Why keyword research matters before anything else
A keyword set is a structured list of the searches people make when they look for what you sell. It drives decisions that are often made by gut feeling: which sections the site needs, which services deserve their own page, what the blog should cover, and which phrases your ads should target.
Take a cleaning company in Tashkent. The owner assumes one page called "Cleaning" is enough. But people search in different ways: post-renovation cleaning, upholstery cleaning, office window washing. Each has a different buyer, different expectations and a different budget. One generic page answers none of them well.
Start with customer language, not tools
Your first list needs no software. Ask your sales team, reread chats in Telegram and Instagram Direct, and recall the questions that come in by phone. Write words the way customers say them, not the way your price list does. You may call a product a "cordless drill driver" while buyers type "drill on battery".
Uzbekistan adds a language layer. The same demand shows up in Russian, in Uzbek Latin, sometimes in Uzbek Cyrillic, plus transliteration and typos. "Пластиковые окна", "plastik oynalar" and "пластик ойна" are separate strings and each needs checking. Do not assume Uzbek-language search is a copy of Russian: the wording and popular terms can differ noticeably.
Where to expand your list
Once the seed words are written down, expand them. Mix several sources, because each has blind spots.
Read Yandex statistics with caution: a large share of local users search in Google, so Wordstat can understate real demand. Compare sources and never treat a single figure as the truth.
- search suggestions and the related searches block below the results
- Google Keyword Planner and other query statistics tools, with Wordstat as a supplement
- Search Console, if your site already runs: it shows what you are already found for
- competitor websites: menus, section names, page headings
- internal search on OLX and Uzum, which shows how shoppers name products
- customer questions from calls, chats and reviews
Cleaning: the longest part of the job
When the list reaches hundreds of rows, the tedious part begins, and it cannot be fully automated. Remove queries with other cities or countries, products and services you do not offer, and phrases containing "free", "download", "jobs" or "courses". Do not delete competitor names for good; park them in a separate list for advertising.
A person who knows the business should decide on each row. Software cannot tell someone looking to hire a repairman from a repairman looking for work.
Search volume and intent: which matters more
Volume shows scale, not quality. A rare query with a model, size or district often brings someone ready to buy, while a popular generic one brings casual visitors. A zero in a tool is therefore not a reason to drop specific phrases at once, especially in narrow niches and regions where data is patchy.
Intent matters even more: does the person want to buy, learn, compare or find a particular company? "Air conditioner installation price Tashkent" needs a commercial page with a price guide and an enquiry form. "How to choose an air conditioner by room size" is an article. Mix both intents on one page and it will neither rank well nor sell.
Grouping keywords into a page plan
Queries with the same intent that one page can answer go into one group. A simple test: open the search results for two queries. If mostly the same sites and pages appear, the queries can live together. If the results differ, they need separate pages.
Assign each group an existing page or a new one. This quickly shows where the site has gaps and where several pages compete for the same phrase.
The final document and keeping it alive
The result is a table: group, queries, volume, intent, page type, URL and status. Your copywriter, developer and ads specialist all work from it, and you can see what is done. For a small service website this takes a few days; for a store with a wide range it takes noticeably longer.
A keyword set is never closed for good. New products appear, seasons shift, and Search Console reveals phrases you had not thought of. Return to the table regularly.
If you want keyword research to become part of a wider marketing strategy rather than a stray spreadsheet, the markdev team can help you build it and connect it to your site structure and advertising. Tell us about your business and we will talk through the task.
FAQ
How many keywords should a keyword set contain?
There is no single number. A small company with a couple of services may need a few dozen groups, while an online store needs far more. Focus less on volume and more on whether every group has a page and a clear intent.
Do I need to research Uzbek-language queries too?
Yes, if your customers speak Uzbek. Check Latin, Cyrillic, transliteration and common misspellings, since part of the demand appears only in those forms.
Can I do keyword research without paid tools?
For a start, yes. Search suggestions, results pages, Search Console, competitor sites and customer questions give a solid base. Paid tools speed things up but do not replace manual cleaning.
How do I know whether two queries need separate pages?
Compare the search results. If different sites or different page types appear for the two queries, make separate pages.
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