What keywords should a screen printing website use?
These 8 searches were pulled in 20 US towns, mobile, from the town centre. Count of the 151 map shops' own sites in Google's normal top 20:
| Search | Map shops' sites in the top 20 (of 151) |
|---|---|
| "custom t shirts <town>" | |
| "screen printing <town>" | |
| "embroidery <town>" | |
| "custom hoodies <town>" | |
| "team shirts <town>" | |
| "screen printing near me" | |
| "dtf printing <town>" | |
| "custom hats <town>" |
Every search names a product or method plus the town or "near me". That's the pattern to copy: one service, one place.
Why "screen printing" on its own won't bring you buyers
The plain search "screen printing" is a how-to and supplier search: 0 of 151 shop sites were in its top 20 in any town.
Directories and social sites are the other problem. Across the 8 town and near-me searches, they held 781 of 1,592 top 10 results (49%). Map shops' own sites held 98 (6%).
Which screen printing keywords have search volume?
These are Google Ads estimates, per month. Google Ads merges close variants and can run high, so read them as a size, not a count. Volume tools miss tiny searches, and a search like "screen printing <town>" is split across every town.
Searches from people who want something printed:
| Search | Google Ads estimate (per month) |
|---|---|
| cheapest screen printing | |
| best t shirt printing company | |
| t shirt printing company online | |
| best screen printing company | |
| how much does t-shirt printing cost | |
| how to get something embroidered | |
| embroidery online order | |
| screen printing online order | |
| bulk screen printing services |
Bigger searches that bring the wrong visitor:
| Search | Google Ads estimate (per month) | Who types it |
|---|---|---|
| what is dtf | 9,900 | people learning what DTF is |
| free t shirt design website | 2,900 | people who want a free design tool |
| how to print t-shirts at home | 880 | DIY printers |
| wholesale t shirt for printing | 720 | printers buying blanks |
| screen printing software | 260 | shop owners |
Where do keywords go on a screen printing website?
The study points to these spots.
- The headings of the page your Google profile links to. Shops with "screen print" in the H1 or H2 of that page sat 1.5–3.5 spots higher in all 3 searches. Only 28 of 148 sites had it.
- A page for each service. Of the 19 shop sites in Google's top 20 for "screen printing <town>", 12 have their own screen printing page. Small numbers, not held fixed for other factors:
| Search (normal results) | Shops with that page | Shops without |
|---|---|---|
| "screen printing <town>" | 12 of 59 (20%) | 7 of 89 (8%) |
| "embroidery <town>" | 10 of 49 (20%) | 5 of 99 (5%) |
| "custom hoodies <town>" | 9 of 45 (20%) | 4 of 103 (4%) |
- The homepage title. 78 of 151 homepage titles (52%) name the service and 62 (41%) name the town. Town in the page title showed no clear effect on the map. Write the title for the buyer: what you print and where.
Few shops do this. Of 151 working sites: a screen printing page 50 (33%), an embroidery page 41 (27%), a DTF page 10 (7%).
Do this today: put "screen print" in the H1 or H2 of the page your Google profile links to.
Which keywords go on your Google Business Profile?
The map has its own keyword spots:
- Primary category. Shops with "Screen printer" or "Screen printing shop" as the primary category sat about 7 spots above similar shops for "screen printing".
- Embroidery category. 62 shops list an embroidery category; 27 of them (44%) are top 3 for "embroidery". Of the 132 without one, 9 (7%) are.
- Description. Shops whose profile description names the service sat about 3–4 spots higher for t-shirts, and for screen printing only in the wider 736-shop group.
- Reviews. Shops whose reviews mention the work (screen printing, shirts, embroidery, DTF, apparel, merch) showed the strongest result in the study. Ask customers to say what you printed for them.
- Business name. A service word in the name helps, but only as the shop's real name. Adding words to the profile name alone breaks Google's guidelines and gets listings suspended.
The full map setup is on the local SEO for screen printers page. For school and team orders, see how to get school spirit wear orders.