Ranking number one for a single word is fucking useless.

There.

I said it.

Now let me explain.

This is SEO fucking what?

I'm Nikki, and I've been doing SEO for over 30 years.

Before it was even called SEO.

I help people like you make money from your website by getting found on search.

Last week we talked about setting up your tools.

We talked about Google Search Console, Analytics, Microsoft Clarity.

If you haven't done that yet, go back and listen to that episode and do it.

Otherwise, you are just collecting podcasts like I collect cookbooks

that I never use because today we're gonna talk about keywords and phrases.

And why the way most people think about them is completely ass backwards,

right?

Lemme get something outta the way.

First, keyword optimization is dead.

Sort of old school keyword optimization, where you picked a

word, stuffed it into your page 17 times and hoped Google would notice.

That's dead.

It's been dead for years.

Google's not stupid.

It can tell when you're writing for robots instead of humans, and it doesn't like

it, but this is where people get confused.

Some SEOs have swung so far the other way that they'll tell you that keywords don't

matter at all, just write good content.

They say Google will figure it out.

And that's bollocks too because if you dunno what you're optimizing

for, how do you know if it's working?

If you're not thinking about what people are actually typing into Google

or other search engines, how are you supposed to show up when they search?

Keywords and phrases still matter.

They're just not the whole picture anymore.

They're the starting point, not the strategy.

It's not about words, it's about people.

And this is what I need you to understand, and I mean really understand,

not just nod along to every search on Google is a person, a real human

being with a problem, a question, or something they're trying to do.

And your job, if you want to get found and convert those visitors

into clients is to help that person.

It's not to trick Google.

It's not to game the algorithm.

It's to actually be useful because when someone types something into

Google, they're not thinking, oh, I wonder which website is

optimized best with this phrase.

They're thinking, I need an answer, or I need help, or I need to buy something.

Your job is to figure out what they need and give it to them, and that's it really.

That's SEO in 2026.

So what do they actually want?

This is where search intent comes in, and I don't mean as some fancy

SEO concept to memorize, I mean, as a way of thinking about real people,

because when someone searches, they're usually doing one of a few things.

They're either trying to learn something, so they search for what

is SEO, how do I write a blog post?

What's the difference between a solicitor and a barrister?

They don't wanna buy anything at that point.

They want information that's an information or educational search,

or they're researching before buying and that's when they're looking at

best accountant for contractors.

SEO courses for small businesses, Web designer versus DIY website

builder, they're comparing, weighing up options, getting closer to a

decision, or maybe they're ready to buy, so they're typing in.

Hire a copywriter in London.

Book an SEO consultation.

Buy a website template.

Money is about to change hands.

Or maybe they're trying to find a specific website, LinkedIn login.

Xero sign-in.

They already know where they wanna go.

They just dunno the address.

if you don't match your content to what people actually

want, then you've fucked it.

Lemme give you an example.

Let's say you are a copywriter and someone searches, do I need

a copywriter for my website?

What do they want?

They want information.

They're not sure if they need you yet.

They're at the trying to learn stage.

If you send them to your pricing page, they're gonna bounce.

They weren't ready for that.

They wanted you to help them understand whether a copywriter is right for them.

Maybe explain exactly what a copywriter does.

Maybe talk about the difference between doing it yourself and hiring someone.

and if you write a blog post, that genuinely answers that question,

honestly, helpfully, without being salesy, you've just built trust.

You've helped them.

When they do decide they need a copywriter, guess

whose name is in their head?

That's intent based content.

That's what Google wants to show people and that's what actually converts.

I'll give you another example because I think this matters.

Let's say.

You're a financial advisor and someone searches, how much

do I need to retire at 55?

That's an informational search.

They want to learn.

They're probably not ready to book a consultation.

They're trying to figure out the basics first.

So you write a helpful, detailed post that walks through the considerations, how

much you might need, what factors affect it, the different ways to calculate it,

and at the end, you don't do a hard sell.

You say something like.

Everyone's situation is different.

If you want to talk through your specific numbers, here's how to get in touch.

That's serving the user.

That's matching their intent.

That's how you turn a stranger into a client without being

a pushy twat about it.

Compare that to a financial advisor who's tried to rank for financial

advisor Birmingham and sends everyone to a generic homepage with a stock photo

of someone in a suit shaking hands,

which one's actually gonna get the clients.

I want you to think holistically, not just in phrases, because this is

where a lot of people go wrong.

They find a keyword tool, they pull out a list of phrases and they think, right,

I'll write a blog post for each of these.

That's not strategy, that's box ticking.

What I want you to do instead is think about your topic as a whole.

Think about all the questions someone might have on their journey from, I've

never heard of this, to I'm ready to buy.

So if we stick with a financial advisor example, someone who

eventually hires a financial advisor might start by searching.

Should I get a financial advisor?

What does a financial advisor do?

How much does a financial advisor cost?

Can I do my own financial planning?

Financial advisor versus bank advisor?

