Keyword Research

Keyword Research Skill

Purpose

Generates keyword map organized by silos. One canonical keyword per page.

Primary Objective

Maximize transactional intent coverage for service (silo top) and area pages.

Not "more keywords" — focused targeting.

Skill Output Contract

Output is binding input for:

• heading-tree skill (H1 from canonical keyword)
• internal-linking skill (silo structure)
• lead-gen-copy skill (page copy)

This is not a suggestion list.

Input

business:
  service: "house removals"       # Core service
  location: "Bristol"             # Primary location
  service_areas: ["Bath", "Weston-super-Mare"]
  services: ["house removals", "office removals", "packing"]

Output

silos:
  - name: "house-removals"
    keywords:
      silo_top:
        canonical: "house removals bristol"
        supporting: ["removal company bristol", "movers bristol"]
      areas:
        - page: "/areas/bath"
          canonical: "removals bath"
          supporting: ["house movers bath"]
      articles:
        - page: "/blog/moving-costs"
          canonical: "how much do removals cost"
          
questions: [...]
near_me: [...]

Keyword Budget Per Page

Canonical keyword = THE one keyword for H1. Only one per page.

Silo Structure

Keywords organized by content silos:

silo:
  name: "house-removals"
  
  silo_top:                        # Service page = money page
    page: "/services/house-removals"
    canonical: "house removals bristol"
    supporting:
      - "removal company bristol"
      - "movers bristol"
    long_tail:
      - "cheap removals bristol"
      - "best removal company bristol"
      
  areas:                           # Feed up to silo top
    - page: "/areas/bath"
      canonical: "removals bath"
      supporting: ["house movers bath"]
      
    - page: "/areas/weston"
      canonical: "removals weston-super-mare"
      
  articles:                        # Support silo top
    - page: "/blog/moving-costs"
      canonical: "how much do removals cost"

Keyword Types

Canonical Keywords

ONE per page. Used in:

• H1 heading (required)
• Meta title (required)
• URL slug (if possible)

Supporting Keywords

2-3 per page. Used in:

• H2 headings (1-2)
• Meta description
• Body content

Long-tail Keywords

Modifiers + core keyword. Used in:

• Body content
• FAQ answers
• NOT in H1/H2

Synonym Rules

ONE dominant synonym per page.

synonyms:
  house_removals:
    dominant: "house removals"      # Use in H1
    supporting: ["movers", "moving company", "relocation"]
    
# Page uses ONE dominant, others in body only
page: "/services/house-removals"
h1: "House Removals Bristol"        # Dominant
body: "...our moving company..."    # Supporting

"Near Me" Keywords

Special handling — NOT in headings.

near_me_keywords:
  - "removals near me"
  - "moving company near me"
  
usage:
  schema: true
  gbp: true
  faq: "Looking for removals near me? We cover..."
  heading: false  # NEVER

Question Keywords

Allocated to FAQ or articles:

questions:
  faq:                    # Short answers on service pages
    - "how much do removals cost"
    - "how long does moving take"
    - "are you insured"
    
  articles:               # Long-form content
    - "how much does it cost to move a 3 bed house"
    - "removal company vs man and van"
    - "how to pack for a house move"

Complete Output Example

keyword_research:
  business:
    service: "house removals"
    location: "Bristol"
    
  silos:
    - name: "house-removals"
      silo_top:
        page: "/"
        canonical: "house removals bristol"
        supporting: ["removal company bristol"]
        long_tail: ["cheap removals bristol"]
        
      areas:
        - page: "/areas/bath"
          canonical: "removals bath"
          
    - name: "office-removals"
      silo_top:
        page: "/services/office-removals"
        canonical: "office removals bristol"
        
  questions:
    faq: ["how much do removals cost"]
    articles: ["how to pack fragile items"]
    
  near_me: ["removals near me"]
  
  summary:
    total_pages: 8
    total_keywords: 24
    silos: 2

Blocking Conditions (STOP)

Non-goals

• Does NOT provide search volumes
• Does NOT analyze competition
• Does NOT track rankings
• Does NOT prioritize by traffic

Forbidden

• ❌ Multiple canonical keywords per page
• ❌ "Near me" in H1/H2
• ❌ Exceeding keyword budget
• ❌ Same canonical on two pages
• ❌ Keywords without silo assignment

References

• patterns.md — Keyword patterns by type
• synonyms.md — Service synonym mapping
• modifiers.md — Long-tail modifiers

Definition of Done

• Every page has ONE canonical keyword
• Keyword budget respected
• All keywords assigned to silo
• No "near me" in headings
• Synonyms: one dominant per page
• Questions allocated to FAQ/article
• Output ready for heading-tree skill