Keyword Research
The right keywords are achievable + profitable.
High-volume + high-difficulty keywords are fantasies for most Irish SMBs. The money is in the sweet spot: moderate volume, achievable difficulty, clear commercial intent. Proper research finds 40-60 of these hidden keywords per niche. Each becomes a piece of content that actually ranks — and actually converts.
Keyword opportunity matrix · 14 keywords
Dot size = traffic potential
Informational
Navigational
Transactional
Commercial
Selected keyword
#1 / 14
Query
shopify developer dublin
Volume / mo
320
Difficulty
18
/ 100
CPC avg
€8.40
Intent
Commercial
Top-3 ranking competitors
#1
spiralshop.ie
#2
wearesaltwater.ie
#3
monochrome.ie
Intent matters more than volume
Four intents. Four different pages.
A 10,000-volume query with the wrong intent is worth less than a 200-volume query with buyer intent. Match page type to intent — or waste your time ranking.
Informational
Example queries
"how to X"
"what is X"
"why does X"
Page type
Long-form blog post, guide, or tutorial. Answer thoroughly. Build authority.
Business value
Low immediate revenue; high trust + long-term brand compound
Navigational
Example queries
"brand name"
"brand + product"
Page type
Homepage or dedicated brand-product page. User already knows you.
Business value
Critical to own (otherwise competitors bid on it in paid search)
Commercial
Example queries
"best X"
"X vs Y"
"top 10 X"
Page type
Comparison post, review roundup, detailed listicle with affiliate links if relevant
Business value
High potential — captures users in research phase before deciding
Transactional
Example queries
"buy X"
"X near me"
"hire X"
Page type
Product / service page with clear offer and CTA. Optimise for conversion, not reading time.
Business value
Immediate revenue; conversion rate matters more than traffic volume
The tool landscape
Which keyword tool for which job + budget.
Tools range from free to €400/mo. Spending more doesn't always get you better data for your specific work. Here's honest pairing with use case.
Google Keyword Planner
Free (needs Ads account)
Best fit
Starting out; paid search teams; confirming volumes before writing
Strength
Direct from Google — volume bands are accurate for top-of-funnel research. Best for paid-search planning.
Limit
Rounded volume ranges; weak on difficulty data; buried inside Ads UI
Ahrefs
€99/mo Lite
Best fit
Agencies + serious in-house SEO — the industry standard
Strength
Biggest backlink index, strong Keyword Explorer, excellent clickstream data, solid SERP analysis
Limit
Expensive entry; Lite plan limits projects to 5
SEMrush
€119/mo Pro
Best fit
Full-stack digital marketing teams, agencies running PPC + SEO combined
Strength
Broader marketing suite (SEO + PPC + content + social), topical research, Keyword Magic Tool is excellent
Limit
Slightly smaller backlink index than Ahrefs; overwhelming UI
Ubersuggest / Neil Patel
€12-40/mo
Best fit
Solo operators, freelancers on tight budget, early-stage startups
Strength
Budget-friendly, Irish search volumes okay, domain overview useful for quick audits
Limit
Accuracy lower than Ahrefs/SEMrush; feature set shallower; data freshness lags
KeywordsEverywhere (browser)
€12/yr for 100k credits
Best fit
Anyone — install it now. Genuinely useful at €1/mo equivalent
Strength
Overlays volume + CPC inside Google SERPs as you browse. Brilliant UX.
Limit
Not a full research tool — pair with something else
Moz Keyword Explorer
€99/mo Standard
Best fit
Teams already on Moz, local-focused SMBs, education market
Strength
Good SERP analysis + KD score, clean UI, strong local search features
Limit
Smaller keyword database than Ahrefs/SEMrush; slower feature velocity
How we do it
Our keyword research process — 6 steps, 2-3 weeks.
This is roughly what a €2,000-5,000 keyword research engagement looks like for SMB-to-mid-market Irish clients.
01
Seed + competitor mapping
Typical time
2-3 days
Interview you about customers, offerings, language they use. Identify 3-5 direct competitors + 3-5 aspirational competitors. Export their ranking keywords. Build the seed list.
02
Expand via tools
Typical time
2-3 days
Run seeds through Ahrefs Keyword Explorer + SEMrush + Google Keyword Planner. Pull related, related-to-related, question variations. Usually 3,000-8,000 raw candidates.
03
Filter + cluster
Typical time
3-4 days
Filter out: too high difficulty (>70 for new/small sites), irrelevant intent, brand queries you can't own, wrong geography. Cluster survivors into topical groups of ~10-30 related queries each.
04
SERP analysis per cluster
Typical time
3-5 days
For top 20 clusters: analyse top 10 ranking pages. What type of content is there? What's the word count norm? Where are the content gaps? Map cluster to content strategy.
05
Priority matrix
Typical time
1-2 days
Score each cluster on: achievability (difficulty vs your authority), business value (does this traffic convert?), content lift (can you produce this well?), competitive ugency. Rank top 30-50.
06
Editorial calendar
Typical time
2-3 days
Top-priority clusters become planned content. Page type, target keyword, secondary keywords, target competitors to beat, estimated timeline to rank. Handed to content team as a roadmap.
Common mistakes
The errors every SMB keyword plan makes.
Chasing high-volume, impossible keywords
"Shoes" has 100k volume. You will never rank for it. Neither will 99% of sites. Waste of effort. Find the 1,000-volume query where you genuinely can rank top 5.
Ignoring intent mismatch
Writing a transactional product page for an informational query ("how to choose running shoes"). Bounce rate skyrockets; rankings never come. Match page type to intent.
No geographic filtering
Global volume looks great; Irish volume is 3% of that. For local businesses, filter keyword data to Ireland-only. Many "big" keywords evaporate when regioned correctly.
Keyword stuffing after research
Research ≠ content guidance. Picking a keyword doesn't mean cramming it 20 times in the article. Write naturally. Use it in title + H1 + first paragraph + naturally throughout.
No pillar-cluster structure
Writing 50 disconnected posts beats 50 posts on 50 different topics. Build topic clusters — pillar page + 8-15 supporting posts, all interlinked. Topical authority compounds.
Forgetting to re-research
Keyword landscape changes every 6-12 months. New competitors. New question patterns. Re-run research annually + update content accordingly — otherwise you're defending 2022 rankings with 2022 content.
Frequently asked
Keyword research questions.
Scope-dependent. Small SMB (one service area, Ireland-only): €1,500-3,000. Mid-market (multiple service lines or products, broader geography): €3,500-8,000. Enterprise (deep competitive research, 200+ target keywords): €10,000+. Timeline 2-4 weeks typical.
Ready to find your achievable keywords?
45-minute discovery call. Share your business + current site + competitors. We'll sketch the keyword opportunity landscape in your niche — high-potential clusters, achievable targets, content roadmap. Honest scope + pricing after.