Choosing the right keywords is one of the most important parts of building an effective SEO campaign.
It is not simply about finding keywords with the highest search volume. For local businesses, the best opportunities are often the searches that clearly connect a service, a location and a commercial intent.
This guide explains how AGR Technology approaches keyword selection, including local keyword targeting, keyword groups, supporting variations, important landing pages and how to think about search volume when targeting specific suburbs, towns and service areas.
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In this guide
- Why location matters in local SEO
- The local keyword formula
- Building keyword groups
- Selecting the primary keyword
- Finding supporting keywords
- Understanding priority landing pages
- How to think about search volume
- Practical campaign examples
- Keyword mistakes to avoid
- Final submission checklist
01
Why Location Matters in Local SEO
If your business serves a particular geographic area, location should be an important part of your keyword strategy.
Someone searching for a plumber in Melbourne has a very different intent from someone searching for plumbing information generally. Likewise, a customer searching for an electrician in Shepparton is giving Google a much stronger indication of what they need than someone simply searching for “electrician”.
This is why service + location combinations are so useful for local SEO.
For example:
- plumber Melbourne
- electrician Shepparton
- HVAC services Geelong
- conveyancing lawyers Melbourne
- tree removal Bendigo
- commercial cleaning Brisbane
These searches tell search engines two important things:
What the customer wants — the service or product.
Where they want it — the relevant city, suburb, region or service area.
AGR Technology approaches local SEO as more than simply adding city names to pages. A properly structured campaign can combine services, locations, content, technical optimisation and authority-building activities to develop broader search visibility.
Local relevance can become more specific
A campaign may progress from a broad geographic target into increasingly specific areas:
Australia
↓
Victoria
↓
Melbourne
↓
Northern Melbourne
↓
Specific suburb
The more specific the search becomes, the clearer the user’s local intent can become.
That does not mean every business needs a separate page for every suburb. Geographic targeting should be based on genuine service coverage, search demand, competition and whether a dedicated page provides useful information to customers.
Don’t dismiss a keyword because a tool shows low volume
Keyword research platforms can struggle with highly specific local searches.
A suburb-level keyword may show very little measurable volume even though people in that area genuinely search for the service.
This is particularly important for service-area businesses.
If a roofing company would happily receive a qualified enquiry from someone searching roof repairs Mooroopna, the keyword deserves consideration even if a third-party tool reports limited volume.
The objective isn’t to collect impressive keyword statistics. The objective is to identify searches that can realistically lead to customers.
02
The Local Keyword Formula
A useful starting point for local keyword research is:
Service + Location + Intent
The service tells Google what you offer.
The location establishes geographic relevance.
The intent indicates what the searcher is trying to accomplish.
For example:
electrician + Shepparton + service
becomes:
electrician Shepparton
Or:
conveyancing lawyer + Melbourne
becomes:
conveyancing lawyer Melbourne
Strong local keyword examples
✓ Commercially focused
- plumber Shepparton
- air conditioning repairs Melbourne
- electrician Geelong
- tree removal Bendigo
- conveyancing lawyer Melbourne
- commercial cleaning Brisbane
- locksmith Ballarat
- HVAC repairs Sydney
These searches generally indicate someone looking for a provider rather than simply researching a topic.
Examples that may not belong in a local service campaign
✗ Primarily informational
- how does air conditioning work
- what is conveyancing
- how to remove a tree
- electrical safety tips
- best way to clean an office
- what does a locksmith do
These topics can still be valuable for an SEO content strategy, but they serve a different purpose.
They may attract people researching a problem rather than people actively looking for a business.
Think about the action behind the search
A useful question when evaluating a keyword is:
“If someone searched this phrase today, would I be happy if they called my business?”
If the answer is yes, the keyword is likely worth investigating.
If the answer is no because the search is primarily educational, irrelevant to your services or outside your service area, it probably shouldn’t be a priority commercial keyword.
03
How to Build Focused Keyword Groups
Rather than treating every keyword as an isolated target, AGR Technology can structure campaigns around closely related keyword groups.
A simple group might contain:
Primary keyword
The main commercial phrase you want to target.
Supporting keyword 1
A closely related variation.
