Keyword Research Services That Drive Real Results
Every page on your site should target a specific keyword. Not a guess. Not a phrase you think sounds right. A term that real people type into Google right before they pick up the phone and call someone who does what you do.
We dig into how your customers actually search. Search volume, competition, cost per click, and most importantly, intent. Then we map those keywords to the right pages on your site so every piece of content has a job to do and a keyword to rank for.
Let's Work Together!
Tell us about your business and we'll show you the keywords you should be targeting.
Bad Keyword Research Is Why Most SEO Campaigns Fail
You build 12 pages targeting terms nobody searches for. Or you go after "insurance Long Island" when 47 other agencies are already fighting over it with bigger budgets and older domains. Either way, you spend months creating content that never ranks and never brings in a single call.
Good keyword research answers three questions before any content gets written. What are your customers actually typing into Google? How hard is it to rank for those terms? And which ones are most likely to turn into a phone call or a form submission?
That research drives everything else we do. It tells us what on-page SEO changes to make, what content to write, what local SEO pages to build, and which pages on your site need to be reworked or consolidated. Without it, you're throwing darts in the dark.
Money Keywords vs. Topical Keywords
Money keywords drive leads ("plumber near me," "SEO company Suffolk County"). Topical keywords build authority ("how to fix a leaking faucet"). You need both. We split your keyword list into these two buckets and map each one to the right page type.
One Keyword Per Page
Every page gets one primary keyword and 2-3 supporting terms. When two pages target the same keyword, they cannibalize each other and neither ranks. We map your entire site to prevent that from happening.
Local Keywords Are Different
Long Island keyword research means accounting for Nassau vs. Suffolk, town-level searches, and "near me" variations. Ranking in Commack requires different targeting than ranking in Garden City.
Every Keyword Gets Vetted Through Real Data
We don't pick keywords from a list. Every term we recommend has been evaluated against these six criteria.
Search Volume
How many people search for this term every month. We target keywords with enough volume to move the needle but not so broad that they'll never convert. A keyword with 40 searches a month that leads to a $5,000 job is worth more than one with 5,000 searches from people just browsing.
Keyword Difficulty
How competitive the keyword is based on the sites currently ranking for it. We look at their domain authority, content depth, and backlink profiles. No point targeting a keyword if every result on page one is a national brand with 10x your link profile.
Cost Per Click
High CPC usually means high commercial intent. If advertisers are paying $15 per click for a keyword, that tells us people who search that term are ready to spend money. We use CPC data to prioritize keywords that are closest to a conversion.
Click-Through Potential
Some keywords have high search volume but low click-through rates because Google answers the question directly in a featured snippet. We prioritize keywords where searchers actually click through to a website instead of getting the answer on the results page.
Search Intent
Is the person ready to buy, researching options, or just looking for information? We classify every keyword as transactional, commercial, informational, or navigational. Transactional keywords go to service pages. Informational keywords go to blog posts. The wrong match kills your conversion rate.
Local Relevance
For Long Island businesses, we evaluate how each keyword performs with geographic modifiers. "Plumber" is different from "plumber Deer Park" is different from "plumber near me." We research town-level and county-level variations so your pages target the right local terms.
Our Keyword Research Process Step by Step
Every campaign starts here. No content gets written and no page gets built until this research is done.
Industry and Competitor Analysis
We pull the top-ranking pages from your competitors and break down which keywords they rank for, how much traffic those keywords bring in, and where they have gaps. If your competitor in Melville ranks for 200 keywords and you rank for 30, we need to understand what they built and what they missed.
Search Intent Mapping
We sort every keyword by intent. Transactional terms ("hire SEO company Long Island") go to service pages. Informational terms ("how much does SEO cost") go to blog content. Local terms ("digital marketing Huntington") go to location pages. This mapping prevents you from building the wrong type of page for the wrong type of keyword.
Keyword-to-Page Assignment
Every page on your site gets a primary keyword, 2-3 secondary keywords, and a list of supporting terms. If two pages are targeting the same keyword, we consolidate or redirect one of them. This assignment becomes the blueprint for your on-page SEO, your content calendar, and your technical SEO priorities.
Ongoing Refinement
Keywords aren't static. Every month we review your Search Console data, check which pages are gaining traction, find new keyword opportunities, and adjust the targets based on what's actually producing calls and form submissions. If a keyword isn't performing after 90 days, we swap it for something better.
Why Long Island Businesses Trust Us for Keyword Research
We've been researching keywords for Long Island businesses since 2012. We know the local search patterns, the seasonal trends, and the difference between how someone in Nassau County searches vs. someone in eastern Suffolk.
Other SEO Services That Use Your Keyword Research
On-Page SEO
Your keyword research drives every title tag, H1, and content rewrite. We map your keywords to pages and fix the on-page elements.
Learn MoreLocal SEO
Local keyword research feeds your Google Business Profile, location pages, and geo-targeted content strategy.
Learn MoreTechnical SEO
Keyword mapping reveals duplicate content, cannibalization issues, and pages that need to be consolidated or redirected.
Learn MoreSEO Reporting
Monthly reports track how your target keywords are performing. Rankings, traffic, and which keywords are driving actual leads.
Learn MoreWhat Our Clients Say
"I am extremely impressed with Jason and team at Design ME Marketing. They have been paramount in helping me grow my business with their extensive knowledge and strategy around all aspects of SEO and marketing."
"Design ME Marketing helped us revitalize our online presence and significantly improve our SEO to reach a broader B2B audience. They are knowledgeable, professional, timely, and incredibly responsive."
"I cannot say enough wonderful things about my SEO team, John and Jason! Their expertise and dedication to improving my online presence have been phenomenal. Proactive, detail-oriented, and always one step ahead."
Keyword Research FAQ
Keyword research is the process of finding the specific words and phrases people type into Google when they're looking for your services. We use that data to decide what pages to build, what content to write, and how to structure your site so Google connects you with the right searchers. Without it, you're guessing at what to write about.
We look at four things: search volume (are people actually searching this?), keyword difficulty (can we realistically rank for it?), search intent (will this lead to a phone call or just a page view?), and local relevance (does this keyword matter in your service area?). Every keyword has to pass all four checks before we assign it to a page.
It depends on how many services you offer and how many locations you serve. A typical Long Island service business might target 20 to 40 keywords across their service pages, location pages, and blog. The number matters less than making sure each keyword is mapped to the right page and isn't competing with another page on your site.
Yes. Voice search still uses keywords. AI overviews still pull from pages that rank for specific queries. The way people phrase searches has gotten more conversational, which means long-tail keywords and question-based queries matter more than ever. We account for all of these in our research.
We review and refine your keyword targets every month as part of our ongoing SEO campaigns. Search trends shift, competitors change their strategies, and new keyword opportunities surface in your Search Console data. Keywords that aren't producing after 90 days get replaced with better options.