How to choose a financial advisor.

Financial advisor for self-employed financial advisor near me?

That's a journey from curiosity to research to decision, and

if you've got helpful content at every stage of that journey.

You are going to be the one they trust when they finally are ready to pick

up the phone . Now, Google's people also ask, feature is brilliant for

this, by the way, search for something related to your business and look at

the questions that come up because those are real questions that real

people are asking, and that's pretty much your content strategy right there.

There's a tool called Also Asked, run by Mark Williams-Cook, one of

the best people I know on LinkedIn.

He's one of the few people I recommend following, and Also

Asked is brilliant for this.

You put in a phrase, it shows you all the related questions people are asking.

I'll put the link in the show notes,

but, and this is important, don't just turn each question into a thin 300

word blog Think about how they connect.

Think about what else someone might want to know.

Think about the whole picture.

Now I just wanna talk about the no one searches for that bollocks because

let's get something else straight.

You do your keyword research, you find a phrase that's absolutely

perfect for your business.

Some tool tells you it gets zero searches, so you ignore it.

Don't, and here's why.

Zero searches usually means fewer than 10 per month.

So let's say it's actually nine people a month searching for that exact phrase

that's perfect for your business.

Let's not forget that's 108 people a year, 108 people searching for exactly

what you do on a phrase you've got a really good chance of ranking for,

because no fucker else is bothering.

But then it gets more interesting because if you write a really helpful,

comprehensive page about a topic, you're not gonna rank for just one phrase.

You're gonna rank for a few, possibly dozens, maybe hundreds,

because Google's clever enough to understand that a page about financial

advisor for self-employed people is also relevant for do self-employed people need

financial advisors and accounting help for freelancers and pension advice for

contractors and loads of other variations.

So if your page.

Covers 15 different, no one searches for that.

Phrases.

That's not 108 people.

That's potentially 15 times 108.

My maths.

Really?

Shit.

But that's over 1600 people a year.

Finding your website, looking for exactly what you offer.

Do you still think those zero search phrases aren't worth bothering with?

I'm gonna say another thing quite clearly.

Being number one for a single word means absolutely nothing

unless you're a massive brand.

If you rank number one for copywriter, which good luck with

that, most of the people finding you aren't your potential clients.

They're people researching careers, their other copywriters

checking out the competition.

They're people who don't even know what a copywriter does.

The search is too broad.

The intent is all over the place, and even if you get the traffic, conversion

rate will be, but if you rank number one for copywriter for financial services in

London, that's a specific person with a specific need who's probably pretty

close to buying, that's valuable traffic.

Stop chasing vanity rankings.

Start thinking about who you actually wanna find you and what they're

gonna type in when they're looking.

And I know, I swear a lot on this podcast, and I know I can come

across as a grumpy cow sometimes, But underneath all of that, what I

actually care about is helping people.

And that's what I want you to care about too, because this is about giving a shit.

It's not about tricking Google, it's not about gaming algorithms.

It's not about obsessing over rankings for ranking's sake.

It's about helping the people who are searching for what you do.

If you write content that genuinely helps people.

Google will notice if you answer questions properly.

People will trust you.

If you think about your users first, the SEO will follow.

That doesn't mean you ignore keywords and phrases.

It means you use them as a window into what people want

and then you give them that.

that doesn't mean you ignore keywords and phrases.

It means you use them as a window into what people want,

and then you give them that.

Quick thing.

If you're enjoying this, but thinking, Nikki, I don't want to

wait a week for the next podcast.

I just wanna know how to do this myself right now.

I've got you.

I developed an OnPage SEO course that shows you exactly how to get your

pages ranking without hiring an SEO.

So all the stuff I do for clients broken down so you can do it yourself.

Video, audio, text, however you like to learn, it's 200 pounds or

20 pounds a month for 10 months.

If you want more, there's a bigger course.

Have a look at NonWankySEO.com, right?

What should you do right now?

This is your homework.

And I mean it.

Don't file this away and think, oh, I might do that one day.

I took the time to record podcast.

My podcast editor and producer Neil took the time to make it do its shit.

You took the time to listen to it.

Don't waste all of our time by not taking action today.

Think about one question your clients ask you all the time, not

a key word, a real question in their words, and write it down.

Now for the rest of the week, I want you to search for that question on Google.

Look at what comes up.

Look at the people.

People Also Ask questions.

Have a nose at Also Asked.

If you want, there's a free version.

Think about whether your website answers any of this properly, and if it doesn't,

that's your next piece of content.

If this made you think differently about keywords or phrases, make sure you're

following SEO fucking what, whichever app you're listening to right now.

Next time we're gonna talk about auditing the content you already have.

Deciding if it's worth rewriting, keeping, or getting rid of.

Come with a pen and paper and if you know someone who's obsessing over ranking for a

single word and wondering why they're not getting clients, send them this episode.

Until next time, get found.

Make money, stop stressing.

Start giving a shit about your readers.