SEO Keyword Research

seo-keyword-research — Keyword Research & Strategy

Research Process

Step 1: Seed Keyword Expansion

Start with broad seed terms and expand systematically:

Seed Sources

Expansion Techniques

1. Semantic expansion: Synonyms, related terms, variations
2. Modifier expansion: best/top/free/cheap/vs/alternative + keyword
3. Long-tail generation: 3-5 word phrases with specific intent
4. PAA mining: Extract "People Also Ask" questions from SERP
5. Autocomplete harvesting: Google/Bing/YouTube autocomplete suggestions
6. Forum mining: Reddit, Quora, industry forums for real user language

Step 2: Keyword Metrics Analysis

Core Metrics

Keyword Difficulty Interpretation

Cross-reference: references/keyword-difficulty.md for industry benchmarks.

Search Volume Caveats

• Volume is a range estimate, not an exact number
• Seasonal keywords: always check 12-month trend (e.g., "tax software" peaks Jan-Apr)
• Zero-volume keywords may still drive valuable traffic (emerging terms, long-tail)
• Volume ≠ traffic — CTR varies by SERP features and position

Step 3: Search Intent Classification

Intent Validation

Always verify intent by checking actual SERP results:

• If top 10 results are all blog posts → informational intent
• If top 10 are product pages → transactional intent
• Mixed results → blended intent (target the dominant format)

Step 4: Competitor Keyword Gap Analysis

Gap Types

Gap Analysis Process

1. Identify 3-5 SERP competitors (domains ranking for your target keywords)
2. Extract their ranking keywords (DataForSEO Domain Keywords API)
3. Cross-reference with your GSC keyword data
4. Filter: Volume ≥ 100, KD ≤ your_domain_DR + 10, relevant to business
5. Prioritize by: Opportunity = Volume × (1 - your_visibility) × relevance

Step 5: Topic Clustering & Prioritization

Topic Cluster Model

Pillar Page: "Project Management" (high volume, broad)
├── Cluster: "Agile Project Management"
│   ├── "scrum vs kanban" (commercial)
│   ├── "how to run a sprint planning meeting" (informational)
│   └── "agile project management tools" (commercial)
├── Cluster: "Remote Team Management"
│   ├── "remote team communication tools" (commercial)
│   ├── "how to manage remote employees" (informational)
│   └── "remote work best practices" (informational)
└── Cluster: "Project Management Software"
    ├── "best project management software 2026" (commercial)
    ├── "free project management tools" (commercial)
    └── "asana vs monday vs clickup" (commercial)

Prioritization Formula

Priority Score = (Volume × CTR_potential × Business_value) / (Difficulty + 1)

Where:
- CTR_potential = estimated CTR for target position (pos 1: 0.30, pos 3: 0.12, pos 5: 0.06)
- Business_value = 1 (informational), 2 (commercial), 3 (transactional)
- Difficulty = KD score (0-100)

Priority Buckets

Step 6: Keyword Strategy Output

Keyword Map Template

Content Calendar Alignment

Map keywords to content calendar considering:

• Seasonality: Schedule content 2-3 months before peak season
• Trending topics: Fast-track emerging keywords (zero-volume → rising)
• Competitor gaps: Prioritize topics where competitors are weak
• Content clusters: Publish cluster articles before pillar pages

Quick Win Identification

Filter GSC data for immediate opportunities:

1. Keywords ranking #4-20 with high impressions (striking distance)
2. Keywords with high impressions but low CTR (title/description optimization)
3. Keywords ranking #1-3 without Featured Snippet (snippet capture opportunity)

Data Sources

Primary: Google Search Console

• Real click/impression data for existing keywords
• Brand vs non-brand segmentation
• Device and geo filtering
• 16 months of historical data

Secondary: DataForSEO Keywords API

POST https://api.dataforseo.com/v3/keywords_data/google_ads/search_volume/live

{
  "keywords": ["project management", "task tracking", "team collaboration"],
  "location_code": 2840,
  "language_code": "en",
  "date_from": "2025-01-01",
  "date_to": "2026-03-01"
}

Key endpoints:

Tertiary: SERP Analysis

Cross-reference with seo-rank-tracker for SERP feature data and seo-content-brief for content planning.

Scoring

Output Format

Generate KEYWORD-RESEARCH-[topic].md with:

1. Keyword Universe (total keywords discovered, by intent type)
2. Top 50 Keywords (sorted by priority score with all metrics)
3. Topic Clusters (visual hierarchy with pillar → cluster → content)
4. Competitor Gap Matrix (your keywords vs top 3 competitors)
5. Quick Wins (immediate opportunities from existing rankings)
6. Content Calendar (recommended publishing sequence)
7. Keyword Map (URL-to-keyword assignments)