How to Search a Website for Keywords: 6 Strategies That Actually Work

Wondering how to search keywords on a website more effectively than just hitting Ctrl+F? You’re not alone. 

That basic search function you’ve been using only finds terms on the current page—missing content behind tabs, in images, or on pages you haven’t opened. And for proper research, finding exactly how and where specific terms appear across an entire website is critical for competitive analysis, content auditing, and optimization opportunities.

This blog post covers 6 strategies to find keywords on a website quickly, saving you hours of manual searching. So, let’s get started!

What is a Website Search for Keywords?

A website search for keywords is the process of identifying and analyzing specific terms or phrases that appear within a website’s content. 

This goes beyond simply using a search engine to find websites related to a topic. Instead, it involves examining the actual content of web pages to understand how keywords are used, their frequency, placement, and context. 

When you search keywords on website content, you’re essentially performing a targeted analysis to uncover the strategic language choices that drive that site’s visibility and relevance.

Modern search engines don’t just look for exact keyword matches anymore. Google’s language matching systems can understand how a page relates to various queries, even if the exact terms aren’t used repeatedly throughout the content. 

Nevertheless, finding how keywords are used on a website remains a valuable exercise for competitive analysis, research, and SEO.

Why Search for Keywords on a Website?

Searching for keywords on websites serves several important purposes:

1. Competitive Analysis: By examining how competitors use keywords, you can identify gaps in your own strategy and discover new opportunities. When you search keywords on website pages of industry leaders, you gain insights into what’s working for them.

2. Content Optimization: Analyzing keyword usage helps you improve your own content. Understanding how keywords are distributed throughout successful pages can guide your optimization efforts.

3. SEO Performance: Identifying keyword patterns on high-ranking sites helps you understand what search engines value for specific topics.

4. User Experience Research: Keywords reflect what users are looking for. Analyzing them helps you align your content with audience needs and expectations.

5. Market Research: Keyword analysis reveals industry trends and shifting terminology, helping you stay current with your audience’s language.

Effective SEO keyword research begins with understanding not just what keywords to target, but how to implement them strategically within your content.

How to Search a Website for Keywords: Top 6 Strategies

Here are top 6 strategies to find keywords on a website:

1. Use Writesonic SEO AI Agent

The Writesonic SEO AI Agent is one of the most advanced ways to search for keywords on website content. 

Unlike manual methods, this SEO AI Agent automatically scans web pages to identify primary and secondary keywords, topic clusters, and semantic relationships.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Log in to your Writesonic account and go to Chatsonic

2. From the dropdown select ‘SEO AI Agent’

3. Enter the prompt and URL of the website you want to analyze

Check out 280+ ChatGPT prompts that you can try in 2025.

4. The SEO AI agent will automatically scan the site and generate a detailed keyword report

5. Review the automated keyword research results, including keyword clusters and user intent analysis

And, there you go!

The Writesonic SEO AI Agent stands out with its ability to perform multi-step task automation and real-time data gathering. It provides a two-report system (Research Analysis and Final Report) that gives you both raw data and actionable insights. 

Using effective keyword research tools like Ahrefs and Semrush, the SEO AI Agent gives accurate data while saving you hours of manual work.

What makes this tool particularly valuable is its advanced analysis features, including keyword clustering for related terms, competitor content strategy analysis, and user intent optimization. 

The foundation of any content strategy is thorough SEO keyword research, and the Writesonic SEO AI Agent streamlines this process significantly.

Learn more about how to use AI for keyword research.

Why not give it a try and see the difference?

2. Use Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner offers insights into keywords that websites might be targeting. Although primarily designed for ad campaigns, it serves as a valuable tool for keyword research.

To analyze website keywords with Keyword Planner:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account

2. Navigate to “Tools & Settings” > “Keyword Planner”

3. Select “Discover new keywords”

4. Enter the website URL in the “Start with a website” field and review the suggested keywords list

This approach reveals potential keywords based on the website’s content and industry, specifically showing monthly search volumes and competition levels for each term.

Many professionals start their keyword discovery process with Google Keyword Planner because it provides data directly from Google.

