In SEO, keywords are the words and phrases your customers type into Google (and other search engines) when they want a service, a nearby provider, or a quick answer.
Think of keywords as the match point between what you offer and what someone is actively searching for. For an Orlando business, that might be “emergency dentist Orlando,” “termite treatment Winter Park,” “car accident lawyer Lake Nona,” or “lawn care near me.” The goal is not to chase random traffic, it’s to show up for searches that can turn into calls, form fills, and booked appointments in your service area.
What keywords look like for local businesses
Most local keywords fall into a few practical buckets:
- Service + location: “teeth whitening Orlando,” “HVAC repair Kissimmee”
- Problem-based: “toothache same day appointment,” “roaches in kitchen help”
- High-intent modifiers: “same day,” “24/7,” “cost,” “near me,” “best”
- Brand searches: your business name, doctor or attorney name, or practice name
How search engines use keywords
Search engines read the full page to understand what it’s about, including your page title, headings, main text, internal links, and even image alt text. When your page clearly matches the wording and meaning behind a search, you have a better shot at showing up. At the same time, modern search is not only exact-match phrases. If your page covers the topic well, it can show up for many close variations without repeating the same line over and over.
Where your keywords should show up (without overdoing it)
For most service businesses, we aim to place the main phrase naturally in a few spots that people and search engines both notice: the page title, the H1, an H2, the first paragraph, the URL (when it reads well), and a couple of internal links from related pages. If it sounds awkward to a human, it usually isn’t a good fit on the page.
One quick myth to drop: the old “meta keywords” tag does not help your rankings on Google, so spending time filling it out is busywork.
If you want help mapping your services to the searches that actually bring qualified leads, our SEO services are built around local intent and conversion, not vanity traffic.
If you’re doing it in-house, start with our guide on how to choose the right keywords for SEO and build one strong page per main service before you worry about extra topics.
