A commercial keyword is a search made by someone who intends to buy but is still weighing up their options. Phrases like “best accounting software for sole traders”, “Octopus vs British Gas”, “loft conversion cost London” or “Invisalign reviews” are typical: the searcher has a need and some budget in mind, and wants help choosing.
How commercial keywords work
Keywords are often grouped by search intent, the reason behind the search. Informational keywords look for knowledge (“what is a loft conversion”), navigational ones look for a particular site, and transactional keywords show readiness to act now (“book loft conversion survey”). Commercial keywords sit between learning and buying, which is why the stage is often called commercial investigation.
They tend to share recognisable patterns:
- Comparisons and alternatives: “X vs Y”, “alternatives to X”.
- Judgement words: “best”, “top”, “cheapest”, “most reliable”.
- Evaluation: “reviews”, “pros and cons”, “is X worth it”.
- Cost questions: “how much does X cost”, “X prices UK”.
- Qualifiers for a specific situation: “for small business”, “for landlords”, “for first-time buyers”.
The words are a clue, not a rule. The surest way to judge intent is to search the phrase on google.co.uk and look at what ranks. If the results are comparison articles and review sites, Google has read the intent as commercial. If they are product pages, it treats the search as closer to transactional.
Why it matters
Commercial searches catch people at the point where their decision is still open. Someone searching “best family solicitor in Leeds” has not yet picked one; the pages they read in the next ten minutes shape the shortlist. For a UK service business, being present and credible at that stage often matters more than ranking for broad informational terms that attract readers with no plan to buy.
They also show up in paid search. Commercial keywords in Google Ads tend to cost more per click than informational ones, because advertisers know these searchers are closer to buying. That makes organic visibility for them particularly valuable.
The content for these searches carries obligations. Comparisons with named competitors must be fair and verifiable under the CAP Code, and since April 2025 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act has banned fake reviews outright, with the CMA able to fine businesses directly. “Best of” pages that quietly rank your own product first, or quote reviews you cannot evidence, are a risk as well as a weak tactic.
Common mistakes
- Targeting them with a sales page. Someone comparing options wants comparison, prices and trade-offs, not a page of reasons to buy from you.
- Hiding prices. “Cost” searches deserve real figures or clear ranges in pounds, with what affects them. “Contact us for a quote” alone sends people elsewhere.
- Thin “best” lists. A list of ten names with a sentence each offers no judgement and gives readers no reason to trust it.
- Creating a page for every variation. “Best X”, “top X” and “X reviews” often share one intent and belong on one page. Check before writing to avoid keyword cannibalisation.
How to act on it
List the questions customers ask before they hire you or buy from you: what it costs, how options compare, what to look for, which type suits which situation. Check each phrase in Google to confirm the intent, then group the ones that return the same results so each group gets one page.
Build those pages to help someone decide: honest comparisons, real price ranges, criteria for choosing, and a clear next step for readers who are ready. Link them to the relevant service or product pages so the path from research to enquiry is short. Finding and mapping these searches to the right pages is the core of my keyword research service.