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Steven Howsley , Director of Analytics & SEO
Steven is a happy Northwest native that loves to laugh, make music, and talk strategy. If he’s not making music, you can find Steven planning his next trip to Disneyland or flexing his ping-pong muscles.
November 26, 2025 | Gain Knowledge
Originally published on February 26, 2020. Updated on November 26, 2025 to expand local business details and examples
If you’re a local business, showing up in the right places on Google is crucial for driving website traffic, which in turn drives sales. Whether you’re a roofing or plumbing company that serves customers at their homes, an HVAC or electrical contractor, or a restaurant with a brick-and-mortar location, there are a number of things you can do to improve your chances of outranking your competition on Google.
If you need a partner to guide that process, our local SEO services can help you build a strategy that actually fits your market.
Some factors that play into local search engine optimization, including:
Today we would like to focus on one of the most important parts of content creation, keyword research. While you may already have experience with keyword research, there are a few things to consider when developing a content strategy for a regional business.
Keyword research helps us understand what we’d like to rank for, what our competitors rank for, and what our customers are searching for, whether they are looking for a new roof, an emergency plumber, or a great place to eat on a Friday night.
Here’s a step-by-step plan to get you started with local keyword research today:
The easiest place to start with keyword research is to get visibility on what is currently driving traffic to the site. Using tools like Google Search Console, we can look at a 3- to 6-month date range to see which terms our site is currently ranking for.
If you run a local service business, this might reveal phrases like “roof repair [city],” “plumber near me,” or “AC repair [city]” that you did not even know you were showing up for. By looking through this list, we can start identifying terms we need to maintain and improve.
The next step is looking at our top competitors and assessing the terms they appear to be targeting based on their website content and search rankings. Tools like SEMrush or Moz can give us a sneak peek into any site’s current positions on Google. For local businesses, that might mean other roofers, plumbers, HVAC companies or electricians in your market. When reviewing competitor terms, gather the ones with high volume and low competition, and add them to our master list.
If our master list doesn’t already contain our primary service or product offerings, now is the time to do additional research on our aspirational keywords. We recommend spending some time in Google searching for terms we would like to rank for, and using a tool like Keywords Everywhere or SEMRush to favorite those queries and uncover related permutations.
For example, a roofing company might build a list around “roof replacement [city]” and “storm damage roof repair.” In contrast, a plumbing company might focus on “emergency plumber [city]” and “water heater installation [city].”
To keep things organized, we recommend tagging or grouping terms in a way that makes sense for your business. Categories may include things like branded, non-branded, high-intent, low-intent, educational, actionable, local, non-local, etc. Local service businesses may also want tags for “emergency,” “seasonal” and “service area” terms. After categorizing the keywords, it makes sense to rank all terms in a “priority order” for analysis and targeting first in our master list.
Now that we have our master list put together, it’s time to get our local-specific search volumes so we can narrow things down a bit. Up until this point, all of the keyword search volume information we have been looking at has been at the national or international level. What really matters to us is the local search volume for these queries. To better understand what the search volume looks like at the local level, we will need to use a location-spoofing tool like BrightLocal to see the volumes in our neck of the woods.
Based on business relevancy, local volume, and relative competition… we are now ready to move on to content strategy with our first batch of target keywords!
Finally, now that we have our master list of search terms and their local volumes, it’s time to identify the primary keywords and secondary keywords and assign a content strategy. For some terms, you may want to improve existing site content. For other terms, you may need to create new content, such as dedicated service pages, location pages or blog posts that answer common questions.
While we could write a whole novel on content strategy and on-page SEO, this initial keyword research will be a great start for your content roadmap.
Now that we have a process for finding and organizing ideas, it helps to see what strong local keywords actually look like in the real world. Home service businesses are a great example, because most of their customers start on Google with a local problem they need solved.
Below are a few sample keyword sets for common trades. Use these as a starting point and tweak them for your own services and cities.
For roofing companies, most searches are tied to repairs, replacement, and storm damage. A basic starter list might include things like:
Your core service pages should target terms like “roofing contractor [city]” and “roof replacement [city].” Related phrases such as “storm damage roof repair” or “metal roofing contractor [city]” can show up in headings, FAQs, and supporting content on those same pages.
Plumbing and drain companies often see a mix of planned work and true emergencies. A simple local keyword set might look like:
In this case, “plumber [city]” and “plumbing company [city]” are great fits for a main services page, while “water heater installation [city]” may deserve its own page. Emergency phrases like “24 hour plumber [city]” can be highlighted in headings, calls to action and meta descriptions to make sure you show up when things go wrong.