Google Keyword Planner also offers advanced features like performance forecasting, multiple list combination, and audience refinement. When choosing a free keyword research tool, look for one that provides search volume data, and tool delivers this essential information.

However, if you are looking to go 10 steps further, as in creating keyword clusters, competitor analysis, and more, go for SEO AI Agent.

3. Use the Website’s Search Bar

Most websites include an internal search function that can be leveraged to understand keyword relevance and content organization.

How to use it:

1. Navigate to the website you want to analyze
2. Locate the search bar (typically in the header or sidebar)

3. Enter keywords you’re interested in researching

4. Analyze the search results to see how the site prioritizes and categorizes content related to those keywords

5. Pay attention to suggested searches, which often reflect common user queries.

The website’s own search functionality provides unique insights because it’s built specifically for that site’s content. There are several website keyword search methods you can use depending on your goals, and this approach leverages the site’s own indexing system.

This method is particularly useful for understanding how a website categorizes its content and what related terms it associates with your target keywords. The built-in search functionality often includes filters for more targeted searches, allowing you to refine your analysis.

4. Use Browser’s Find Function

Your browser’s built-in search function (Ctrl+F/Cmd+F) is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to find keywords on a webpage.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Open the webpage you want to analyze
2. Press Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac) to open the search box
3. Enter the keyword you’re looking for

4. Your browser will highlight all instances and show you the count
5. Use the up and down arrows to navigate between instances

You can easily find keywords on a webpage using your browser’s search function, which provides instant keyword location on the page. 

This technique instantly shows:

• How many times does the keyword appear on the page
• The context surrounding each instance
• Keyword variations through partial matches

For a thorough analysis, search for both singular and plural forms, as well as common variations of your target terms.

When you find keywords on a webpage, analyze their placement and frequency. Look for patterns in how keywords are distributed throughout the content, including in headings, introductory paragraphs, and conclusions. The highlighted matches visualization makes it easy to see where keywords appear most prominently.

5. Use Google Search Operators to Search Within a Single Website

Using search operators for keywords allows for more precise Google searches, especially when you want to analyze a specific website.

How to use it:

1. Go to Google.com
2. Use the site: operator followed by the domain name
   Example: site:example.com “keyword phrase”

3. Add quotation marks around specific phrases for exact matches
4. Use additional operators like intitle: or intext: to refine your search
   Example: site:example.com intitle:”keyword phrase”

Advanced search operators for keywords include site:, intext:, and intitle: commands. The site: operator restricts your search to a specific domain, while intitle: finds pages where the keyword appears in the title, and intext: locates pages where the keyword appears in the main content.

This technique is particularly useful for large websites with thousands of pages. Learning to use search operators for keywords will enhance your research capabilities and allow you to conduct more targeted analyses. Advanced website keyword search methods like this help you understand how competitors structure their content around specific keywords.

6. Find Keywords in a Page Source

A page source keyword search reveals how competitors use keywords in their HTML, including in meta tags and structured data that isn’t visible on the page.

How to use it:

1. Open the webpage in your browser
2. Right-click and select “View Page Source” (or press Ctrl+U in most browsers)
3. Press Ctrl+F to open the search function within the source code
4. Search for keywords or HTML elements like <title>, <meta>, or <h1>

5. Analyze how keywords are used in these critical SEO elements.

Performing a page source keyword search is simple with most modern browsers and provides insights into the technical SEO aspects of a website. This method allows you to examine title tag content, meta tag analysis, header tag review, and overall content structure analysis.

Explore the top 30 free SEO tools that you can try in 2025.

The page source keyword search technique helps identify hidden keywords and metadata that influence search engine rankings. When conducting HTML source analysis, pay special attention to how keywords are used in title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and alt text for images.

What to Find Using Site Search?

When searching for keywords on a website, focus on these key elements:

1. Keyword Density and Distribution: How frequently do keywords appear, and where are they placed? The most important locations are typically titles, headings, first and last paragraphs, and image alt text.
   
2. Semantic Variations: Look for related terms and synonyms that support the main keywords. This reveals the depth of the site’s semantic SEO strategy.
   
