Keyword Research for Small Business: Free Google Tools and Search Intent Explained

Free keyword research for small businesses, explained in plain English. We cover what keywords, search volume, search intent and long-tail keywords mean, then walk through a seven-step process using three free Google tools: Search Console, Keyword Planner and Google Trends, including what the Competition and bid range columns really measure. We look at Pew Research data on how AI summaries change clicking, then work through a sample nail salon choosing between a 1,000-search keyword and a 90-search local one, where the smaller keyword brings in about 3.6 times more booking revenue. We finish with four common mistakes and a five-step checklist for this week. 0:00 Intro 0:48 Part 1: The basics 2:04 Part 2: How it works 5:33 Part 3: Worked example 7:21 Part 4: Common mistakes 8:26 Do this week 9:01 My take SOURCES (all diagrams and examples are our own, made from these): Google: Google Keyword Planner (product page and FAQ) https://business.google.com/us/ad-too... Google Ads Help: Use Keyword Planner https://support.google.com/google-ads... Google Ads Help: About Keyword Planner forecasts https://support.google.com/google-ads... Google Search Console Help: Performance report (Search results): Overview and basic setup https://support.google.com/webmasters... Google Search Central Blog: A deep dive into Search Console performance data filtering and limits https://developers.google.com/search/... Google Trends Help: FAQ about Google Trends data https://support.google.com/trends/ans... Google: Search Quality Rater Guidelines: An Overview https://services.google.com/fh/files/... Ahrefs: Long-tail keywords: what they are and how to get search traffic from them https://ahrefs.com/blog/long-tail-key... Pew Research Center: Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results https://www.pewresearch.org/short-rea... Benchmarks change over time and differ by industry; the worked examples use a clearly labelled sample business. Platform menus and settings change, so check the official help pages linked above. This video is education, not legal or financial advice. Narration uses an AI voice. #KeywordResearch #SmallBusinessSEO #FunnelNotes