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Most local businesses target the hardest head keyword in their industry (example…

2026-08-04 · 15:03 UTC ·@theseoguy_ ·1 min read

Brief

Local businesses frequently waste budget chasing crowded head terms (e.g., 'dentist near me' with top-three results at ~400 reviews and eight years' presence). The author argues higher-ticket, niche, or commercial keywords (like veneers, implants, commercial services) have far less competition and higher ROI. Practical test: count top-3 reviews—300+ means the door is closing; target specific procedures or commercial variants instead.

Why it matters

Most local businesses target the hardest head keyword in their industry (example: 'dentist near me'), where the top 3 results can each have ~400 reviews and eight years of effort, making ranking extremely difficult.

Key details

  • High-ticket, lower-volume service keywords (example: 'veneers' or 'dental implants') are often wide open; a single case can be worth ~$20,000, so you need less volume and face less competition.
  • Commercial keywords are easier to rank than residential because higher margins mean fewer competitors; the author observed drywall contractors and commercial cleaners taking top spots in metros >1M with little resistance. He recommends: if the top 3 have 300+ reviews the market is closed; many opportunities show top results with ~11 reviews and sites from 2016.
Source evidence

Most local businesses pick the hardest keyword in their industry and then wonder why they can't rank.

Every dentist in a metro is fighting over "dentist near me." It is a bloodbath. The top 3 have 400 reviews each and have been at it for eight years.

Meanwhile "veneers" and "dental implants" in that same city are wide open.

Higher ticket. Less competition. Lower volume, but you don't need volume when a case is worth 20k.

Same thing shows up in home services and it goes against everything people assume.

Commercial is easier to rank for than residential.

The reason is margin. Residential jobs are small, so you need a lot of them, so everyone in the market is spending heavily on marketing and the keyword gets crowded. Commercial jobs are big, so fewer companies are chasing them, and half of those companies got their work through relationships and never bothered with SEO at all.

I have watched drywall contractors and commercial cleaners walk into metros of over a million people and take the top spot with almost no resistance.

So before you spend a dollar, go search the head term in your industry and count the reviews in the top 3. If they are at 300 plus, that door is closing or closed.

Then go search your highest ticket service plus your city. Search the commercial version. Search the specific procedure instead of the category.

You will usually find one where the top result has 11 reviews and a website built in 2016.