SEO Keywords: Google Is Not a Mind Reader ( yet)
And “For All Your Needs” Is Not an SEO Strategy.
Honestly, the first thing I look at when I open a small business website is the keywords.
Not the logo. Not the fancy animation.
Not whether somebody has an adorable AI-generated golden retriever sitting behind the reception desk wearing Ray-Bans.
I want to know what Google thinks you do, who you are, and why someone will chose you over 200 other businesses just like you.
You can have the prettiest website in South Florida, but if Google can’t figure out what you sell, where you sell it, and which customer should see you, congratulations:
You have created a very expensive digital brochure that your mother thinks is beautiful. And Mom is probably not your target market.
Related Posts
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
SEO Keywords: Google Is Not a Mind Reader ( yet)
And “For All Your Needs” Is Not an SEO Strategy.
Honestly, the first thing I look at when I open a small business website is the keywords.
Not the logo. Not the fancy animation.
Not whether somebody has an adorable AI-generated golden retriever sitting behind the reception desk wearing Ray-Bans.
I want to know what Google thinks you do, who you are, and why someone will chose you over 200 other businesses just like you.
You can have the prettiest website in South Florida, but if Google can’t figure out what you sell, where you sell it, and which customer should see you, congratulations:
You have created a very expensive digital brochure that your mother thinks is beautiful. And Mom is probably not your target market.
Related Posts
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
Still hungry? Here’s more
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
Let’s Talk About “Your Needs”
Years ago, I worked for Cumulus Broadcasting in Dallas, and I learned a marketing lesson that has stuck with me ever since.
If the president of the company heard a commercial that said something along the lines of:
“We’ve got everything for all your _____ needs!” …you were in trouble.
Why? Because what needs What exactly does the customer need?
A mattress?
A plumber?
A scooter repair?
A divorce attorney?
A 49cc carburetor cleaned because their scooter currently sounds like it’s coughing up a lung?
People don’t wake up in the morning and type:
“I have needs.”
into Google.
They type the actual thing they need.
And that is where SEO keywords come in.
People don’t wake up in the morning and type:
“I have needs.” into Google.
They type the actual thing they need.
And that is where SEO keywords come in.
People don’t wake up in the morning and type: “I have needs.” into Google.
They type the actual thing they need. And that is where SEO keywords come in
Keywords Are About Intent, Not Just Words
Here’s where SEO gets interesting and most developers get it wrong.
Not every person searching “scooter” wants the same thing. Compare: scooter
with: scooter repair Fort Lauderdale
and: used scooter for sale near me
and: electric scooter repair Broward County
Those are four very different customers.
One could be doing a sixth-grade book report on transportation.
Another one has a scooter sitting dead in the driveway and needs somebody today.
Guess which one I want my client’s website showing up for?
Exactly.
The one holding a credit card.
Good local SEO keyword research isn’t about getting the most website traffic.
It’s about getting the right traffic.
I’ll take 100 visitors actively looking for your service over 10,000 people who accidentally wandered into your website while looking for something else.
But Tina, Can’t I Just Put My Keywords Everywhere?
Please don’t.
This is where people discover SEO and suddenly turn their website into this:
Fort Lauderdale Scooter Repair offers Scooter Repair in Fort Lauderdale for people needing Fort Lauderdale Scooter Repair from a Fort Lauderdale Scooter Repair Company specializing in Scooter Repair Fort Lauderdale.
Stop.
Put the keyword down. Back away slowly.
That’s called keyword stuffing, and aside from sounding like your website was written by a malfunctioning robot, it isn’t a good SEO strategy.
Keywords need to be used naturally and intentionally within things like:
- Your page titles
- H1 and H2 headings
- Website copy
- Service pages
- Image alt text
- Internal links
- URLs
- Meta titles and descriptions
- Local landing pages
- FAQs
- Blog content
- Schema and structured data
That’s the difference between having keywords and actually having an SEO strategy.
And This Is Why “I Built My Website With AI” Makes Me Nervous
Listen. I LOVE AI. Clearly.
AI is fantastic for brainstorming, content development, research, images, coding assistance, organization, and approximately 47 other things I now don’t want to live without.
But there is a difference between:
using AI to help develop a website. and
telling AI to build a website when you don’t understand how websites work.
AI can make something absolutely adorable. Pretty colors. Fun pictures.
Great headlines. Little animated things flying across the screen.
Everybody gathers around the computer:
“OMG, LOOK AT OUR NEW WEBSITE!”