Supporting keyword 2
Another variation representing the same core service and location.
For example:
Primary
plumber Shepparton
Supporting
plumbing services Shepparton
plumber Shepparton VIC
The three phrases are closely related.
They describe essentially the same service in the same market while giving you additional opportunities to build topical relevance.
Another example
Primary
air conditioning repairs Melbourne
Supporting
AC repairs Melbourne
air conditioner repair Melbourne
Again, the intent remains closely aligned.
The goal isn’t to manufacture three completely different topics.
The goal is to establish a focused cluster around a commercially important subject.
Why grouping matters
A well-structured website should make relationships between related services, locations and topics clear.
Supporting pages can link to relevant core service pages, while core pages can link to supporting content where appropriate.
This creates a logical information architecture for both users and search engines.
AGR Technology’s SEO approach similarly considers keyword research alongside content strategy, website structure, technical improvements and authority development rather than treating keyword rankings in isolation.
04
Choosing Your Primary Keyword
The primary keyword is the strongest phrase within a keyword group.
It should normally represent the combination of commercial value, relevance, natural search behaviour and business priorities.
Search volume can help inform the decision, but it should not automatically determine it.
Ask these questions
1. Is this how customers actually describe the service?
Real customer language is extremely useful.
Look at enquiries, phone calls, sales conversations and the terminology customers use when describing what they need.
The phrase that sounds best inside an SEO tool isn’t necessarily the phrase your customers use.
2. Does the keyword represent a service you want more business for?
SEO resources should support your commercial objectives.
If you want to grow your commercial HVAC work, for example, prioritising a low-margin service simply because it has more search volume may not make sense.
3. Does it identify the relevant location?
For local campaigns, the geographic component should make sense.
Compare:
plumber
with:
plumber Shepparton
The second keyword provides significantly more local context.
4. Does the phrase sound natural?
Avoid creating awkward keyword combinations simply because they contain more words.
A customer is more likely to search:
emergency plumber Melbourne
than:
best emergency plumbing contractor services Melbourne Victoria Australia
Keyword targeting should reflect how people search, not how many SEO modifiers you can fit into a phrase.
5. Does ranking for it have commercial value?
A keyword that generates a smaller number of highly relevant enquiries may be more valuable than a broad keyword attracting thousands of unrelated visitors.
Commercial relevance should come before vanity metrics.
05
Selecting Supporting Keywords
Supporting keywords should remain closely connected to the primary keyword.
A useful test is:
Would the same customer who searches the primary keyword also be satisfied by a page targeting the supporting keyword?
If yes, the relationship is probably strong.
If the supporting keyword represents a different service, location or intent, it may deserve its own keyword group.
Strong examples
Primary:
plumber Shepparton
Supporting:
plumbing services Shepparton
Supporting:
plumber Shepparton VIC
Primary:
tree removal Bendigo
Supporting:
tree removal services Bendigo
Supporting:
tree cutting Bendigo
Primary:
commercial cleaning Melbourne
Supporting:
office cleaning Melbourne
Supporting:
commercial cleaners Melbourne
Poor examples
Primary: plumber Shepparton
Supporting: electrician Shepparton
Different service.
Primary: plumber Shepparton
Supporting: plumber Bendigo
Different location.
Primary: plumber Shepparton
Supporting: how to fix a leaking tap
Different intent.
Useful ways to discover variations
Supporting keywords can come from several sources:
Phrase variations
plumber Melbourne → plumbing services Melbourne
Location variations
plumber Melbourne → plumber Melbourne VIC
Service terminology
air conditioning repair → AC repair
Commercial modifiers
plumber Melbourne → emergency plumber Melbourne
Customer terminology
sell my car Melbourne → car buyers Melbourne
Specific service variations
tree removal Melbourne → stump removal Melbourne
The important thing is that the relationship remains commercially and topically relevant.
06
Understanding Priority Landing Pages
Not every keyword requires a brand-new page.
Sometimes your website already has a strong page that is an appropriate target for a keyword.
At AGR Technology, we can treat these existing pages as priority landing pages when developing a campaign. This helps avoid unnecessary duplication and allows SEO activity to support pages that already have strategic value.
