Write for what people type.
Keyword research means finding out which words your buyers type into Google, how often, and what they want to see. You can do it free with three of Google's own tools: Autocomplete shows the questions people ask, Keyword Planner estimates how often, and Search Console shows which terms your site already appears for. The result is not a long list but a map: which search term belongs on which page.
For a business selling across Europe there is one extra rule: do it per language and per country. Below is the six-step method we use for our clients and for this site, with live Autocomplete examples, what each tool does and does not show, and when to outsource it.
Customer questions
What you hear on the phone and in emails
Autocomplete
What Google suggests, in your buyer's language
Estimate volume
Keyword Planner, with a Google Ads account
Your own data
Search terms in Search Console you already appear for
Read the intent
What Google shows now: guide, price, shop, map
The term map
Each search term on one page, never two pages on one term
The last step makes the difference: without a map, your own pages compete with each other.
Keyword research with three free tools
| Tool | What it shows | What it does not show |
|---|---|---|
| Google Autocomplete | What people type now, in their language and region | How often |
| Keyword Planner | Estimated monthly searches, forecasts, per country | Terms with very low volume |
| Search Console | Which terms your site already appears for, with impressions and position | Terms you do not appear for yet |
| The results page itself | What Google shows for a term: guide, price, shop, map | Volume |
Autocomplete is the simplest source. Type the start of a question and see what Google adds. At the time of writing, "keyword research" completes with "free", "google", "tools", "volume" and "template"; "how to use google search console" with "for seo" and "for keyword research". Each suggestion is a question a page can answer. For every article on this site we record which suggestion proves the term is searched.
Keyword Planner sits inside Google Ads. You need an Ads account with billing details to use it, but you do not have to run a campaign. It estimates monthly searches, and you can set the country and language, which is essential for international work. One catch: without a running campaign, or on a small budget, it often shows only ranges, such as 10 to 100 or 100 to 1,000. For ranking terms that is enough: a term in the 1,000 to 10,000 range weighs more than one in 10 to 100. Exact figures come once you advertise, or later from your own Search Console. What Google Ads costs beyond that is in how much does Google Ads cost.
Search Console shows under Performance which terms already bring your site impressions, and you can filter by country. Terms where you sit at position 8 to 20 are your quickest wins. How to read it is in how to use Google Search Console.
The method, step by step
- Write down twenty customer questionsFrom emails, quotes and calls, in their words and not your jargon. A customer asks "how much is a new bathroom", not "sanitary renovation".
- Type each one into GoogleNote what Autocomplete adds, also after a space or a letter behind the question, per language and country you sell in.
- Estimate volumePut the terms into Keyword Planner per country. If you only see ranges, rank by range: the highest range first, then the rest.
- Check where you already standOpen the queries of the last three months in Search Console. Terms at position 8 to 20 go to the top of your list: they are the quickest wins.
- Read what Google shows nowGuides, price pages, shops or a map: that is what the searcher wants, and so the shape of your page.
- Fix the term mapEach term on an existing or new page, never two pages on the same term, and the order you tackle them in.
Research per language, not per translation
The biggest mistake foreign companies make in Europe is translating their keyword list. Search terms do not translate one to one. Belgium shows it well: people in Flanders search in Dutch, in Wallonia in French, and the words they pick are not each other's translations. "Peppol verplicht" (Dutch for "Peppol mandatory") completes with "voor wie" and "voor kleine ondernemingen"; the French searcher phrases the same need differently. Run Autocomplete with the right language and country for each market, and build a map per language. We explain the site side in multilingual website development and a website in French and Dutch.
Search intent: what the searcher wants
A term says not only what someone looks for, but what they want to do. Check what Google shows for each term, and build the page in that shape.
| What Google shows | What the searcher wants | Which page you make |
|---|---|---|
| Guides and articles | Understand how something works | A guide or blog post with a full answer |
| Price pages and comparisons | Choose and budget | A pricing guide or a comparison |
| Shops and product pages | Buy | A category or product page |
| A map of businesses | Find someone nearby | A Google Business Profile and a local page |
For local terms you start with a Google Business Profile and local SEO; see is Google Business Profile free.
No volume in the tool is not no searcher
Keyword Planner does not show keywords with very low volume. A long, specific question that Autocomplete does suggest is searched, even when the tool shows nothing. Such terms are often the easiest to win, especially in smaller languages.
The term map: one term, one page
A list of two hundred keywords helps nobody. A map does: per term, the page that answers it, existing or to be made, and the order you tackle them in. That stops two pages competing for one term, and shows where a page is missing. For Business Centrum we built a term map of 182 search terms, each on one target page, with 771 internal links between them, in four languages. Their non-brand search terms on page 1 went from 13 to 1,593 in five weeks.
Put the form on the map too: a calculator can answer a term better than text. For SN Group, the cost calculator draws the most non-brand impressions of the whole site; how to pick such a tool is in a calculator on your website.
What it means for your business
A company from abroad entering Belgium or another EU market researches each language separately, before writing a word. A small business starts with twenty customer questions and a map of thirty to fifty terms; enough for a year of articles. An online store works per category: how to choose, which size, what goes with it. An agency does it per client, with the map attached to every proposal.
Four mistakes we often see
- Looking only at volumeA term with many searches but a different intent brings no customers.
- JargonCustomers type "job sheet app", not "field service management".
- One page per variant"Website cost" and "website price" are the same question; one page is enough.
- Research without pagesA list that stays in a folder achieves nothing.
Free tools against paid ones
- Which questions people ask
- Free Google toolsAutocomplete, live and local
- Paid SEO toolsLarge databases of variants
- How often people search
- Free Google toolsKeyword Planner, with an Ads account
- Paid SEO toolsTheir own monthly estimates
- Where you already rank
- Free Google toolsSearch Console, exact for your site
- Paid SEO toolsEstimates, competitors too
- What competitors do
- Free Google toolsSearch and look yourself
- Paid SEO toolsCompetitor rankings and pages
- Cost
- Free Google toolsFree
- Paid SEO toolsA monthly subscription
For most businesses the free tools are enough. A paid tool pays off once you work on SEO weekly or track many competitors.
When to outsource it
Doing it yourself pays off if you know your customers well and can free a few hours a quarter. Outsourcing pays off in a competitive market, in several languages, or when the map has to turn straight into pages. What that costs is in how much does SEO cost and SEO specialist hourly rate. Then you write the pages; see how to write a blog post for SEO and run through the SEO checklist. If buyers find you through AI assistants, read SEO vs GEO as well.
How VBS builds your term map
From Ghent, Belgium, we do SEO starting from the term map: we find your customers' questions per language with evidence from Autocomplete and Search Console, put every term on a page, and write or improve those pages. For Business Centrum we did that in Dutch, French, English and Turkish, with 182 search terms each on their own page. You keep the map, even if you write the pages yourself. Book a call.