Meanwhile, somewhere in a dark corner of the internet, Google is staring at it like:
“…so what exactly do these people do?”
Because underneath those pretty pictures, a professional website still needs keyword strategy, site architecture, technical SEO, structured data, schema markup, internal linking, indexing, mobile optimization, page speed, and search intent.
The front end gets the compliments.
The ugly backend gets the customers there.
Your Website Isn’t Running for Miss America
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
Your website isn’t running for Miss America.
Pretty is not the talent portion. Your website has a job.
Actually, it has several.
It should help your business:
GET FOUND.
GET CLICKS.
ANSWER QUESTIONS.
BUILD TRUST.
GENERATE LEADS.
MAKE SALES.
If it looks fabulous while doing all of that Fantastic. Put a crown on her.
But if she’s gorgeous, sitting on page 19 of Google and hasn’t generated a lead since the Obama administration…
we have a problem.
The First Question I Ask a Small Business Owner
When I’m reviewing a website, one of the first things I want to know is:
What do you want to be found for?
Not:
“What do you do?”
Those aren’t necessarily the same question.
You might tell me:
“We do pool service.”
Okay.
But your customers might actually be searching:
weekly pool cleaning Fort Lauderdale
pool pump repair Pompano Beach
green pool cleaning Broward County
saltwater pool maintenance near me
pool service company South Florida
Now we’re getting somewhere.
Because those aren’t just keywords.
Those are customers raising their hands.
They’re telling Google:
“I need this.”
My job as a South Florida website developer is to make sure your website is standing there saying:
“Perfect. That’s exactly what we do.”
Keywords Aren’t About Tricking Google
That’s another misconception I hear constantly.
Good SEO isn’t about finding some secret loophole to trick Google.
The best SEO strategy is actually much simpler:
Make your website ridiculously clear.
Tell Google who you are.
Tell Google what you do.
Tell Google where you do it.
Create useful content around the questions your customers actually ask.
Build individual pages around important services.
Connect those pages properly.
Add structured data and schema so search engines understand the information.
Make the website fast.
Make it mobile-friendly.
Make sure links actually go somewhere.
And for the love of all things digital…
Stop telling Google you handle “all their needs.”
NAME THE NEED.
Your Website May Be Cute. But Can Google Find Her?
That’s the question.
Because in South Florida website development, your competition isn’t just the business across the street anymore.
You’re competing for space on a Google search results page.
And page one has limited real estate.
So before we worry about making the font three pixels bigger…
Before we spend four hours choosing between Ocean Breeze Blue and Slightly More Expensive Ocean Breeze Blue…
Before AI generates another impossibly attractive contractor standing in a spotless kitchen holding a wrench he’s clearly never used…
Let’s figure out your keywords.
Because your website should know exactly who it’s talking to.
Google should know exactly what you do.
And your potential customer should land on your website and immediately think:
“Yep. This is exactly what I was looking for.”
That’s what keywords do.
And that’s why they’re one of the very first things I look at when I review a small business website.
Is Your Website Actually Speaking Google’s Language?
If you own a South Florida small business and aren’t sure what keywords your website is targeting — or you’ve never even thought about it — that’s okay.
But we should probably have a conversation.
I’ll look at what Google sees, what your customers are actually searching for, what your competitors are showing up for, and whether your website is helping your business…
Or just sitting online looking cute.
Because cute is nice.
Found is better.
Found + converting?
Now she can have the crown.
So, What the Heck Is an SEO Keyword?
An SEO keyword is a word or phrase someone actually types into Google when they’re looking for a product, service, answer, or business.
That’s it.
There is no smoke machine.
No secret SEO society meeting in Boca on Tuesdays.
No sacrificing a laptop to the Google gods.
If someone in Fort Lauderdale has a broken scooter, they might search:
- scooter repair Fort Lauderdale
- motor scooter repair near me
- Vespa repair Fort Lauderdale
- scooter mechanic Broward County
- electric scooter repair Fort Lauderdale
- used scooters for sale Fort Lauderdale
Those searches tell us something very important.
The customer is telling Google exactly what they want.
Your website’s job is to make it ridiculously easy for Google to say:
“Oh! I know a guy.”
Your Customer Doesn’t Search for “Needs”
This is the part that so many small business owners miss.
They write their website from the perspective of someone who already knows the company.
Google doesn’t. Your new customer doesn’t either.
