Keyword research: how to choose the right terms for your website

A keyword is what a person types into Google. Keyword research is finding out which of them deserve a page on your site — and which page.

1. Seeds

List 10 to 20 terms describing what you sell, in the customer's language (not yours). "Custom corrugated boxes", not "packaging solutions".

2. Expansion

For each seed, collect variations: Google Suggest (what appears as you type), "People also ask", related searches at the bottom of the page, Search Console (what already brings people) and Google Ads Keyword Planner for volume. You end up with 100 to 300 terms.

3. Intent

Classify each term:

• Informational — wants to understand ("what is branding"). Becomes an article.
• Commercial — is comparing ("branding agency Brazil"). Becomes a service page.
• Transactional — wants to hire ("visual identity quote"). Becomes a service page with a strong CTA.
• Navigational — looking for a brand. Ignore, unless it's yours.

4. Difficulty × opportunity

Generic terms ("marketing") have huge volume and impossible competition. Long-tail terms ("label design for craft beer") have less volume, low competition and clear intent. Small businesses win on the long tail — many pages, each answering one specific term.

5. Page-by-page map

A table: main term, secondary terms, intent, page that will answer, title. One page per intent — not two pages for the same term (they compete with each other) nor one page for five different terms (it ranks for none).

In two languages

If the site is bilingual, the map is built twice, with its own research in each language. The English term is rarely the translation of the Portuguese one.