Keyword Research for the Swedish Market
By CodexierPublished 6 min read
Keyword research methods were written for English, a language with big volumes and few spelling variants. Swedish has neither: a single intent is spread across compound and separated spellings, definite and plural forms, and volumes so small that tools show zero. This guide adapts the method to how Swedes actually search.
Why Swedish research is different
The mechanism behind the difference is population size times language structure. Ten million speakers produce a fraction of the searches English gets, and Swedish grammar then splits that fraction across forms: compounds, definite endings, plurals, and the common practice of writing compounds as two words. The result is that each individual string looks tiny while the intent behind them is not.
Compound words and variants
Swedish builds new nouns by gluing words together, and searchers glue inconsistently. The same person may type 'hemsida företag', 'företagshemsida' and 'hemsida för företag' on different days. Google understands these as related, so you do not need a page per spelling, but your research must collect them into one group or you will underestimate every topic by a wide margin.
| Variation type | Example | Handle it by |
|---|---|---|
| Compound vs separated | 'webbyrå stockholm' vs 'webb byrå stockholm' | Grouping; use the correct compound in your copy |
| Definite and plural forms | 'redovisningsbyrå', 'redovisningsbyrån', 'redovisningsbyråer' | Grouping; Google treats them as one |
| Å, ä, ö typed as a, a, o | 'malare' for 'målare' | Grouping; never write the wrong form in your copy |
| English loanwords | 'e-handel' vs 'ecommerce' vs 'webshop' vs 'webbshop' | Check which your customers use; often both, on different pages |
| Regional and colloquial terms | 'bilverkstad' vs 'bilmekaniker' vs 'bilservice' | One page per intent, mention the synonyms naturally |
Write copy in correct Swedish and let grouping handle the variants. Pages stuffed with misspellings rank worse and read badly.
Small volumes and long tail
Keyword tools round small numbers to zero or to broad bands, and much of Swedish search lives below their threshold. That does not make those searches worthless; a query like 'byta avloppsrör kostnad göteborg' may occur a handful of times a month, and every one of those is a person about to spend money. The strategy is to collect many such phrases around one intent and answer them on one thorough page, rather than chasing the few head terms where national brands compete.
- Start from your services and your town, then list every way a customer might phrase the need: problem, service, cost, 'nära mig', 'bäst i', 'pris'.
- Use Google's own suggestions: autocomplete, 'people also ask' and related searches at the bottom of the results page. They are Swedish and current.
- Read customer emails and call notes; the words customers use on the phone are the words they type.
- Ignore tool volume below the threshold; judge by whether the phrase describes a customer you want.
Using Search Console as a source
Once your site has any impressions, Google Search Console becomes the best Swedish keyword tool there is, because it shows the actual queries people typed before seeing your pages, including every variant and misspelling. Filter the performance report to Sweden, sort by impressions, and look for queries where you appear on page two or three: those are intents you already partly answer and can win with a better page. Look also for queries that reach the wrong page; that is a mapping problem.
High impressions, low clicks
You rank but the title does not match the query. Rewrite the title and description around the phrasing people use.
Position 8 to 20
Close enough to move. Expand the page that ranks with the questions people ask, and link to it from your other pages.
Query lands on the wrong page
Google chose your homepage for a service query. Build or improve the service page and link to it with that phrasing.
Mapping keywords to pages
The output of research is not a list; it is a map of intent groups to pages. Each group gets one page whose title, heading and first paragraph use the main phrasing, with the variants and questions worked into the body. Two pages targeting the same intent compete with each other, and one page trying to serve two intents serves neither. For a local service company the map is usually short: one page per service, one per town if you serve several, and guide pages for the cost and 'how it works' questions.
When you do not need help: a single-location company with a handful of services can build this map in a day with Search Console and Google's suggestions. Buy help when the site has many pages competing with each other, when rankings have dropped, or when technical problems stop good pages from being found at all; our SEO audit and technical fix at 7,990 kr includes the keyword map alongside the technical repairs, and the growth retainer carries it forward monthly. Prices are on the pricing page; a short call with your domain is enough to see whether research or repair is the first job.
- SEO Audit & Technical FixKeyword map, page-to-intent mapping and the technical fixes that let the pages rank.
- Growth RetainerMonthly research, content and measurement for companies that want search to compound.
- Book a free 15-minute callGive us your domain and your main services; we show you what Search Console already says about your Swedish queries.
Frequently asked questions
Which keyword tool works best for Swedish?
Google's own: Keyword Planner for relative volumes, autocomplete and related searches for phrasing, and Search Console for what people actually typed. Third-party tools have Swedish data but round small volumes heavily; use them for ranking topics against each other, not for counting searches.
Should I target English keywords as well?
Only if you have English-speaking customers in Sweden or abroad, and then on separate English pages, not mixed into Swedish ones. Many Swedish B2B buyers search in English for software and technical topics, so check Search Console for English queries before deciding.
How do I handle a town name in keywords?
Include the town naturally in the title and first paragraph of the pages where location matters, and give each town you serve its own page only if you genuinely serve it and can say something specific about it. A list of forty towns in a footer does nothing for rankings and looks like spam.
How often should keyword research be redone?
Check Search Console monthly for new queries and shifts, and redo the full map once a year or when you add a service. Swedish phrasing changes slowly, but your own visibility changes as pages rank, which opens new queries you could not see before.
Want to see what Swedes actually type to find you?
Bring your domain to a fifteen-minute call. We open Search Console together, group the Swedish queries by intent and show you which pages to build or fix first.
Book a free 15-minute call