You may know that you’ve been repairing scooters for 15 years. You may know that you sell used scooters.
You may know that you work on electric scooters.
You may know that people drive from Miami, Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, Hollywood, and all over Broward County to find you.
But did you tell Google?
If your website is on Page 5? You didn’t tell Google..
Because Google is smart.
Google is not your wife Smart- She Doesn’t Know Where your Favorite Blue Short Sleeve Fishing Shirt is
You Must tell Google, I have a Favorite Short Sleeve Fishing Shirt.
You Must tell Google Why this is your Favorite Short Sleeve Fishing Shirt.
And you Must Tell Google Where to find this Short Sleeve Fishing Shirt.
Who, What, Why, and Where..
Previous Post
Still hungry? Here’s more
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
Let’s Talk About “Your Needs”
Years ago, I worked for Cumulus Broadcasting in Dallas, and I learned a marketing lesson that has stuck with me ever since.
If the president of the company heard a commercial that said something along the lines of:
“We’ve got everything for all your _____ needs!” …you were in trouble.
Why? Because what needs What exactly does the customer need?
A mattress?
A plumber?
A scooter repair?
A divorce attorney?
A 49cc carburetor cleaned because their scooter currently sounds like it’s coughing up a lung?
People don’t wake up in the morning and type:
“I have needs.”
into Google.
They type the actual thing they need.
And that is where SEO keywords come in.
People don’t wake up in the morning and type:
“I have needs.” into Google.
They type the actual thing they need.
And that is where SEO keywords come in.
People don’t wake up in the morning and type: “I have needs.” into Google.
They type the actual thing they need. And that is where SEO keywords come in
Keywords Are About Intent, Not Just Words
Here’s where SEO gets interesting and most developers get it wrong.
Not every person searching “scooter” wants the same thing. Compare: scooter
with: scooter repair Fort Lauderdale
and: used scooter for sale near me
and: electric scooter repair Broward County
Those are four very different customers.
One could be doing a sixth-grade book report on transportation.
Another one has a scooter sitting dead in the driveway and needs somebody today.
Guess which one I want my client’s website showing up for?
Exactly.
The one holding a credit card.
Good local SEO keyword research isn’t about getting the most website traffic.
It’s about getting the right traffic.
I’ll take 100 visitors actively looking for your service over 10,000 people who accidentally wandered into your website while looking for something else.
But Tina, Can’t I Just Put My Keywords Everywhere?
Please don’t.
This is where people discover SEO and suddenly turn their website into this:
Fort Lauderdale Scooter Repair offers Scooter Repair in Fort Lauderdale for people needing Fort Lauderdale Scooter Repair from a Fort Lauderdale Scooter Repair Company specializing in Scooter Repair Fort Lauderdale.
Stop.
Put the keyword down. Back away slowly.
That’s called keyword stuffing, and aside from sounding like your website was written by a malfunctioning robot, it isn’t a good SEO strategy.
Keywords need to be used naturally and intentionally within things like:
- Your page titles
- H1 and H2 headings
- Website copy
- Service pages
- Image alt text
- Internal links
- URLs
- Meta titles and descriptions
- Local landing pages
- FAQs
- Blog content
- Schema and structured data
That’s the difference between having keywords and actually having an SEO strategy.
And This Is Why “I Built My Website With AI” Makes Me Nervous
Listen. I LOVE AI. Clearly.
AI is fantastic for brainstorming, content development, research, images, coding assistance, organization, and approximately 47 other things I now don’t want to live without.
But there is a difference between:
using AI to help develop a website. and
telling AI to build a website when you don’t understand how websites work.
AI can make something absolutely adorable. Pretty colors. Fun pictures.
Great headlines. Little animated things flying across the screen.
Everybody gathers around the computer:
“OMG, LOOK AT OUR NEW WEBSITE!”
Meanwhile, somewhere in a dark corner of the internet, Google is staring at it like:
“…so what exactly do these people do?”
Because underneath those pretty pictures, a professional website still needs keyword strategy, site architecture, technical SEO, structured data, schema markup, internal linking, indexing, mobile optimization, page speed, and search intent.
The front end gets the compliments.
The ugly backend gets the customers there.
Your Website Isn’t Running for Miss America
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
Your website isn’t running for Miss America.
Pretty is not the talent portion. Your website has a job.
Actually, it has several.
It should help your business:
GET FOUND.
GET CLICKS.
ANSWER QUESTIONS.
BUILD TRUST.
