Most keyword research starts with a tool and ends with a spreadsheet of phrases nobody acts on. Good keyword research starts with your customers and ends with a page plan: which pages to build, what each one is for, and how they connect. Here’s how I do it for Auckland businesses.
Start with customers, not tools
The best keyword ideas come from the people who already buy from you. Before opening any tool, collect:
- The words customers use in emails, quote requests and phone calls. Write down their phrases exactly.
- The questions they ask before they buy: price, timing, process, “do I need…?”
- Your Search Console queries. The Performance report shows the actual searches your site already appears for, often including some you never targeted.
- Google itself. Autocomplete suggestions and the “People also ask” questions show what searchers commonly want next.
Keyword tools are useful for checking relative demand. Be aware that New Zealand search volumes are small and tools round them heavily. A phrase showing “10 searches a month” can still be worth a lot if each search is a $5,000 job.
Use the words Aucklanders use
New Zealand English differs from the American terms many tools default to. Some examples that change which pages you should build:
| Aucklanders often search | Rather than |
|---|---|
| spouting | gutters |
| section | yard or lot |
| tradie | contractor |
| chilly bin | cooler |
| jandals | flip-flops |
| hot water cylinder | water heater |
Then there are place names. People search “North Shore”, “West Auckland” and suburb names like “Ponsonby” or “Botany”. They also rely on “near me” and their phone’s location. Local SEO across Auckland covers how to handle areas without creating doorway pages.
Work out the intent behind each search
The same topic can be searched with very different goals. Getting this right decides what kind of page you build.
| Intent | What the searcher wants | Auckland example | Best page type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informational | To understand something | “do I need consent for a retaining wall” | A helpful guide |
| Commercial investigation | To compare options before buying | “best physio Mt Eden”, “heat pump vs ducted heating” | A comparison or a strong service page with proof |
| Transactional | To book or buy now | “electrician North Shore” | A service page, plus your Google Business Profile |
| Navigational | A specific business | your business name | Your homepage or contact page |
The quickest way to check intent is to search the phrase and look at what Google shows. If the first page is full of guides, a sales page will struggle. If it’s a map pack and service pages, a blog post won’t rank.
Group searches into topics, one page per intent
Once you have a list, group the phrases that share the same intent. “Switchboard upgrade Auckland”, “electrical switchboard replacement” and “old fuse box replacement” belong on one page, because the person wants the same thing.
The opposite mistake is common too: several pages chasing the same intent, such as “plumber Auckland”, “Auckland plumbers” and “plumbing services Auckland” as separate pages. They compete with each other (keyword cannibalisation), and Google often ranks none of them well. One strong page beats three weak ones.
Turn the groups into a topic map
Arrange your page groups into a simple hierarchy:
- Core service pages: the pages that should rank for commercial searches, one per main service.
- Supporting guides: the questions customers ask before buying, each linking to the relevant service page.
- FAQs: short questions answered on the service page itself, rather than as separate thin pages.
A worked example: a physio clinic in Mt Eden
- Core page: Physiotherapy in Mt Eden, covering what you treat, how to book, pricing and the team
- Supporting guides: “Do I need a referral for ACC physio?” (in New Zealand you don’t need a GP referral to see a physio for an injury covered by ACC), “What to expect at your first appointment”, “Physio vs osteopath vs chiropractor”
- Service pages: sports injuries, back and neck pain, post-surgery rehab
- Links: every guide links to the relevant service page and to booking. Every service page links to the guides that answer its common questions
Each page has one clear job, and together they show Google that the clinic covers physiotherapy thoroughly. How Google understands your website explains why that connected structure matters.
Prioritise what to build first
Don’t build pages in order of search volume. Score each planned page on three things:
| Factor | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Business value | If this page ranked, would it bring work you actually want? |
| Intent fit | Can you build the kind of page Google is already showing for this search? |
| Winnability | Looking at who ranks now, could your page realistically be better? |
Pages that score well on all three go first. They’re almost always core service pages, and then the guides that support your most valuable services.
Keep it alive
Revisit the plan every few months. Search Console will show new queries your pages are appearing for. Those are often the clearest signal of what to add next, or which page to improve.
If you want this done for your business, keyword and intent mapping is the first stage of every SEO audit and strategy I do. See how it fits into the bigger picture in my Auckland SEO guide.