For example, suppose you already have:
yourdomain.com.au/plumbing-shepparton/
and the page genuinely targets plumbing services in Shepparton.
Instead of creating another near-identical page simply to target:
plumber Shepparton
you may be better served by improving and supporting the existing page.
An existing page may be suitable when it:
- Clearly targets the service
- Covers the relevant location
- Provides useful, substantial information
- Has already attracted organic visibility
- Has relevant internal links
- Aligns with the business’s actual offering
- Has potential to become a strong conversion page
Be careful with weak pages
Don’t choose an existing page simply because it is your homepage.
A generic homepage may not be the best destination for a highly specific search such as:
commercial air conditioning repairs Geelong
If the website doesn’t have a suitable page, creating a dedicated, useful service page may be the better strategy.
One page can support multiple related keywords
A strong landing page can naturally rank for many variations of the same search intent.
For example, a page targeting:
SEO services Melbourne
may also gain visibility for closely related searches such as:
- SEO agency Melbourne
- SEO company Melbourne
- search engine optimisation Melbourne
- Melbourne SEO services
This is why the objective should not be to create a separate page for every minor keyword variation.
Build useful pages around search intent, then allow closely related queries to work together.
07
Don’t Let Search Volume Dictate Your Strategy
Search volume is useful.
It just isn’t the whole story.
Keyword tools estimate demand using their own datasets and methodologies. At a highly local level, the data can become less reliable, particularly when searches are fragmented across suburbs, towns and variations.
Consider the difference between:
SEO Australia
SEO Melbourne
SEO Shepparton
SEO Mooroopna
The broader terms may have more measurable volume, while the smaller geographic terms may produce fewer searches but be significantly more relevant to a local business.
Specificity can improve commercial relevance
Someone searching:
accountant Australia
could be researching anything from accounting careers to accounting software.
Someone searching:
small business accountant Shepparton
has provided much stronger information about what they want.
This is why local SEO isn’t simply about chasing the biggest keyword.
It is about finding the intersection between:
Search demand
Business relevance
Location
Commercial intent
A practical rule
If a keyword:
- describes a real service,
- matches your business,
- targets an area you genuinely serve,
- reflects a realistic customer search,
- and could generate a valuable enquiry,
then don’t automatically reject it because a keyword tool reports low volume.
At the same time, don’t use “local intent” as an excuse to target hundreds of meaningless location variations. Every target should have a genuine strategic reason for existing.
08
Practical Local SEO Campaign Examples
The framework becomes easier to understand when you see how it can be applied to different businesses.
Example A — HVAC Business
Imagine an HVAC company servicing Melbourne and surrounding suburbs.
A focused keyword group might look like:
| Type | Keyword | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | air conditioning repairs Melbourne | Core service/location target |
| Supporting | AC repairs Melbourne | Natural service variation |
| Supporting | air conditioner repair Melbourne | Phrase variation |
A separate group could target:
| Type | Keyword | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | ducted air conditioning Melbourne | Specific service |
| Supporting | ducted AC Melbourne | Abbreviation variation |
| Supporting | ducted air conditioner repairs Melbourne | Service variation |
Notice that each group has a clear commercial theme.
You wouldn’t combine unrelated services simply because they happen to be offered by the same business.
Example B — Legal Practice
For a conveyancing firm:
| Type | Keyword | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | conveyancing lawyers Melbourne | Core service |
| Supporting | conveyancing solicitor Melbourne | Terminology variation |
| Supporting | property conveyancing Melbourne | Service variation |
Another group could focus on a more specific service:
| Type | Keyword | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | commercial conveyancing Melbourne | Specific service |
| Supporting | commercial property conveyancing Melbourne | Service variation |
| Supporting | commercial conveyancing lawyer Melbourne | Commercial variation |
This structure helps separate broader commercial priorities from more specific services.
Example C — Tree Services
For a tree removal company:
| Type | Keyword | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | tree removal Shepparton | Core local service |
| Supporting | tree removal services Shepparton | Phrase variation |
| Supporting | tree cutting Shepparton | Related service terminology |
A separate group might target:
| Type | Keyword | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | stump removal Shepparton | Different service |
| Supporting | stump grinding Shepparton | Service variation |
| Supporting | tree stump removal Shepparton | Phrase variation |
The distinction is important.
