What you will learn
- Explain how search engines crawl, index, and rank pages
- Find keyword ideas using free tools and real search results
- Classify keywords by search intent and choose which to target
Search engines send crawlers to discover pages, store the useful ones in an index, then rank indexed pages when someone searches. SEO is the work of making your pages easy to crawl, worth indexing, and the best answer for a query. Everything starts with knowing which queries matter. Keyword research finds the actual words your customers use, which often differ from the words a business uses internally.
Start with a seed list of products and services, then expand it. Type each seed into Google and note the autocomplete suggestions, the People Also Ask questions, and the related searches at the bottom of the page. Google Keyword Planner, inside a Google Ads account, gives rough search volume ranges. Long-tail phrases such as "wedding photographer in Islamabad price" have lower volume but usually clearer intent.
Search intent is the reason behind a search. Informational searches want to learn ("how to remove a tea stain"). Commercial searches compare options ("best laptop under 150000"). Transactional searches are ready to act ("buy school shoes online"). Local searches want a nearby place. Look at the top results for each keyword: if Google shows guides, a product page will struggle to rank there, and the reverse is also true.