Unlock the Secret Weapon for Explosive Local SEO Success You’re Overlooking

Ever wonder why some local businesses pop up right on Google’s radar while others seem stuck in the shadows? Well, the secret sauce often boils down to mastering local keyword research—a powerful tool that can skyrocket your visibility and crank up the foot traffic (and sales) like nobody’s business. It’s not just about sprinkling city names around; it’s about decoding how folks search in neighborhoods, ZIP codes, or even “near me” moments when urgency kicks in. This guide cuts through the noise, showing you how to spot those high-intent local keywords and turn them into real-world ranking wins—both on your website and your Google Business Profile. Ready to outsmart your competition and own your local market? Let’s dive in and transform your keyword research into pure local SEO gold. LEARN MORE.

Effective local keyword research can bring more visibility and traffic to your business. 

It reveals how people search at the city, neighborhood, and “near me” level, so you can target terms that drive more sales.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to find high-intent local keywords and ranking opportunities, and turn your research into pages and profile optimizations that improve local visibility and conversions.

What Is Local SEO Keyword Research?

Local SEO keyword research is the process of identifying the keywords and search terms people use to find products, services, or shops in their areas. 

Optimizing your pages for these keywords increases visibility in search results (SERPs)—including in maps results and AI-powered search—which can drive more organic website traffic, foot traffic and inquiries, and sales.

A search for “[service] in [your location]” can trigger multiple result types at the top of the page, including:

• Places sites: A row of image links that may be shown depending on the searcher’s location
• Businesses or Places: A map view with text links listed below, also known as the Google Local Pack. This section might be called “Businesses” or “Places,” depending on the type of query used and the searcher’s location.

Local businesses can also appear in the traditional organic results further down the page:

Local keywords can trigger both Local Pack and traditional search results, but they rank differently. 

Organic results rely on SEO strategies like on-page optimization and backlinks, while Local Pack rankings rely more on Google Business Profile (GBP) optimization, proximity to the searcher, and review signals. 

Effective keyword research for local SEO identifies which terms trigger the Local Pack, and informs both your website optimization and GBP strategies.

Local Keyword Examples

These local keyword examples show how search intent changes by location, urgency, and proximity, so you can choose the right keyword for specific pages and local SEO goals.

Implicit vs. Explicit Local Keywords

Explicit local keywords include a location term like “plumber in boston” or “dentist near me,” making the searcher’s local intent clear. Implicit local keywords don’t specify a location but still trigger local results because the intent is inherently local.

A London resident who lost their keys might search “locksmith in london” or “locksmith near me.”

Implicit local keywords don’t always specify a location, but Google still delivers local results because the search intent is inherently local. 

Someone searching “locksmith” expects nearby options.

But another example of an implicit keyword is “locksmith london.” 

When you remove the word “in,” the query becomes implicit. It implies location, but the results can be different from the explicit version of the term (“locksmith in london”), and may still be based on your current location.

Even though “locksmith london” and “locksmith in london” are almost identical, Google doesn’t treat them identically:

• The explicit version (“in london”) is more geographically-anchored
• The implicit version (“locksmith london”) still implies place, but Google blends it with the searcher’s current location and Local Pack signals

Two people searching “locksmith london” from different neighborhoods—or even just different postcodes—can see meaningfully different results.

This matters for local SEO because it:

• Affects ranking eligibility: You can rank for implicit local queries even if your page isn’t perfectly optimized with “in [city]” phrasing if your local signals are strong (currency, proximity, citations)
• Explains ranking volatility: When rankings change, it’s often just Google resolving implicit intent differently based on user location
• Changes how you write copy: You don’t need to say “in London” everywhere on your website. Natural phrasing like “London locksmiths,” “trusted across London,” etc. still creates local relevance.
• Reinforces the importance of proximity in search: Implicit local searches depend more on distance and prominence, not just keyword matching. That’s why a small local shop can outrank a big brand two miles away.

Google uses algorithms to detect local intent and multiple methods to determine a user’s location, and delivers local results whether the intent is explicit or implicit.

But implicit local keywords let Google decide how local the result should be at the time of the query, not just based on the words used. If you ignore that, you can misdiagnose rankings, over-optimize copy, and prioritize the wrong fixes.

