SEO's Keyword Assumption Problem (What customers actually search vs what you think they search)

You've spent hours optimising your website for phrases that literally nobody types into Google. And I can prove it. There. I said it.Hi, I'm Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of "SEO F**king What", I'm tackling the single most expensive assumption you're making about your own business: that you know what your customers search for. You almost certainly don't — and that gap between how you describe your business and how your customers actually find you is exactly where your leads are disappearing.Here's what I'm covering: — Why the keyword list you'd write off the top of your head is almost completely useless — The difference between industry language and how customers actually search (problems, questions, and panic) — Why you're too close to your own business to see it the way a stranger does — it's proximity, not stupidity — Why answering early, "beginning of the journey" questions is uncontested territory while everyone else fights over the expensive decision phrases — How to stop being precious about phrases that don't "perfectly describe" your services — Free ways to find what people really type: Google autocomplete, People Also Ask, and related searchesI also give you a proper piece of homework. Not the "might do that one day" kind. The actual do-it-this-week kind. It takes 20 minutes, costs nothing, and will make you swear a bit.If you know someone obsessing over ranking for their fancy industry job title and wondering why the enquiries aren't coming, send them this. It might save them six months of guessing.Get found. Make money. Stop stressing. Start giving a shit about your readers.Links mentioned: Non-Wanky SEO Courses: https://nonwankyseo.com Ahrefs Free Keyword Generator: https://ahrefs.com/keyword-generator Also Asked: https://alsoasked.com/?via=nikki-pilkington (aff link) Google's People Also Ask: Just search for anything on Google and look for the expandable questionsFollow Nikki: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkipilkington/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkipilkington/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nikkipilkington.bsky.socialMentioned in this episode:ICN Network