3. Long-tail Keywords: Identify longer, more specific keyword phrases that target niche audiences. These often have less competition and higher conversion rates.
   
4. Content Structure: Analyze how content is organized around keywords. Are they using topic clusters? How do they structure their information hierarchy?
   
5. Technical Implementation: Examine how keywords are incorporated into technical elements like URLs, meta tags, and structured data.
   

There are both free and paid keyword research tools available for different needs and budgets, but knowing what to look for is just as important as the tools you use.

Best Practices When Searching Websites for Keywords

To maximize the value of your keyword research, follow these best practices:

1. Be Systematic: Create a structured approach to your keyword analysis. Document your findings in a consistent format to identify patterns across multiple sites.
   
2. Look Beyond Frequency: Don’t just count keywords—analyze their context, placement, and relationship to other content elements. The quality of keyword usage often matters more than quantity.
   
3. Compare Multiple Sources: Cross-reference findings from different tools and methods to get a more complete picture. Each approach has its strengths and limitations.
   
4. Focus on User Intent: When analyzing keywords, consider the user intent behind them. Are they informational, navigational, or transactional? How does the content address these different intents?
   
5. Track Changes Over Time: Keyword strategies evolve. Regularly monitor how websites update their keyword usage to stay current with trends and algorithm changes.
   
6. Analyze Mobile and Desktop Separately: Keyword implementation may differ between mobile and desktop versions of websites. Check both to ensure you’re getting the complete picture.

Professional SEO specialists rely on advanced keyword research tools for comprehensive analysis, but they also understand that tools are only as valuable as the strategy behind them.

Leverage SEO AI Agent To Find Relevant Keywords

Learning how to search keywords on website content is an essential skill for anyone involved in digital marketing, content creation, or SEO. 

The six methods outlined in this guide, from using the Writesonic SEO AI Agent to analyzing page source code, provide you with a comprehensive toolkit for keyword discovery and analysis.

By implementing these techniques, you’ll gain valuable insights into how successful websites use keywords to drive traffic, engage users, and rank in search results. This knowledge will help you refine your own keyword strategy and create more effective, targeted content.

Remember that effective keyword research isn’t just about finding popular terms—it’s about understanding how those terms are used strategically within content to meet user needs and business goals. Start applying these methods today to enhance your SEO efforts and gain a competitive edge in your industry.

Why not give SEO AI Agent and automate your SEO efforts?

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q1. How can I quickly search for keywords on a website? 

The fastest way to search for keywords on a website is to use your browser’s built-in search function. Simply press Ctrl+F (Windows) or Command+F (Mac) to open the search box, then type your target keyword. This method instantly shows how many times the keyword appears and its context on the page.

Q2. What’s the best tool for analyzing website keywords? 

Writesonic AI Agent for SEO is one of the most efficient tools for analyzing website keywords. It uses advanced AI to automatically scan web pages, identifying primary and secondary keywords, topic clusters, and semantic relationships. This tool provides comprehensive insights into a website’s SEO strategy without manual searching.

Q3. Can I search for keywords across an entire website at once? 

Yes, you can search for keywords across an entire website using Google search operators. Type “site:example.com” followed by your keyword in Google’s search bar. This will return all pages from that specific domain containing your keyword, allowing you to analyze keyword usage across the entire site.

Q4. Why is searching for keywords on websites important? 

Searching for keywords on websites is crucial for competitive analysis, content research, identifying SEO strategies, and discovering content gaps. It helps you understand how competitors structure their content, what topics they focus on, and which terms they’re trying to rank for in search engines. This information can guide your own content strategy and SEO efforts.

Q5. How can I find hidden keywords on a website? 

To find hidden keywords, examine the website’s source code. Right-click on the page and select “View Page Source.” Then search for keywords within title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and image alt text. These elements often contain strategically placed keywords that contribute to the site’s SEO but may not be immediately visible in the main content.

Pragati Gupta

Content Marketer

Pragati Gupta is a Content Marketer @Writesonic, specializing in AI, SEO, and strategic B2B writing. Leveraging the power of Generative AI, she produces high-impact content that drives superior ROI.