How to Do Local Keyword Research

Follow the five steps below to perform local keyword research for SEO:

1. List terms for your solutions and target locations (cities, neighborhoods, ZIP codes)
2. Find relevant local keywords using research tools
3. Evaluate local metrics (volume, difficulty, SERP features)
4. Analyze competitors to find keyword gaps
5. Map keywords to existing or new pages

Let’s take a closer look at each step.

1. List Terms for Your Solutions and Locations

Start local keyword research by listing your services and locations, since these seed terms determine which local keywords and ranking opportunities you’ll uncover in later steps.

List the following types of solution-related terms:

• General terms associated with your business type
• Products and services relevant to you that people might search for
• Problems or pain points you solve

Next, list location-related terms at multiple levels of specificity (these make local intent explicit):

• Your city
• Your neighborhood
• Your ZIP or postcode
• Landmarks (e.g., “near fenway park,” “near downtown,” “near airport”)

2. Find Relevant Local Keywords

Use keyword research tools to find the local search terms people actually use and see which ones are worth targeting.

If you’re starting with a limited budget, Google Keyword Planner is a free local keyword research tool for basic keyword ideas and volume estimates.

In the “Discover new keywords” section, enter your seed keywords (from the first step) and location under “Start with keywords.” You can enter a city with Google Keyword Planner, but you can’t use hyper-local areas like neighborhoods or ZIP codes.

Click “Get results.”

Google provides broad volume ranges (e.g., “100-1K” instead of exact numbers).

For more precise data and local-specific features, use Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

Open the tool and enter one of your seed keywords. Add your site’s URL for domain-specific insights, choose your target country, and click “Search.”

You’ll see a list of keywords containing your seed keyword or a variation of it.

Use filters to find keywords with local intent.

Select “Include keywords,” choose the “Any keywords” option, enter your location modifiers, and click “Apply.”

Review these keywords and select those that match your business and local audience needs. Click the checkboxes next to them, then click “Send keywords.”

Select “Keyword Strategy Builder”, name your list, and click “Apply.” The keywords you save here can be used in Keyword Strategy Builder in a later step.

If you entered your domain name in the Keyword Magic Tool, look at the Personal Keyword Difficulty (“PKD %”) column—that metric indicates the difficulty of ranking your specific website based on your site’s authority and content relevance compared to top-ranking competitors.

Narrow your list by selecting the “Personal KD %” drop-down and setting a custom range of 0-49, which represents terms you have a good chance of ranking for. 

Then click “Apply.”

Aim for keywords with a good balance of search volume and feasible Personal Keyword Difficulty.

Add relevant keywords to your list by selecting their checkboxes and clicking “Send keywords.”

Next, find implicit keywords. 

Press the “X” on the “Include keywords” filter to remove your location modifiers, and now add those modifiers to the “Exclude keywords” filter to hide explicit keywords.

Click “Apply.”

Then, apply a filter to show only queries that trigger the Local Pack. 

Click “Advanced filters,” and from the drop-down below “SERP Features,” select the box next to “Local pack.”

Click “Apply.”

Review these implicit local keywords for search volume and Personal Keyword Difficulty, and send relevant terms to your list.

3. Evaluate Local Metrics

Evaluate local keyword metrics to prioritize terms you can realistically rank for in your target location.

Use Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool to study metrics for the local keywords you saved from the previous step. 

Enter a keyword, select your location, and click “Search.”

The overview report shows local data such as search volume and keyword difficulty.

Check the metrics for each of your local keywords. Remove terms from your list if they have no local search volume or extremely high difficulty.

Focus on terms that have the highest potential to improve local visibility and drive relevant traffic.

4. Find Competitors’ Keywords

Analyzing competitors’ keywords helps you find local search opportunities your business isn’t capturing yet.

The fastest way to identify your true local competitors is to search a local keyword in Google and see who appears in both the Local Pack and traditional organic results.

For example, the below search reveals competing auto shops in Philadelphia.

Businesses ranking for your target keywords are your real competitors. They’re not just businesses in your category—they’re the ones winning the visibility you want.

You can also use Semrush’s Domain Overview tool to find competitors.

Enter your domain, select your country, and click “Search.”

If you have location-specific pages, search those exact URLs (e.g., “site.com/locations/city”).

Change “Root Domain” to “Exact URL” and click “Search” again to find competitors for the location-specific URL you entered. 