GENERATE LEADS.
MAKE SALES.
If it looks fabulous while doing all of that Fantastic. Put a crown on her.
But if she’s gorgeous, sitting on page 19 of Google and hasn’t generated a lead since the Obama administration…
we have a problem.
The First Question I Ask a Small Business Owner
When I’m reviewing a website, one of the first things I want to know is:
What do you want to be found for?
Not:
“What do you do?”
Those aren’t necessarily the same question.
You might tell me:
“We do pool service.”
Okay.
But your customers might actually be searching:
weekly pool cleaning Fort Lauderdale
pool pump repair Pompano Beach
green pool cleaning Broward County
saltwater pool maintenance near me
pool service company South Florida
Now we’re getting somewhere.
Because those aren’t just keywords.
Those are customers raising their hands.
They’re telling Google:
“I need this.”
My job as a South Florida website developer is to make sure your website is standing there saying:
“Perfect. That’s exactly what we do.”
Keywords Aren’t About Tricking Google
That’s another misconception I hear constantly.
Good SEO isn’t about finding some secret loophole to trick Google.
The best SEO strategy is actually much simpler:
Make your website ridiculously clear.
Tell Google who you are.
Tell Google what you do.
Tell Google where you do it.
Create useful content around the questions your customers actually ask.
Build individual pages around important services.
Connect those pages properly.
Add structured data and schema so search engines understand the information.
Make the website fast.
Make it mobile-friendly.
Make sure links actually go somewhere.
And for the love of all things digital…
Stop telling Google you handle “all their needs.”
NAME THE NEED.
Your Website May Be Cute. But Can Google Find Her?
That’s the question.
Because in South Florida website development, your competition isn’t just the business across the street anymore.
You’re competing for space on a Google search results page.
And page one has limited real estate.
So before we worry about making the font three pixels bigger…
Before we spend four hours choosing between Ocean Breeze Blue and Slightly More Expensive Ocean Breeze Blue…
Before AI generates another impossibly attractive contractor standing in a spotless kitchen holding a wrench he’s clearly never used…
Let’s figure out your keywords.
Because your website should know exactly who it’s talking to.
Google should know exactly what you do.
And your potential customer should land on your website and immediately think:
“Yep. This is exactly what I was looking for.”
That’s what keywords do.
And that’s why they’re one of the very first things I look at when I review a small business website.
Is Your Website Actually Speaking Google’s Language?
If you own a South Florida small business and aren’t sure what keywords your website is targeting — or you’ve never even thought about it — that’s okay.
But we should probably have a conversation.
I’ll look at what Google sees, what your customers are actually searching for, what your competitors are showing up for, and whether your website is helping your business…
Or just sitting online looking cute.
Because cute is nice.
Found is better.
Found + converting?
Now she can have the crown.
So, What the Heck Is an SEO Keyword?
An SEO keyword is a word or phrase someone actually types into Google when they’re looking for a product, service, answer, or business.
That’s it.
There is no smoke machine.
No secret SEO society meeting in Boca on Tuesdays.
No sacrificing a laptop to the Google gods.
If someone in Fort Lauderdale has a broken scooter, they might search:
- scooter repair Fort Lauderdale
- motor scooter repair near me
- Vespa repair Fort Lauderdale
- scooter mechanic Broward County
- electric scooter repair Fort Lauderdale
- used scooters for sale Fort Lauderdale
Those searches tell us something very important.
The customer is telling Google exactly what they want.
Your website’s job is to make it ridiculously easy for Google to say:
“Oh! I know a guy.”
Your Customer Doesn’t Search for “Needs”
This is the part that so many small business owners miss.
They write their website from the perspective of someone who already knows the company.
Google doesn’t. Your new customer doesn’t either.
You may know that you’ve been repairing scooters for 15 years. You may know that you sell used scooters.
You may know that you work on electric scooters.
You may know that people drive from Miami, Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, Hollywood, and all over Broward County to find you.
But did you tell Google?
If your website is on Page 5? You didn’t tell Google..
Because Google is smart.
Google is not your wife Smart- She Doesn’t Know Where your Favorite Blue Short Sleeve Fishing Shirt is
You Must tell Google, I have a Favorite Short Sleeve Fishing Shirt.
You Must tell Google Why this is your Favorite Short Sleeve Fishing Shirt.
And you Must Tell Google Where to find this Short Sleeve Fishing Shirt.
Who, What, Why, and Where..