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Glossary · Keywords & intent

keyword

Also called search term, search query

Reviewed 31 Oct 2026 By Madiha Fatima 3 min read Check it yourself: yes, free

3 min
Definition

A keyword is the word or phrase someone types or says into a search engine, and the phrase a page is written to appear for. It can be one word, such as 'dentist', or a whole question. Choosing which keywords your pages should answer is the first decision in SEO, because everything else is built on it.

A keyword is not something you sprinkle into a page. Google reads whole sentences and understands that 'tow truck', 'towing service' and 'my car broke down who do I call' are the same need. The job is to pick the searches worth winning and write one page that genuinely answers each, not to repeat a phrase a set number of times.

Short version: what the customer types, and what the page is for.
Why it matters for your business

The wrong keyword wins you
the wrong customers.

A towing company that ranks first for 'towing' gets calls from people fifty miles away, from students writing essays and from people who wanted a trailer hitch. The one that ranks for 'tow truck near me' and 'roadside recovery' plus its town gets drivers on the hard shoulder. Both rank. Only one gets paid.

Keywords are also where SEO proposals bury the small print. 'We will target 20 keywords' means nothing until you see the list. Ask for it before you sign and check three things: would a paying customer type this, does it include your area and is there one page on your site that can honestly be the answer? A list full of your own brand name is padding.

Monthly ranking reports are only as good as the keywords on them. Search Console shows the searches you actually appear for, free, and it is often a better list than the one you were sold.

Example

Twenty keywords on the proposal,
four of them worth having.

The list in the proposal

'towing', 'tow truck', 'towing company', 'car towing', 'vehicle recovery', 'breakdown', 'roadside', 'Acme Towing', 'Acme Towing reviews', 'tow near me' and ten more like them. Big search volumes next to each.

The list that pays

'tow truck Milton Keynes', '24 hour recovery Milton Keynes', 'car recovery M1 junction 14', 'motorcycle recovery Bedfordshire'. Smaller numbers, but each one is a driver who needs a truck now, within range of the depot. The company's own name belongs in the report as a brand search, not as a target, because people who already know you will find you anyway. The second list is also the one the map pack rewards.

How to check it on your site

Four checks before you accept any keyword list.

Tick each one as you go. 0 of 4 checked on your site.

  1. Read Search Console first

    In Google Search Console, open Performance and look at the Queries tab for the last three months. These are the searches you already appear for. The ones with many impressions and few clicks are where a better title or page would pay quickest.

  2. Type it into Google and look at who ranks

    For each proposed keyword, search it in a private window. If the results are national chains, directories and encyclopaedias, a small business page is unlikely to break in. If the results are businesses like yours, the keyword is realistic. See keyword difficulty.

  3. Use autocomplete and 'People also ask'

    Start typing your service in Google and read the suggestions. Scroll to the 'People also ask' box. Both are free lists of what real people type, in their words. Questions make good page sections and good long-tail targets.

  4. Match each keyword to one page

    Write each target keyword next to the page that should answer it. If two keywords point at the same page they are probably one topic. If one keyword points at two pages, you have cannibalization. If a keyword has no page, that is content to write, not a ranking to promise.

Related terms

Usually in the same sentence.

Read next

Where this shows up in practice.

Content Write for the question, not the keyword

Why pages built around a customer's question beat pages built around a phrase.

 Pricing & transparency What SEO costs a small business

Includes what a keyword list in a proposal should look like, and what padding looks like.

 Service SEO & AI search

Keyword research is done with you in month one and the list is yours to keep.
Related service

Keyword research, with the list in your hands before any page is written, is the first job in the SEO service. Prices are on the price list, not on a call.

See the SEO service
Reviewed by Madiha Fatima, founder of 99creatix

Every entry in this glossary is written and checked by the person who runs the agency, reviewed at least once a quarter and dated. Last reviewed 31 October 2026.

Spotted an error or a term we are missing? Tell us and it is fixed within the week.

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on a keyword list?

Fifteen minutes, the proposal you were sent and your Search Console. We will tell you which keywords would bring customers and which are padding, before you sign.

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