I’m Alston. In this guide I’ll walk you step‑by‑step through how I perform market research for SEO keywords brainstorming when I have no niche experience and no paid tools.
This is a practical, free-method approach you can use to collect seed keywords, discover audience pain points, and map a content plan before you run bulk keyword validation.
Table of Contents
- How did I pick a niche to practise SEO keywords brainstorming?
- How do I use a market research excel template to collect seed keywords?
- Why prepare before you start keyword research and what should I prepare?
- Should I use keyword research software or focus on free methods first?
- How do I mine forums and communities for seed keywords?
- How can I extract keyword ideas from social media and YouTube?
- What do I learn by talking to customers?
- How can news and press releases help my keyword brainstorming?
- What keyword ideas can shopping sites like Amazon reveal?
- How do I use blogs and niche sites to expand my seed list?
- How do I research competitors to gather seed keywords?
- How can local media and offline ads help keyword research?
- When should I consult industry experts and what do I ask?
- How do I use search engines and autocomplete for brainstorming?
- Why is Wikipedia useful for seed keywords and topical structure?
- How do advertisements reveal buyer intent and keyword phrasing?
- How do question-and-answer communities help with SEO keywords brainstorming?
- How do I finalize my market research and prepare for keyword validation?
- FAQ
- Final thoughts
How did I pick a niche to practise SEO keywords brainstorming?
I started with a business idea generator and picked a random niche: office cleaning service. If you’re new to an industry, the first move is simple — pick a seed topic and treat it as your hypothesis. Everything that follows is about expanding that single seed into dozens (or hundreds) of keyword ideas for further validation.
How do I use a market research excel template to collect seed keywords?
I use a simple spreadsheet to capture seed keywords and the source they came from. Columns I track:
- Seed keyword / topic
- Source (forum, YouTube, Amazon, competitor URL)
- Intent (informational, transactional, commercial)
- Notes (pain points, jargon, common questions)
Use one full day to populate this sheet when the niche is brand new to you. The goal of the spreadsheet is not to finalize a list but to capture everything you discover during brainstorming for later validation.
Why prepare before you start keyword research and what should I prepare?
Preparation saves time. Before deep research I answer a few simple questions on my sheet: who is the customer, typical pain points, services they ask for, and where they go for information. That context helps me prioritize seeds that map to service-oriented queries (if I sell a service) or product buyers (if I sell products).
Should I use keyword research software or focus on free methods first?
Paid tools are powerful, but I often start with free sources to understand industry language and user intent. Treat paid tools as the validation step — the free methods give you the raw vocabulary and angles to test. In this guide I focus on free sources so you can replicate the process without subscriptions.
How do I mine forums and communities for seed keywords?
Forums are my first stop. They show real conversations and the exact words users and technicians use. Tactics I use:
- Search Google for “forum” + niche (for example “office cleaning forum”).
- Use advanced search operators: inurl:forum “office cleaning” or “site:exampleforum.com \”office cleaning\””.
- Open threads and copy recurring terms, product names, pain statements (e.g., “Betco”, “flow scrubber”, “deep disinfection”).
- Note technical terms and user complaints — these become content ideas (how-to, troubleshooting, product-specific guides).
Forums often surface brand names, machine types, and service terms that you would miss by only using keyword tools.
How can I extract keyword ideas from social media and YouTube?
Social networks show what people publish and what they search for. My go-to steps:
- YouTube: paste the seed keyword into the search bar, read titles, descriptions, and comments. Use tag extractor tools (or browser extensions) to reveal video tags like “dust mopping”, “janitorial training”.
- Twitter: search hashtags and profiles of local cleaning companies. Hashtags like #commercialcleaning, #polishing, and #janitorTips reveal service and local intent.
- LinkedIn / Facebook groups: for B2B services, these show terminology and buyer priorities (e.g., “green cleaning”, “medical office cleaning”).
Collect everything you find into your spreadsheet and mark obvious content intent (how‑to, pricing, service pages).
What do I learn by talking to customers?
If you have access to customers, ask them about pain points, timing, and requirements: what do they want cleaned, how often, what budget constraints? These conversations give you direct language for FAQ and service-page keywords (for example “weekly office cleaning price”).
How can news and press releases help my keyword brainstorming?
News sources and press releases reveal industry trends and phrasing journalists use. Search Google News for your seed topic and collect phrases and headlines people actually read: “clean office”, “vacuuming office”, “office disinfecting service”. These are useful for crafting user-focused headlines and content angles.
What keyword ideas can shopping sites like Amazon reveal?
Shopping sites expose buyer intent and problem statements found in product titles and reviews. Steps I use:
- Type the seed into Amazon’s search box to read autosuggest results.
- Open product pages and copy feature bullets, Q&A, and customer reviews (these mention use cases and pain points like “bamboo curtain cleaning”, “wood floor cleaning”).
