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I was auditing a home services business in Charlotte, NC last year — solid operation, six-person crew, great reviews — and their entire website was optimized for one keyword phrase: "home services Charlotte." That was it. No service-specific pages, no neighborhood-level content, no modifier terms. They were trying to rank for everything with one phrase, and ranking for nothing because of it.
That's the most common local keyword mistake I see across hundreds of audits. Business owners treat keyword research like a one-time task — pick a few phrases, stuff them in, done. But local SEO doesn't work that way. Google Maps rankings and organic local results are keyword-specific. You can rank #1 for "emergency plumber Houston" and be invisible for "plumber near me Houston" — and those two searches represent completely different customers.
This guide walks through the exact process I use when auditing new clients, step by step. By the end, you'll have a working keyword list, a prioritization framework, and a clear picture of which tools are worth your time. Flento's Local Keyword Rank Tracker helps automate the ongoing monitoring side — but let's build the foundation first.
Local keyword research is the process of identifying the specific search terms your target customers use when looking for businesses like yours in your area — and then using those terms to optimize your Google Business Profile, website pages, and local content.
This is different from general SEO keyword research in one critical way: geography is baked into the intent, even when the searcher doesn't type a city name. When someone in Phoenix searches "dentist open Saturday," Google already knows they're in Phoenix and serves local results. Your job is to make sure your business appears for the right service terms — not just your brand name.
What local keyword research is NOT:
💡 Pro Tip: The keyword that drives the most traffic isn't always the one worth targeting first. In local SEO, high-intent, lower-volume keywords ("emergency HVAC repair Dallas TX") often convert better than broad terms with 10x the search volume.
The foundation of any local keyword strategy is a matrix of service terms crossed with location terms. Don't start with tools — start with paper (or a blank spreadsheet).
Build Your Service List First
Write down every distinct service you offer. Not categories — specific services. A dental practice wouldn't write "dental services." They'd write: teeth whitening, Invisalign, emergency tooth extraction, pediatric dentistry, dental implants, same-day crowns.
An auto repair shop in Denver wouldn't list "repairs." They'd list: oil change, brake repair, transmission service, check engine light diagnosis, AC recharge.
The rule: if a customer might search specifically for it, it belongs on your list.
Layer in Location Modifiers
For each service, pair it with:
A 10-service business in a city with 5 major neighborhoods can generate 50+ distinct keyword targets from this exercise alone — before touching a single tool.
Action Step: Open a spreadsheet. Column A = services. Column B = primary city. Column C = neighborhood variants. Column D = "near me" variants. Start filling it in now, before moving to Step 2.
This is where most local keyword guides stop — service + location. That's a starting point, not a complete strategy. The searches that convert at the highest rate include buying intent modifiers: words that signal the searcher is ready to act.
The Intent Modifier Categories
Urgency modifiers:
Quality/trust modifiers:
Specificity modifiers:
An HVAC company in Atlanta that only targets "HVAC Atlanta" is missing every customer searching "emergency AC repair Atlanta" or "same day HVAC service Atlanta" — which are the searches coming from people who have their wallet out.
📊 Flento Data: Businesses that optimize for 3+ intent modifier keyword clusters see an average of 2.3x more profile contact actions compared to businesses targeting service + city terms alone, based on Flento's analysis of 2,000+ US business profiles.
Action Step: Go through your service list and add at least 3 modifier variants for your two highest-priority services. Focus on urgency and quality modifiers first — they tend to carry the strongest buying intent.
You don't need to do all your keyword research from scratch. Your top 3 Google Maps competitors have already done some of it for you.
How to Find Competitor Keywords Without Paid Tools
Method 1 — Google Suggest: Type your primary service + city into Google. Before hitting enter, look at the autocomplete dropdown. Every suggestion is a keyword real users are searching. Cycle through variations: add "near," add your neighborhood, add "best," add "open."
Method 2 — People Also Search For: Do a full Google search for your core keyword. Scroll to the bottom — "People also search for" shows clustered keyword variants Google already associates with your query.