HVAC and electrical businesses are heavily influenced by the season and by project types. A starter list could include:
Here, you might have separate service pages for “AC repair [city],” “AC installation [city]” and “furnace repair [city].” Seasonal phrases like “air conditioning tune up [city]” can be worked into content in the spring and early summer, while furnace-related terms are more important heading into colder months.
Exterior remodeling companies often combine several related services. A simple local keyword set may include:
In this case, “window replacement [city]” and “siding contractor [city]” might each get a primary service page. Phrases like “energy efficient windows [city]” and “storm damage siding repair” can become subtopics, FAQs or separate support articles that link back to those main pages.
The goal is not to copy these lists word-for-word, but to notice the patterns. Strong local keyword sets include a mix of service terms, emergency phrases, and problem-based queries that describe what the customer is feeling or dealing with right now.
Once you have a solid keyword list, it is time to connect those terms to real pages on your site. This step helps make sure you are not just “collecting” keyword ideas, but actually building a plan for new content and updates.
Start by grouping keywords around each core service you offer. For many local and home service businesses, that might look like:
Each core service should have a clear “home” on your site. Often that means one main service page for each group. The primary keyword (for example, “roof replacement [city]”) becomes the main focus of that page. Related terms like “roof replacement cost” or “how long does a roof last” can be used in headings, FAQs, body copy, and deeper dive supporting posts.
If your business serves more than one city or region, you may also need location or service-area pages. A roofing company that serves three nearby cities might have pages such as:
These pages can target “[service] [city]” phrases and highlight local details such as neighborhoods, landmarks, and testimonials from nearby customers. The key is to avoid creating a long list of nearly identical pages. Each location page should have something unique and useful for that specific area.
Not every keyword needs to become a service page. Many phrases work better as blog posts, FAQ entries, or resource articles that support your core pages. For example:
These types of questions are perfect for educational content. They can bring in visitors earlier in their research process and build trust before someone is ready to call or request a quote. When you publish this content, make sure it links back to your related service pages so people can easily take the next step.
By mapping each keyword to a page type, you turn a long spreadsheet of ideas into a clear content roadmap that your team can actually act on. This is the same approach we use in our local SEO services, helping businesses turn data into a real content plan.
After working with many local businesses, we have seen a few keyword mistakes come up over and over again. The good news is that they are easy to fix once you know what to look for.
One common mistake is focusing only on broad terms like “roofing company” or “electrician” without any local or service details. These phrases are often highly competitive and may not attract the right visitors.
Instead, prioritize keywords that include both the service and the location, such as:
These terms are usually more realistic to rank for and much closer to a real sale or phone call.
Another mistake is ignoring emergency and problem-driven queries. Many home service calls start with a situation like “no heat in house,” “burst pipe” or “leaking roof in storm.” If your content never uses this language, you may miss some of your best leads.
Look for queries that describe a specific problem or urgency, such as:
Work these phrases into your headings, FAQs, and calls to action where appropriate, and make sure your pages make it clear that you can handle urgent jobs. Dedicated landing pages for these types of queries may often be a better solution than forcing them into existing content. Speaking of…
In the past, some businesses tried to improve local rankings by adding long lists of cities and zip codes to every page. Today this often feels spammy to users and does not provide much real value.
A better approach is to:
This approach keeps your site cleaner, easier to navigate, and more helpful for both search engines and real people.
Fixing these simple issues can make your keyword research more focused and your local SEO efforts more effective, without adding a lot of extra work.
OK, so there is one boneless nugget we’d like to leave on the table for you today. Some regions search for the same thing in different ways… What do we mean by that? “Soda” in the Northwest has a higher search volume than “pop” on the East Coast. In the same way, one area might search for a “water heater” while another searches for a “hot water tank.” Know your customers and know their language!
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Start by looking at the queries you already show up for in Google Search Console, then layer in ideas from tools like SEMrush or Keywords Everywhere. From there, talk to your team and customers to uncover real-world phrases they use, especially around core services and common problems.
Yes, but in a natural way. People often type or tap “near me” when they need a local roofer, plumber or HVAC company, so it makes sense to include similar language in your content. Just avoid stuffing “near me” everywhere and make sure your address, service area and Google Business Profile are all accurate.
Most local businesses do well with one clear page for each core service, plus location or service-area pages when they serve multiple cities. If you find yourself creating dozens of nearly identical pages, it is usually a sign to simplify and focus on a smaller number of higher quality pages.
For most small businesses, reviewing keywords a few times a year is enough. If you add new services, expand into new cities or see big shifts in search behavior, it is a good idea to revisit your list sooner and adjust your content plan.
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