterns that are hard to spot manually. For example, it can find keywords where you rank well but your click-through rate is unusually low, suggesting a title tag or meta description problem that is easy to fix.

If you want to identify your best SEO opportunities without spending hours in spreadsheets, Brass-SEO does the analysis for you in a conversational format.

Keyword Opportunity Finder AI Prompt

Use this prompt to analyze your existing keyword data and find the best opportunities for improvement. Paste your Google Search Console data and the AI will identify quick wins, strategic targets, and a prioritized action plan.

Analyze the following keyword data from Google Search Console and identify the best SEO opportunities:

Website: [your website URL]
Industry: [your industry]
Business Type: [e.g., local service, e-commerce, SaaS, blog]
Primary Goal: [e.g., more leads, more sales, more traffic, brand awareness]

GSC Keyword Data (paste your top 20-50 queries with metrics):
[Paste query, clicks, impressions, CTR, position data from GSC Performance report]

OR describe your situation:
- Top keywords you rank for: [list them]
- Keywords you want to rank for: [list them]
- Current monthly organic traffic: [approximate number]

Please analyze and provide:

1. QUICK WINS (can improve within 2-4 weeks)
   - Keywords ranking positions 5-15 with high impressions
   - Keywords with below-average CTR (title/meta description fixes)
   - Pages ranking for valuable terms that need minor content updates

2. STRATEGIC TARGETS (1-3 month timeline)
   - Keywords ranking positions 15-30 worth pushing to page 1
   - Content gaps: valuable keywords you should target but currently don't
   - Long-tail variations of your best-performing keywords

3. KEYWORD GROUPING
   - Group related keywords into content themes
   - Identify which page should target each keyword group
   - Flag any keyword cannibalization (multiple pages competing for same term)

4. ACTION PLAN
   - Top 5 keywords to focus on this month, with specific actions for each
   - Content to create or update for each target keyword
   - Internal linking recommendations to strengthen target pages
   - Expected timeline for seeing results

For each recommendation, explain why it matters and estimate the effort required (low/medium/high).

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Prompt by Brass-SEO (brass-seo.com)
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How to Use

1. Open Google Search Console and go to Performance > Search Results
2. Set the date range to last 3 months for reliable data
3. Export your query data or copy the top 20-50 queries with clicks, impressions, CTR, and position
4. Paste into the prompt along with your business details
5. Run in ChatGPT, Claude, or any AI tool

Tips

• Include at least 20 keywords for meaningful analysis (50+ is ideal)
• Add your business goals so the AI can prioritize relevant keywords
• Mention your competitors if you want gap analysis
• Run this quarterly to keep your keyword strategy current

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many keywords should I target?

For most small business websites, targeting 10-30 primary keywords is a manageable starting point. Each important page should have one primary keyword and 2-3 secondary keywords. Trying to target hundreds of keywords dilutes your effort. Focus on fewer keywords with higher business value and expand as you build authority.

Should I target high-volume or low-volume keywords?

Both have their place, but small businesses typically get better results starting with lower-volume, more specific keywords. A keyword with 100 monthly searches and low competition will often deliver more business value than a keyword with 10,000 searches and high competition. As your site gains authority, you can work toward more competitive terms.

How long does it take to rank for a new keyword?

It varies widely depending on your site authority, the keyword competition, and the quality of your content. For a new keyword on an established site, expect 2-6 months to see meaningful ranking improvements. For a new website, it typically takes longer. Keywords where you already rank nearby (positions 10-20) can improve within weeks after optimization.

Is keyword research different for local businesses?

Yes. Local businesses should prioritize keywords that include geographic terms (city, neighborhood, "near me"). Local keywords typically have lower competition and higher intent. Make sure your Google Business Profile is complete, and include your location naturally in your content. GSC data will show you which local terms you already appear for.

Do I need paid tools for keyword research?

For most small businesses, no. Google Search Console provides your actual keyword data for free. Manual Google searches help you evaluate competition. Brass-SEO can analyze your GSC data automatically and find opportunities without additional subscriptions. Paid tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs provide additional data (competitor keywords, search volume estimates) but are not essential for a basic keyword strategy.