How to choose keywords for a local business
Translated from the Spanish original. Leer en español
You have a locksmith business in Castellón and you want to show up on Google when someone in the city searches for a locksmith. To get there, the first step is to know what those people type into the search engine.
Those searches, exactly as they are typed, are the keywords. One of yours would be, literally, "locksmith Castellón".
How do you know which ones people use? Google's Keyword Planner lets you look up search ideas and estimates of how many times they are searched per month.
If you check the volume for all of Spain, the figure will include searches from people who are not in Castellón. To decide which words to work on for your website, check the demand in the area where you provide your service.
Short answer. The keywords of a local business are chosen by measuring what people in your area search for, not what all of Spain searches for. Combine your service with your location, look at what Google shows in each case and assign each search to a specific page. The volume will be smaller than the national one, and it can still be good business, because those visits are usually closer to hiring you.
What changes when searches are local?
Google is not looking for the best page in the country, but for the best answer near whoever is asking.
When someone types "dentist Castellón" or "locksmith open today", the results change: the map, the business listings and the pages from the area appear.
The intent changes too. Someone who searches "what is local SEO" wants to learn. Someone who searches "local SEO consultant" is closer to hiring.
Separate those two intents from the start: the ones to learn feed the blog and the ones to hire feed your service pages.
How do you measure the demand of your city and not the whole country's?
Here is the difference with a national online store: where you look at the data.
Keyword Planner with your location. Almost everyone pastes a keyword and looks at the volume for Spain. The same tool lets you change the location to your province or city, and the number changes with you. It is free with a Google Ads account; without active campaigns it may show ranges instead of exact figures. The details are in the official Keyword Planner help.
A practical example: if you have a carpentry business in Castellón, create the report with the location changed to Castellón and compare "custom carpenter" with "custom carpenter Castellón". The first looks bigger; the second is the one that brings you real customers.
Google Trends by region. It doesn't give absolute numbers: it gives an index from 0 to 100, and in small areas it may have no data. When it does, it tells you whether a search is growing or falling in your region and in which months. You'll find it at trends.google.es.
Example: if air conditioning installation grows every June in your region, you already know which month it pays to push that service.
Google autocomplete. The suggestions come from popular searches and can vary with your history and location. Use them as a clue to discover variants, not as a measurement. That your neighborhood doesn't appear as a suggestion doesn't prove nobody searches for it.
The real search from your area. Search the term the way a neighbor would and look at what comes up. If maps and listings appear, the local intent is fairly clear. If articles from national media come up, it probably isn't.
Your Google Business Profile listing. If you already have a listing, its performance report shows part of the searches you appeared for. It is not exhaustive and doesn't confirm the exact origin of each visit, but it is real data from your listing, not a tool estimate. It is explained in the Business Profile performance help.
| Source | What it gives you | What you use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword Planner (by city) | Approximate volume for your area | Deciding which keywords deserve a page |
| Google Trends (by region) | Trend and seasonality, if there is data | When to publish and push |
| Google autocomplete | Clues to variants | Discovering combinations and areas |
| Real search from your location | How Google interprets the search | Confirming whether the intent is local |
| Google Business Profile listing | Part of the queries that show your listing | Spotting what already works |
If you cannot see all the columns, scroll the table sideways.
What keywords does a local business choose?
The ones that join what you sell with where you sell it. The basic formula is service plus location: "bathroom renovations in Burriana", "inheritance lawyer in Castellón".
From there, three groups that are worked differently:
Service + city. The main one. Each important service can have its own page, although the final decision belongs to Google: if it shows the same results for two services, they are probably answered by a single page.
Service + neighborhood or area. Only if the area has searches you can verify. Check it in Keyword Planner; Trends may have no data at that level, and autocomplete gives clues but doesn't certify demand. The real search from your location is another good check.
Urgency and purchase. "24 hours", "quote", "price", "near me". Careful with "near me": you don't work on it by writing that phrase on your website. You work on it with a complete Google listing and your area well marked, as I explain in the article on how to show up on Google Maps.
What you don't need: a page for every town in the province copying the same text and changing the name. A single well-made service page, with your work area clear, usually performs better than twenty copies.
How many searches does a local keyword need to be worth it?
Fewer than it seems.
A keyword with 30 searches a month in your city can bring more customers than one with thousands across the country. The reason: a good part of those 30 people are from your area and are already searching with intent to hire.
An example measured today in Keyword Planner for Spain: "local SEO positioning" shows 90 searches a month. For a service page that converts well, that can be a small but steady source of contacts.
The useful question is not how many people search for it, but how many of those people could be your customers.
That's why in local SEO volume is used to order priorities, not to discard. First the keywords for your main service in your city, even if the numbers are small. Then the rest.
How do you decide which page answers each keyword?
Starting rule: one search intent, one main page.
Before creating anything, look at Google's results. If it shows the same pages for two variants, it treats them as a single search and one page can cover both. If it shows different results, they most likely need separate pages.
Example: if "locksmith Castellón" and "emergency locksmith Castellón" show the same pages, a single URL can answer both. If one shows locksmiths and the other shows articles about what to do when you lose your keys, each needs its own page.
Keywords to hire go to service pages. Keywords to learn go to the blog, and from the blog you link to the matching service page. It is the structure I apply on the local SEO page: the article answers the question and the service page catches whoever already wants to talk.
If you need the general research method (difficulty, intent, tools), it is developed in the keyword analysis guide. This article is the local version of that process: same method, applied to your area.
Then comes measuring. With your pages published, Search Console tells you which searches you start to appear for. If you have never looked at it in an orderly way, start with Search Console from scratch.
My criteria when ordering a list of local keywords
I start with the service searches in the area itself, even if they are small. Only afterwards do I look at broader terms.
The volume for Spain is a reference. The decision is made with the local data and with what the Google listing shows.
I prefer ten visits from my city over a thousand from anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the same keywords as my competition? Look at them so you don't forget any, but don't copy the whole list: you would end up with no differentiation. Your area, your services and your reviews are not theirs.
What if my town is small and there is no measurable volume? Use the province or the county as a reference and lean on the real search and on your Google listing. That Keyword Planner shows no figure doesn't mean nobody searches: it usually indicates the volume is low for its sample. A town of a few thousand inhabitants will rarely give its own figure; work with the county and confirm with the real search.
How often do I review my local keywords? A review every three months is enough for most businesses. Add an extra one if your service offer changes or you open a new location.
Do I need paid tools? To start, no. Keyword Planner, Google Trends, autocomplete and your business listing cover the basic work of a local business.
Checklist before approving a local keyword
- It combines a service and your business's real location.
- Volume checked for your area, not just for Spain.
- Intent reviewed on Google: maps and listings are a good sign of local intent.
- One main page per intent, with no two pages of yours competing for the same thing.
- Variants checked in Keyword Planner; autocomplete and the real search as clues.
- No clone pages per municipality.
- Measurement ready in Search Console to see which searches arrive.
To finish your coffee
Choosing keywords for a local business is not about finding the biggest number. It is about finding the closest number.
Measure the demand in your area, separate the searches to learn from the ones to hire, and give each intent a clear page. A small, well-chosen volume can pay more than a big, badly measured one.
Sources: Official Keyword Planner help (Google Ads) · Google Trends · Google Business Profile performance help · Volume data: Keyword Planner, Spain, last 12 months, queried on October 28, 2026 (approximate).
