Your website might be brilliant. Your services might be exactly what people need. But if you’re using the wrong words to describe what you do, Google won’t show your pages to the people searching for them.
I’m not talking about keywords in the bollocky “stuff them everywhere” sense that people used a decade ago. I’m talking about whether the words on your website match what people type into Google when they’re looking for what you sell. Because if they don’t match, you’re invisible. Simple as that.
There’s a really easy way to find out if you’ve got a chance of ranking for a particular phrase. No fancy tools. No SEO degree. You just need to look at what Google shows when someone searches for it.
Why the words you use on your website matter more than you think
Let me give you three examples of businesses I see getting this wrong all the time.
“Solutions” instead of services
A bookkeeping firm calls themselves providers of “business growth solutions” on their website. Sounds dead professional. Impressive, even.
Problem is, nobody on the planet types “business growth solutions” into Google when they need someone to sort out their VAT return. Nobody. They search for “bookkeeper near me”. They search for “small business accountant” or “help with self-assessment tax return”. Specific, practical phrases from people who know what they need and want to find someone who does it.
Google isn’t going to look at a page about “business growth solutions” and think “ah yes, this is clearly what someone searching for a bookkeeper wants to see”. It just doesn’t work like that. Google matches words and intent, not reading between the lines of your marketing copy.
“Partnership” instead of the service you provide
A consultancy firm describes their work as a “strategic partnership” with clients. Lovely on a business card. Meaningless in a search engine.
When business owners need help, they search for “business consultant” or “management consultancy” or “help with business strategy”. They’re not typing “strategic partnership” into Google. That phrase could mean anything. A joint venture. A supplier agreement. A mentoring arrangement. It’s so vague that Google doesn’t know what to do with it, and when Google doesn’t know what to do with something, it does nothing. Your page just sits there, unseen.
“Transformation” instead of what you deliver
A web agency offers “digital transformation” services. Very buzzword-y. Sounds great at networking events when you’re holding a lukewarm coffee and trying to sound important at 7am.
Meanwhile, their ideal clients are searching for “website redesign”, “new website for small business”, or “CRM setup”. Specific things. Tangible deliverables. Stuff you can point at and say “that’s what I need”. The word “transformation” tells Google nothing about what the business does, who it helps, or what someone would get if they hired them. It’s waffle. Well-intentioned waffle, but waffle all the same.
How to check if your website matches search intent
Right. This is the bit where I tell you to do something that costs absolutely nothing and takes about five minutes. Ready?
Go to Google. Type in the phrase you want to rank for. Look at what comes up.
That’s it.
Seriously, that’s the whole method. But let me walk you through what to look for, because it’s not just about seeing whether your competitors appear.
Check whether Google shows an AI Overview
If Google shows an AI Overview for your search term, read it carefully. This is Google telling you, in plain English, what it thinks people want when they type that phrase.
Does it describe something similar to what you offer? Brilliant. That means Google associates this phrase with your type of service and you’re in with a shout. If the AI Overview is talking about something completely different, that’s a big fat warning sign. You and Google disagree about what this phrase means, and I can promise you, Google’s going to win that argument every time.
No AI Overview at all? That can mean Google isn’t confident enough about the intent to summarise it. Worth noting, but not a dealbreaker on its own.
Look at what types of results are showing
Forget individual websites for a moment. Look at the types of results on the page. Are they service providers like you? Educational articles and how-to guides? Product pages? Forums? Social media profiles and podcasts?
This matters massively. If you’re a service provider and the first page is nothing but “how to” articles, Google thinks this is an informational search, not a commercial one. People searching this phrase want to learn, not to buy. You can push your service page at that search term until you’re blue in the face – Google isn’t going to rank it there because it doesn’t believe that’s what searchers want.
Check whether the businesses in the results do what you do
Have a proper look at the businesses showing up. Are they offering the same kind of thing you offer? Or are they in completely different industries?
If you’re a consultancy and the results show recruitment agencies, training providers, and software companies, Google has a very different interpretation of that phrase than you do. Your page isn’t going to muscle its way in there. Google’s already decided what this search means, and your interpretation isn’t on the list.
Watch for the “mixed bag” results
Sometimes you’ll notice Google shows a bit of everything. Social media profiles, podcasts, images, random blog posts, a wellness “gooroo” who seems to have appeared from nowhere. This is what happens when Google can’t figure out the intent behind a search.