Method 3 — Competitor GBP Reviews: Pull up your top 3 Maps competitors and read their reviews. Customers naturally use the keywords they searched to describe why they chose the business: "I searched for emergency plumber and these guys showed up first," "best chiropractor in Lincoln Park." That's your keyword list.
Method 4 — Competitor Website Pages: Look at the URL structure and page titles on your top competitors' websites. If they have a page titled "Brake Repair Service in Aurora CO," that's a keyword they're targeting — and you should evaluate whether you should too.
⚠️ Common Mistake: Only looking at Map Pack competitors and ignoring the organic results. Sometimes businesses ranking in positions 4–10 organically are optimized for keywords the Map Pack results aren't — and those represent gaps you can capture.
Action Step: Run 5 searches for your top service keywords right now. Screenshot the autocomplete results and the "People also search for" section at the bottom. Add anything new to your spreadsheet.
This is where the tools come in. You now have a raw keyword list — the goal of this step is to confirm which terms have real search volume and prioritize accordingly.
The Flento Local Keyword Stack
This is the validation process I use with every client. It's a three-tier filtering system:
To move keywords into tiers, you need search volume data. Tools that provide this for local keyword research:
Free options:
Paid options worth knowing:
💡 Pro Tip: In Google Keyword Planner, always set your location to your specific city or metro area — not "United States." A keyword with 5,400 national monthly searches might have only 90 searches per month in your market. That changes your priority calculation significantly.
What Volume Numbers Mean in Local SEO
Don't get distracted chasing high-volume terms. "Dentist" has enormous search volume — you will never rank for it. "Pediatric dentist Scottsdale AZ" has 110 monthly searches — and a dental practice that ranks #1 for it will see 20–30 clicks per month from people looking for exactly that.
In local SEO, 100 targeted searches from your market beats 10,000 irrelevant national impressions every time.
Action Step: Run your Tier 1 keywords through Google Keyword Planner with your city/metro set as the location. Move any keywords with under 10 estimated monthly local searches to Tier 3. Prioritize Tier 1 keywords with 50+ monthly local searches.
A keyword list that isn't mapped to specific assets doesn't do anything. This step connects each keyword to where it needs to appear.
The Three Optimization Targets
Your Google Business Profile:
For more detail on GBP optimization by section, see the GBP optimization checklist.
Your Website:
GBP Posts and Q&A: The Q&A section of your Google Business Profile is underused by almost every business I audit. Seed your own questions using your modifier keywords: "Do you offer emergency plumbing service in [Neighborhood] Denver?" Answer it yourself. Google reads this content — and so do customers who are exactly that keyword away from calling you.
💡 Pro Tip: A restaurant in Nashville, TN I worked with had 40 reviews but was missing the Local Pack entirely for "rooftop dining Nashville" — because neither their GBP description nor their website mentioned "rooftop." They added it to both in one afternoon. They were in the Local Pack within 3 weeks.
Action Step: Match each Tier 1 keyword to one of three assets: GBP category/description, a specific website page, or a GBP post series. If a Tier 1 keyword doesn't have an assigned asset, it won't produce results.
Here's the honest breakdown of what's worth using and why:
Google Keyword Planner — Free, US-specific filtering, official data. Required baseline. Limitation: gives volume ranges, not exact numbers for low-volume local terms.
Google Search Console — Free, shows your actual current keyword performance. Can't find new keywords you're not ranking for yet, but invaluable for identifying existing keyword gaps (ranking on page 2 = low-hanging fruit).
Semrush — Comprehensive keyword gap analysis against competitors. Not local-specific by default, but the Keyword Magic Tool is useful for discovering modifier variants.
BrightLocal — Has a Local Rank Tracker specifically designed for Maps and local organic positions. Useful but priced for agencies more than individual small businesses. Compare to local-specific alternatives →
Flento's Local Keyword Rank Tracker — Tracks your Maps and organic keyword positions weekly, with location accuracy. Integrated into the broader Flento platform so your keyword data connects directly to your GBP management workflow. See how it works →
Whitespark's Local Rank Tracker — Similar Maps-specific tracking to BrightLocal. Strong for citation-building workflows.
