How to find keywords: how your customers really search – with free tools

Keywords are the words and questions people type into Google or ChatGPT when they are looking for something. You can find keywords by thinking from your customers' point of view and checking those ideas with free tools such as Google autocomplete, Google Search Console, Keyword Planner and Google Trends. Whether you run a bakery, an online shop, a tax practice or a mechanical engineering firm, if you speak your customers' language, you get found. This guide shows you in five steps how it works.

What are keywords?

A keyword (also called a search term) is whatever someone types into a search – a word, a phrase or a whole question. “Bakery Augsburg” is a keyword, and so are “tax advisor for freelancers” and “How much does CNC contract manufacturing cost?”.

Google only shows your website for search terms that match your content. If you know what your customers are searching for, you can cover exactly those topics on your website. We explain the basics in SEO explained simply.

Short or long?

Experts distinguish between two kinds:

• Short keywords such as “bread” or “tax advisor”: a great many people search for them, but with very different intentions – and the competition is huge.

• Long keywords, also called long-tail keywords, such as “buy spelt wholemeal bread without yeast Munich”: fewer people search for them, but they know exactly what they want. Smaller businesses also have a good chance here.

With AI assistants, search queries get even longer. Instead of “tax advisor Hamburg”, people ask ChatGPT or Claude: “Which tax firm in Hamburg knows about online retailers?” You can read how to appear in such answers in What is GEO?.

The biggest misunderstanding: technical jargon

Many businesses describe their offering the way they talk about it internally. Customers, however, search in their own words:

Both have their place – but you get found through the right-hand column.

How to find keywords the right way in 5 steps

Step 1: Collect ideas from your customers' point of view

Sit down for 20 minutes and write down: What problems do your customers have? What questions do they ask on the phone, in the shop, in sales conversations? Ask your team too, especially employees who deal with customers. A look through customer emails and enquiries is a real goldmine.

Step 2: Ask Google itself

Type your ideas into Google, but don't press Enter straight away. Autocomplete suggests what others often search for. After you submit, you will often find further clues: the “People also ask” box with questions from other users and, at the very bottom of the page, “Related searches”. Note down everything that fits.

Step 3: Check your ideas against data

Now check how often your terms are searched for. This number is called search volume. Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends are well suited for this. And if your website has already been online for a while, Google Search Console even shows you which search terms people already use to find you. More on the tools further down.

Step 4: Sort by intent

Behind every search is an intention – experts speak of search intent. In simple terms, there are three kinds:

• Learn: “How long does sourdough bread keep?” – suits a guide article.

• Compare: “Tax advisor or income tax assistance association?” – suits a comparison or information page.

• Buy or enquire: “order company cake Augsburg” – suits an offer or product page.

If you are unsure, simply look at what Google shows for the term: guides, shops or company pages? That tells you which type of page Google considers appropriate.

Step 5: Give each page its main keyword

Assign each important page on your website a main keyword, supplemented by a few related terms. Use it naturally in the page title, the main heading and the text. Important: don't target several pages at the same term, otherwise they compete with each other.

The free tools at a glance

Typical mistakes in keyword research

Conclusion: listen to your customers

Keyword research sounds technical, but at its core it is listening: Which words do your customers use, which questions do they ask? With a few free tools and a simple table, you will know which topics belong on your website. That applies to the bakery around the corner just as much as to the mid-sized company with an international customer base.