If you see this scattered mess, the phrase is too vague. Different people use it to mean completely different things, and there’s no clear commercial intent behind it. Trying to rank for these phrases is like trying to hit a moving target whilst blindfolded. You might get lucky. You probably won’t.
How to do a proper search intent check, step by step
- Step one – list out the phrases you think describe your services.
Write down what you call your services on your website. All of it. The clever marketing terms, the industry jargon, those phrases you thought sounded dead professional when you wrote them at 11pm after 5 Red Bulls. Be honest about what’s on your site right now, not what you wish was there.
- Step two – search for each phrase in a private browser window.
Use incognito mode or a private window so your search history doesn’t influence the results. Google personalises results based on your browsing habits, so if you’ve been visiting your own website obsessively (don’t worry, everyone does it), you’ll get a completely skewed picture. You need a clean slate to see what everyone else sees.
- Step three – for each search, ask yourself a few honest questions.
- Does Google show an AI Overview, and if so, does it describe something like my service?
- What types of results appear – service pages, blog posts, videos, something else entirely?
- Are the businesses in the results similar to mine?
- Is there a clear intent behind this search, or is Google throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks?
Write down your answers. Be brutal. You’ll start spotting patterns fast.
- Step four – search for what your customers would type instead.
Now flip it. Forget your terminology completely. Think about how someone with zero knowledge of your industry would describe what they need. What words would they use? What would they ask a mate down the pub? (I’ll give you a clue: it’s not “innovative xxxxxx solutions”)
Search for those phrases and see what appears. More often than not, you’ll find the results far more relevant to what you offer. That gap between your language and your customers’ language? That’s where your SEO problem lives.
Your customers won’t learn your jargon before they search
When you’re immersed in your industry every day, it’s easy to forget that your customers don’t always speak the same language as you. Terms that make perfect sense to you and your colleagues can often mean absolutely nothing to the people trying to find you.
I see this all the time with B2B businesses. All. The. Time. They build entire websites using internal terminology, industry jargon, and marketing-speak that sounds impressive in a boardroom but doesn’t match a single phrase their customers would ever type into a search engine. And then they sit there wondering why they’re not getting any organic traffic. It’s not a mystery. It’s a vocabulary problem.
Your potential customer isn’t going to learn your words before they search. They’re going to type what makes sense to them. Usually short, practical, specific phrases. If your website doesn’t use those words, Google has no reason to connect their search with your page. Why would it? Google’s not psychic. It’s a computer (a very sophisticated computer, but still…) It can’t look at your “innovative synergy solutions” page and think “oh, they probably mean accounting”.
What to do when your terminology doesn’t match search intent
OK, you’ve done the research. You’ve had the slightly uncomfortable realisation that nobody is searching for your “innovative synergy solutions”. What now?
Change your website terminology
This is the most straightforward fix and usually the most effective. If people search for “accounting services” and you’ve written “financial solutions” all over your site, change it. Use the words your customers use.
I know, I know. I get it. You spent ages coming up with that terminology. It sounds professional. It’s on your business cards. But professional-sounding and findable are two different things. This doesn’t mean your brand has to sound generic or boring – it means your service pages, your headings, and your key landing pages need to include the phrases people search for. You can still have bags of personality. You just need to be findable first, because personality doesn’t count for much if nobody can see it.
Create content that targets what people search for
If you’re properly attached to your clever terminology – and sometimes there are genuinely good branding reasons for keeping it – you can create additional content that targets the phrases people search for. Write blog posts or landing pages using customer language, then guide visitors towards your terminology once they’re on your site. Meet them where they are, then bring them to where you want them.
Accept that some terms won’t work for SEO
Sometimes your offering genuinely doesn’t match what people search for. And that’s OK. It just means you need to think about other ways your customers find you. Referrals, LinkedIn, industry events, paid advertising. Not every business needs to rank on Google for every related phrase. But you should at least know whether organic search is a realistic channel for each thing you offer, rather than assuming it is and spending six months wondering why nothing’s happening.
Make this a regular habit, not a one-off exercise
Every time you add a new service page or create new content, spend five minutes doing this check. Search for the main phrase you’re targeting. Look at the results. Ask yourself honestly whether your page belongs there amongst what Google’s already showing.
If the answer is no, either change your approach or accept that SEO isn’t the right channel for that particular offering. If the answer is yes, you know you’re on the right track and can focus your energy on making your page better than everything else on that results page.
You don’t need expensive SEO tools, or a ton of SEO expertise. You just need you, a private browser window, and a bit of honesty about whether your words match your customers’ words.