Then, scroll down to “Main Organic Competitors” and note your top competitors’ domains or click “View details” to see more.

After finding your main competitors, use Semrush’s Keyword Gap tool to find keywords competitors rank for but you don’t. 

Enter your domain and location, add up to four competitors’ domains and locations, and click “Compare.”

Switch the “Device” to “Mobile”—a lot of local searches happen on mobile devices.

Find terms your rivals rank highly for by going to “Position” > “Competitors” > “Top 10.”

Exclude competitors’ brand names since you typically don’t want to target them.

Go to “Advanced filters” and set the fields to “Exclude,” “Keyword,” and “Containing.” 

Put your competitor’s name in the last field, and click “Apply.”

Next, filter for explicit local intent using your location keywords.

Go to “Advanced filters” and set the fields to “Include,” “Keyword,” and “Containing.”

Put your location keyword in the last field, and click “Apply.”

Scroll down and look at the “Untapped” tab for keywords competitors rank for but you don’t.

Review the terms in the table and add relevant keywords to your list.

5. Map Your Keywords to URLs

Now that you have a comprehensive list of terms to target, map each local keyword to a specific page so every important search term is supported by a relevant, optimized URL.

For multi-location or service-area businesses, keyword mapping often means creating separate pages for city-level keywords (“plumber boston”) and neighborhood-level keywords (“plumber south end boston”).

Keyword Strategy Builder can group your keywords into pages automatically—based on relevancy and search intent—to make content planning easier.

Open the tool, and under “Keyword lists,” click to open the keyword list you created earlier.

Go to the “Pages” tab and click “Create list.”

You’ll see your keywords grouped into pages. Each page focuses on a primary keyword.

Click the arrow next to a page topic to see:

• Secondary keywords to target for that page
• Keyword information like search intent, volume, and keyword difficulty
• Top-ranking results for inspiration

Review the top-ranking results to get inspiration for the type of content you should create. Then, decide which pages you need to create and which pages you need to optimize.

If a page doesn’t exist yet, assign it a target URL and create a page that meets the keyword’s search intent.

For pages that already exist and need optimization, assign the existing URL.

A simple spreadsheet can help you assign URLs.

Download our free keyword mapping template, and use it to list all your pages, keywords, and target URLs.

Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Local keyword research and optimization work best together. Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is where to apply your findings first, since it drives visibility in the Local Pack and Google Maps results.

Add local keywords to your business description to help Google match your GBP to relevant queries. Appearing for more relevant queries can mean more visibility.

Using local keywords can also reassure potential customers that you have what they want.

Below is an example of a GBP description:

Local keyword research can also help you select your business categories and services, which can influence local rankings.

Only choose categories that reflect your business accurately. Adding non-relevant categories for SEO is against Google’s guidelines.

Customer reviews also influence local visibility. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews and respond to them consistently. For practical tips, see our guide on how to ask for Google reviews.

Adding keywords to your GBP content isn’t guaranteed to improve rankings, but using the right terms can help potential customers understand what your business offers and whether it’s right for them.

How to Handle Multiple Locations

If you have multiple business locations, local keyword research should be done separately for each location to capture differences in search behavior and ranking opportunities.

Replacing location names in keywords alone may not uncover all opportunities.

Once you have your location-specific keywords, map them to dedicated location pages. Each page can then target that location’s keywords.

For example, the business below targets the specified keyword with one of its location pages.

And targets another local keyword on a different location page.

These location pages provide highly relevant information to searchers in each area, which can help the business attract more customers.

For example, each location page has a location-specific image and a list of amenities.

The location pages also have contact details and hours.

The brand in our example also creates a Google Business Profile for each location, which you can do through your local business listing, improving Local Pack and Google Maps visibility.

How to Track Your Local Keyword Rankings

Tracking local keyword rankings helps you measure whether your local SEO efforts are working—across Search, Maps, and AI search results—and spot changes early so you can respond quickly.

Monitor your local rankings in Google Search and Google Maps using the methods below.

Track Your Google Search Rankings

Track your Google Search rankings to see how your pages perform in local organic results and whether you appear in the Local Pack.

Use Semrush’s Position Tracking tool to monitor keyword positions over time and track changes by device and location.

