Keyword research for German-speaking markets is not English keyword research translated. German builds long compound nouns, the same concept has different words in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and search volumes are a fraction of English ones, so every page has to work harder. Below are the patterns we use when researching keywords for DACH websites, including our own.
Compound nouns change everything
German glues words together: «Projektmanagementsoftware», «Datenschutzerklärung», «Zeiterfassungsapp». Searchers use both the compound and the split form — «Projektmanagement Software» — and sometimes a hyphenated version. Search engines understand much of this, but not all, and tools often report the variants separately with small volumes each. Treat variants of one compound as a single topic, choose the most common spelling for titles and headings, and use the others naturally in the text.
Switzerland, Germany and Austria are different markets
The same thing often has a different word depending on the country. Switzerland says «Velo», Germany «Fahrrad»; Swiss users search for «Offerte» where Germans search for «Angebot», and «Kündigung» vocabulary for contracts varies too. Legal terms differ fundamentally: «revDSG» in Switzerland versus «DSGVO» in Germany and Austria, «Treuhand» in Switzerland versus «Steuerberater» in Germany. Research each target market separately, with location set to that country, and do not assume that a German keyword set works for Swiss customers.
Eszett and ss
Swiss Standard German does not use the Eszett (the «sharp s»); it writes «ss». A Swiss website should therefore write «Strasse», «gross» and «Massnahme», and Swiss users search that way. Search engines generally treat both spellings as equivalent, but titles and copy that use the Eszett look foreign to Swiss readers and reduce click-through. For sites targeting both Switzerland and Germany, decide per page which market it serves.
Search intent per market
Volume is only half the picture. A query like «Website erstellen lassen» signals commercial intent — the person wants to hire someone — while «Website erstellen» often means do-it-yourself. «Was kostet eine Website» is research with buying intent. Look at the current search results for each candidate keyword: if the first page shows tools and tutorials, a service page will struggle; if it shows agencies and price guides, it fits. Matching intent matters more than chasing the highest number.
Small volumes, many pages
Most B2B keywords in German-speaking markets have low reported volumes. That is not a reason to ignore them: a keyword with a few dozen monthly searches and clear buying intent can be worth more than a broad term with thousands. The practical consequence is to build many precise pages — one per service, use case, question or region — rather than one broad page trying to rank for everything.
Tools and their limits
Keyword tools are useful for discovering variants and related questions, but their volume figures for German long-tail terms are rough estimates. Google Search Console is the most reliable source once a site has some visibility: it shows the queries that actually produce impressions, including many the tools never list. Autocomplete, the «People also ask» box and the questions customers actually ask in sales conversations fill the gaps.
Formal address and tone
German distinguishes formal «Sie» from informal «du». B2B audiences in the DACH region generally expect «Sie»; some consumer brands and start-ups use «du» deliberately. The choice affects how pages read and how queries are phrased, especially question queries. Decide once and apply it consistently across titles, copy and structured data.
From research to page structure
The output of keyword research should be a page plan, not a spreadsheet. Group keywords by intent and topic, assign one primary topic to each page, and map supporting questions to sections and FAQs on that page. Avoid two pages competing for the same intent; when that happens, merge them. For multilingual sites, link language versions with hreflang only where a genuine equivalent exists.
AI search changes the questions
AI assistants and AI-generated search overviews increasingly answer German questions directly. Pages that are cited tend to answer a specific question clearly in a short paragraph, use precise terms and come from an identifiable provider. For keyword research this means paying more attention to full questions — «Brauche ich eine Datenschutzerklärung für meine Website?» — and less to isolated head terms.
A practical checklist
- Research each country separately with the correct location and spelling.
- Treat compound and split variants as one topic.
- Use «ss» for Swiss pages.
- Check search results for intent before committing to a keyword.
- Plan one page per intent and avoid internal competition.
- Use Search Console data to refine the plan once pages are live.
Innopulse builds websites and content structures for the DACH market and applies these patterns to its own sites, which grow without paid advertising.