Local keyword research for small businesses using SEMrush

Executive overview

Guessing which keywords to target for local SEO often means optimising for phrases your customers never actually type. Keyword research closes that gap by showing real search volume and ranking difficulty before you invest time.

Two methods: build a keyword list from scratch using SEMrush's Keyword Magic Tool, or reverse-engineer a top-ranking competitor's keywords using Domain Overview.

The core insight: filter for commercial/transactional intent + local pack presence to surface only the keywords that actually drive foot traffic.

Step 1 — list your services

• Write down every service, product, or offer you want to rank for
• Each item becomes a seed keyword for research
• Example: a cleaning business might list house cleaning, move-out cleaning, deep cleaning, window cleaning

Step 2 — find keywords with Keyword Magic Tool

• Paste a seed keyword + city name into the Keyword Magic Tool
• Switch to the "Related" tab to surface phrases customers use, not industry jargon
• Filter intent to Commercial (C) and Transactional (T) only
• Filter KD (keyword difficulty) to 0–49 (easy to possible range)
• Add "include city name" to keep results local
• Apply SERP feature filter: Local Pack — this removes keywords that don't trigger map results
• Sort by highest volume; prioritise green difficulty circles with solid volume
• Record chosen keywords in a spreadsheet or doc

Step 3 — reverse-engineer a competitor's keywords

• Search your target phrase in Google; identify the top organic map listing (skip ads)
• Click through to their website and copy the URL
• Paste URL into SEMrush's Domain Overview, then open Organic Research
• Filter positions to Top 3 and SERP features to Local Pack
• Sort by volume; pick keywords with achievable difficulty scores
• Add the best ones to your keyword list