Most business owners assume that ranking number one on Google for their main service would flood them with customers. Sometimes it does. But before you spend on SEO, it’s worth checking how many people actually search for what you sell.
We did that exercise for our own market, and the numbers were smaller than we expected.
What we found
In October 2026 we pulled Google’s Keyword Planner data for our own service area, covering about 1,200 related search terms across Utah County and the state. Google rounds volumes to the nearest ten, so treat these as ballpark figures:
- “Web design Utah” and similar terms: roughly 320 searches a month statewide
- “Marketing agency Utah” and its variants: roughly 320 a month statewide
- “SEO company Utah” and its variants: roughly 260 a month statewide
- “Video production Utah”: roughly 50 a month statewide
- City-specific terms like “web design Provo”: about 10 a month
Of those 1,200 terms, only about 46 get 100 or more searches a month statewide, and about 40 percent get zero. Those are real people typing real searches, and the total is small.
Why the number can mislead you
Many SEO tools show far larger figures. Search impression reports, for example, can look impressive. In our own Search Console, one Orem-related term showed around 486 impressions, while Google’s own planner showed almost no real searches for it. The gap comes from automated tools, rank trackers, and bots that run searches, which inflate impression counts without any person involved.
The lesson: judge SEO by clicks and calls, not impressions.
What it means for your marketing
1. Local service markets are bigger than agency markets. Customers looking for a paving company or a plumber search constantly. People looking for a marketing agency are fewer, and they’re often found through referrals, networks, and reputation instead. The right channel depends on the business.
2. Combine pages instead of splitting them. If each city plus service combination gets only a handful of searches, building a page for each one adds little. A single strong page for each real group of searches does more.
3. Ranking first still matters, but it’s one channel. Even a top position for a few hundred monthly searches means a modest number of visits. It’s worth having, and it compounds, but it shouldn’t be your only plan.
4. Look beyond Google. Google Business Profile, reviews, referrals, social video, and now AI assistants all bring customers who never type a keyword. We cover some of that in how to show up in AI search and our local SEO checklist.
How to check your own market
- Free option: Google Search Console shows what you actually appear for, though remember the bot caveat.
- Keyword Planner, inside a Google Ads account, shows volume ranges even without running ads.
- Test it in the real world: search your own services on your phone, from different locations, and see who appears.
Why we share this
Many agencies keep SEO vague so every result sounds like a win. We think you’re better off knowing what’s realistic first. If a market is small, the right plan is to be excellent in a few places instead of spread thin across many.
Bottom line: before you invest in SEO, find out how many people actually search for what you sell. If you want a straight answer for your business, we’ll look at the data with you. See our SEO services or book a free call.