- Convert product keywords into service keywords where relevant (e.g., “office curtain cleaning”).
Customer reviews frequently mention the exact scenarios your content should solve.
How do I use blogs and niche sites to expand my seed list?
Blogs show what informational topics rank and what long-tail phrases writers optimize for. Search the web with terms like “tips”, “best”, “how to” plus your seed topic to find blog posts. From menus and post titles you can extract themes like “upholstery cleaning”, “emergency cleanup services” and convert them into content ideas and headings.
How do I research competitors to gather seed keywords?
Competitor sites are a cheat sheet of industry priorities. I look at:
- Service pages and their headings (often bolded keywords).
- Navigation menus and footer links for silo ideas.
- Localized pages to capture geo-intent (e.g., “New York commercial cleaning”).
Even if competitors are in other cities or countries, their language and services provide seed keywords you wouldn’t otherwise consider.
How can local media and offline ads help keyword research?
Local TV, radio, billboards, vehicle wraps and classifieds contain concise messaging crafted to convert. Listen to local ads or scan Yellow Pages / local directories to find strong phrases and offers (e.g., “seven day per week cleaning”, “commercial disinfecting”). These short, promotional phrases are great for landing-page headlines and paid ad copy.
When should I consult industry experts and what do I ask?
Experts (consultants, trainers, niche bloggers) offer in‑depth vocabulary and use cases. Ask about common mistakes, advanced techniques, top clients, and equipment. Their language often contains niche terms and intent that should be included in your keyword seed list.
How do I use search engines and autocomplete for brainstorming?
Autocomplete and related searches are low-effort growth levers: type your seed and note the suggestions and “People also ask” boxes. These are real user queries and can instantly generate dozens of long-tail seed ideas such as “how much does office cleaning cost” or “what is included in commercial cleaning”.
Why is Wikipedia useful for seed keywords and topical structure?
Wikipedia gives a structured overview and terminology. The table of contents alone lists methods, equipment, and subtopics (e.g., “deep cleaning”, “furniture cleaning”, “cleaning chemicals”). Use those section titles as content silos and seed keyword ideas for comprehensive guides.
How do advertisements reveal buyer intent and keyword phrasing?
Ads are valuable because advertisers spend money on effective copy. Search for paid listings and copy their headlines and descriptions into your sheet. Ads often reveal service packages, target audiences, and benefits you can mirror on your own pages.
How do question-and-answer communities help with SEO keywords brainstorming?
Q&A sites like Quora reveal user intent and the actual questions people ask. Use site-specific searches (e.g., site:quora.com “commercial cleaning”) to collect questions such as “What is included in commercial cleaning?” or “How to get commercial cleaning clients?” These questions map directly to blog posts, FAQs, and content ideas.
How do I finalize my market research and prepare for keyword validation?
After collecting seeds from all sources, I do three things:
- Consolidate duplicates and tag intent (informational, transactional, navigational).
- Prioritize topics that match business goals (service pages, pricing, how-to guides).
- Export the list for bulk validation in a keyword tool (volume, difficulty, CPC).
Keep a shortlist of the top 50 seeds you discovered and validate them using whichever paid or free tool you prefer. The research stage is all about capturing user language and opportunity — validation is where you decide what to create first.
FAQ
How long should I spend on this free brainstorming stage?
I recommend dedicating at least one full day to this research when the industry is new to you. That gives you time to explore forums, social media, shopping sites, blogs, and competitors to capture a broad set of seed keywords.
Do I need paid tools to find winning keywords?
No. You can discover a lot of high-value seed keywords using free sources (forums, YouTube tags, Amazon, blogs, Wikipedia, ads and Q&A sites). Paid tools are important for validation and scaling, but the initial brainstorming can be done without subscriptions.
Which source gives the most buyer-intent keywords?
Shopping sites and paid ads typically show buyer-intent keywords, while forums and Q&A show intent and pain points. Combine both types to build a funnel-oriented content plan.
How do I turn product keywords into service keywords?
Read product titles, features, and reviews to understand use cases; then rewrite them as services (for example, “wood floor cleaner” becomes “office wood floor cleaning service”). Customer reviews highlight problems your service can solve.
What should I record about competitors?
Record competitor URLs, top service pages, menu items, local pages, and any bolded or repeated terms. Track three main competitors and review them periodically as part of content optimization and link-building planning.
Final thoughts
This is how I approach SEO keywords brainstorming when I’m starting with no prior niche knowledge. The method is straightforward: pick a seed, harvest words and questions from free sources, capture everything in a spreadsheet, and then validate. If you commit a day to this process you’ll discover language, pain points, and niche opportunities most marketers miss because they skip the human research step.
Collect real language from real people first; use tools to validate later.