Enter your domain and click “Set up tracking.”

If you have multiple locations, set up tracking for each location URL:

Otherwise, complete the setup. Generally, use the following tips:

• Set “Device” to “Mobile” to track mobile rankings
• Set a “Location” to track rankings by user location
• Enter your business name exactly as it appears in the Local Pack to track those rankings

Then, click “Continue To Keywords.”

Add keywords manually, or send keywords directly from the Keyword Strategy Builder using the “Send to” button.

Go to the “Overview” tab on the report generated by Position Tracking, and scroll down to the “Rankings Overview” table to see your current and previous ranking for each keyword over your chosen time range.

The “SF” (SERP features) column indicates if a keyword triggers a Local Pack and if your business appears in it.

Set triggers to receive alerts about changes, like when a keyword enters or leaves the top three results.

Click the gear icon near the top of the page and select “Triggers” to set up a new trigger.

Click “+ Add new” to set conditions. 

For example, trigger an alert when rankings change by a certain amount or enter a specific position.

Track Your Google Maps Rankings

Track your Google Maps rankings to understand how your visibility changes across different areas of your target location.

Use Semrush’s Map Rank Tracker to visualize rankings on a map-based heatmap and compare performance across specific locations.

If this is your first time using the tool, click “Set up heatmap”, enter your company name, and select it from the generated list to create your campaign.

Follow the steps to personalize your experience, then add the keywords you want to track.

If you’ve used Map Rank Tracker before, click “+ Add campaign” and add your keywords in “Campaign setup.”

Choose your “Map grid” size (the number of pins correlates to size).

Choose how often to update the data in the “Schedule” settings, then click “Create campaign.”

You’ll see a heatmap of your local rankings at each pin in your target area. 

You’ll also see which competitors appear alongside you.

Improve Your Local Visibility

Use local keyword research to turn local searches into visibility, inquiries, and sales.

Your next steps to turn this research into local SEO results:

• Start with Keyword Magic Tool to build your initial keyword list
• Focus on neighborhood-level keywords for lower competition and higher conversion
• Track rankings with Position Tracking and Map Rank Tracker to measure hyperlocal variance
• Optimize your Google Business Profile with location-specific keywords
• Create dedicated location pages for multi-location businesses

The businesses winning local visibility aren’t just researching keywords—they’re implementing them across website pages, GBP optimization, and location-based content strategies. Start with one location or service area, prove ROI, then scale.

Local Keyword Research FAQs

Does Local SEO Still Work?

Yes, local SEO still works because people actively use search to find nearby businesses, and visibility in local results directly influences calls, visits, and purchases.

The often-cited claim that 46% of Google searches have local intent comes from a Google representative in 2018. Google hasn’t published an updated figure since, but more recent data reinforces the point. According to SOCi’s 2024 Consumer Behavior Index, 80% of U.S. consumers search online for local businesses at least once a week, and 32% do so daily. Businesses that rank in both organic results and the Local Pack capture significantly more visibility, inquiries, and foot traffic than competitors who don’t optimize for local keywords.

What Is an Example of a Local SEO Keyword?

“Plumber in boston” is a local SEO keyword because it combines a service (“plumber”) with a specific location (“boston”), signaling clear local intent to Google.

Local keywords come in several forms: city-level (“dentist austin”), neighborhood-level (“coffee shop williamsburg brooklyn”), urgency-based (“emergency locksmith”), and proximity-based (“pizza delivery near me”). The keyword examples table earlier in this guide covers the main types and when to use each one.

Can I Use ChatGPT for Keyword Research?

Yes, ChatGPT is useful for brainstorming local keyword ideas, generating variations, and clustering topics. However, it doesn’t pull from a live keyword database, so any search volume or difficulty figures it provides are estimates at best and fabricated at worst.

Use ChatGPT to build your initial seed list and explore subtopics, then validate and prioritize with a dedicated keyword research tool like Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, which provides accurate volume, difficulty, and SERP data.

What Are The Best Tools For Local Keyword Research?

The best tools for local keyword research combine keyword discovery, location-specific metrics, and competitor insights.

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool is one of the best tools for local keyword research because it supports large-scale keyword discovery, local filters, and competitive analysis.

Other good tools include Semrush’s Keyword Overview, Keyword Gap, and Google’s Keyword Planner.