My recommendation for most US small businesses: start with Google Keyword Planner + Search Console (free), then add a dedicated local rank tracker to monitor position changes over time. You don't need six tools — you need accurate data from two or three.
Flento's Local Keyword Rank Tracker monitors your position for every keyword on your list — in Maps and organic results — updated weekly, with location-level accuracy.
That matters because keyword tracking for local SEO is different from standard SEO tracking. Your Maps ranking for "plumber Columbus" can differ by neighborhood. A business might rank #1 when someone searches from downtown Columbus and #7 when they search from Westerville. Flento's tracker shows you position data as it actually appears to customers in your market, not a national average.
Pair that with Flento's Google Business Profile Optimizer and AI Local SEO Software, and your keyword research connects directly to optimization actions — not just a spreadsheet you check once a quarter.
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✅ Done? Track how your keywords are actually performing → Try Flento free
Q: How many keywords should a US small business target for local SEO? A: Most small businesses should focus on 10–20 Tier 1 keywords actively — enough to cover their core services and location combinations without spreading optimization efforts too thin. A 10-service business with a primary city + 3 neighborhoods could legitimately target 40–60 keywords total across all tiers, but the active optimization priority should be your top 15–20.
Q: Do I need to include my city name in my keywords if Google already knows where I am? A: Yes — for two reasons. First, you serve customers who search from outside your immediate area ("HVAC repair [city]" is how someone moving to Houston searches before they arrive). Second, including geographic terms in your GBP description, services, and website pages reinforces topical relevance signals for your location. Don't stuff them artificially, but include them naturally.
Q: How do US businesses research local keywords without a budget for paid tools? A: Google Keyword Planner and Google Search Console together cover 80% of what paid tools do for local keyword research. Add the manual competitor research steps in this guide — GBP reviews, competitor page titles, Google autocomplete — and you have a complete research process at zero cost.
Q: What's the difference between local keyword research and regular SEO keyword research? A: Geographic intent is the core difference. In standard SEO, keyword difficulty and domain authority drive ranking potential. In local SEO, proximity, GBP completeness, and review signals matter just as much — and keywords are evaluated at the market level, not nationally. A keyword with "low difficulty" nationally might be highly competitive in a specific metro if all your competitors have fully optimized GBP listings and strong review velocity.
Q: How often should US small businesses update their keyword lists? A: Review your list quarterly. Specifically: check for new services you've added, new competitors who've entered your market, and keywords you're ranking on page 2 for organically (highest-leverage quick wins). If you experience a significant ranking drop, do an unscheduled review immediately — something in the competitive landscape or your listing status has likely changed.
Q: Should I target "near me" keywords specifically? A: Yes — but you can't rank for them the same way you rank for city-name keywords. "Near me" results are almost entirely driven by your Google Business Profile proximity to the searcher, your primary category selection, and your review signals. You don't optimize for "plumber near me" by putting "near me" in your GBP description. You optimize for it by completing your GBP correctly and building review velocity. That said, if you have a website, a service page that naturally includes "near me" in its content (not stuffed into titles) can help capture those queries organically.
Q: How do I know if a local keyword is worth targeting versus too competitive? A: Check the Local Pack for that keyword. If the top 3 results all have 50+ reviews, fully optimized GBP listings, and established websites — it's competitive. It's not impossible to rank there, but don't expect quick results. Compare those results to keywords where the top 3 have 10–15 reviews and incomplete GBP profiles — that gap is your fastest ranking opportunity.
Every week you operate without a clear local keyword map is a week your competitors are capturing searches you should be getting.
The businesses ranking at the top of Maps in your market aren't necessarily better at what they do — they just know which specific terms their customers are searching, and they've optimized every available asset around those terms. That's not sophisticated. It's methodical.
The process in this guide — services matrix, modifier keywords, competitor signals, volume validation, asset mapping — takes a few hours the first time you do it. After that, it's a quarterly 30-minute review.
What gets measured gets managed. Set up tracking for your Tier 1 keywords so you know when your rankings move — and what moved them.
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