Tree removal and stump removal may be related, but they represent different customer needs. If both are strategically important, they can have their own dedicated keyword groups and pages.
09
Common Keyword Strategy Mistakes
❌ Mixing multiple locations
Primary: plumber Melbourne
Supporting: plumber Geelong
Supporting: plumber Ballarat
These are three different geographic markets.
✓ Separate the locations
Group 1: plumber Melbourne
Group 2: plumber Geelong
Group 3: plumber Ballarat
This gives each geographic target its own strategic focus.
❌ Combining unrelated services
Primary: electrician Melbourne
Supporting: plumber Melbourne
Supporting: HVAC Melbourne
Although these businesses may all belong to the home services sector, the search intents are different.
✓ Create focused groups
Electrician Melbourne
Plumber Melbourne
HVAC Melbourne
Each service can then be developed around its own relevant content and landing pages.
❌ Using informational searches as commercial targets
Primary: SEO services Melbourne
Supporting: what is SEO
Supporting: how does SEO work
These topics can be useful for educational content, but they don’t necessarily belong in the same commercial keyword group.
✓ Keep intent aligned
SEO services Melbourne
SEO agency Melbourne
SEO company Melbourne
Now the keywords are much closer in intent.
❌ Forcing everything onto the homepage
Your homepage may be one of the strongest pages on your website, but that doesn’t mean it should target every service and location.
A dedicated service page can provide much stronger topical relevance when a search is highly specific.
❌ Chasing keywords you don’t want leads for
More traffic isn’t automatically better.
If a particular service is low-margin, unavailable or not something you want to grow, don’t make it a major SEO priority simply because the keyword has strong search volume.
SEO should support the direction of the business — not operate independently from it.
10
Keyword Submission Checklist
Before submitting a keyword list for an SEO campaign, review each group against the following criteria.
1. Does every keyword have a clear purpose?
Each keyword should relate to a real service, product, audience or geographic market.
2. Is the primary keyword the strongest commercial target?
The first keyword should represent the most valuable and natural search within the group.
3. Are the supporting keywords genuinely related?
Supporting terms should normally describe the same underlying service and market rather than introducing an unrelated topic.
4. Does the location make sense?
Only target areas where the business genuinely operates or can service customers.
5. Does the keyword reflect commercial intent?
If the goal is lead generation, prioritise searches that indicate someone is looking for a provider, product or solution.
6. Is there already a suitable page?
Before creating a new landing page, check whether an existing page already satisfies the search intent.
7. Are you relying too heavily on search volume?
Use search volume as one input rather than the sole decision-making factor.
8. Does the keyword support the business’s actual goals?
The best SEO campaign isn’t necessarily the one with the most keywords.
It’s the one that targets the right opportunities.
Build a Better Keyword Strategy With AGR Technology
Keyword research is only the first stage.
Once the right opportunities have been identified, they need to be connected to the right pages, content, website structure and broader SEO strategy.
AGR Technology provides SEO and digital marketing solutions for local businesses, service-area businesses, eCommerce companies and organisations across Australia. Our SEO capabilities include keyword research, local SEO, on-page optimisation, technical SEO, content, authority building and ongoing search visibility strategies.
For businesses looking for a simple approach, AGR Keyword Amplify provides a technology-enabled way to build visibility around selected services, locations and search terms, with packages starting from $350 per month. It can also complement an existing SEO campaign rather than requiring a business to replace everything it already has in place.
Whether you need help choosing your first keywords, structuring a local SEO campaign or developing a broader search strategy, AGR Technology can help identify the opportunities that make sense for your business.
Don’t just chase more keywords. Build visibility around the searches that matter to your customers and your business.
Talk to AGR Technology about your SEO strategy.
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Alessio Rigoli is the founder of AGR Technology and got his start working in the IT space originally in Education and then in the private sector helping businesses in various industries. Alessio maintains the blog and is interested in a number of different topics emerging and current such as Digital marketing, Software development, Cryptocurrency/Blockchain, Cyber security, Linux and more.
Alessio Rigoli, AGR Technology