seo-keyword-research

name	seo-keyword-research
description	Comprehensive keyword research methodology covering seed keyword expansion, search volume and difficulty analysis, competitor keyword gap discovery, topic clustering, search intent classification, and keyword prioritization. Use when user says "keyword research", "find keywords", "keyword analysis", "keyword strategy", "topic clusters", or "keyword gap".
allowed-tools	["Read","Grep","Glob","Bash","WebFetch"]

seo-keyword-research — Keyword Research & Strategy

Research Process

Step 1: Seed Keyword Expansion

Start with broad seed terms and expand systematically:

Seed Sources

Source	Method	Example
Product features	List core features/benefits	"project management", "task tracking"
User pain points	Common problems your product solves	"team collaboration issues", "missed deadlines"
Competitor brands	Competitor product names	"asana alternative", "trello vs"
Industry terms	Domain-specific vocabulary	"agile methodology", "sprint planning"
Question patterns	what/how/why/when/where + topic	"how to manage remote teams"

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

Metric	Source	What It Tells You
Monthly search volume	GSC, DataForSEO, SEMrush	Demand level
Keyword difficulty (KD)	DataForSEO (0-100)	Competition intensity
CPC	Google Ads, DataForSEO	Commercial value
Search trend	Google Trends, DataForSEO	Seasonality, growth
SERP features	SERP API analysis	Opportunity type
Click-through rate	GSC (existing keywords)	Actual traffic potential

Keyword Difficulty Interpretation

KD Score	Difficulty	Typical Requirements
0-20	Easy	Quality content, basic on-page SEO
21-40	Moderate	Strong content + some backlinks (10-30 referring domains)
41-60	Hard	Authority content + significant backlinks (30-100 RDs)
61-80	Very Hard	Domain authority + comprehensive content strategy (100+ RDs)
81-100	Extremely Hard	Years of authority building + PR + brand signals

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	Signals	Content Type	Conversion Proximity
Informational	what, how, why, guide, tutorial	Blog post, guide, video	Low (awareness)
Commercial	best, top, review, comparison, vs	Comparison page, review	Medium (consideration)
Transactional	buy, price, discount, coupon, order	Product page, pricing	High (decision)
Navigational	[brand name], login, support	Homepage, support page	Varies

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

Type	Definition	Action
Missing keywords	Competitor ranks, you don't	Create new content
Weak keywords	Both rank, competitor higher	Improve existing content
Strong keywords	You rank higher	Defend and optimize
Unique keywords	Only you rank	Protect competitive advantage

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

Bucket	Criteria	Timeline
Quick wins	KD < 30, Volume > 500, you rank #11-30	This month
Strategic targets	KD 30-60, Volume > 1000, high business value	Next quarter
Long-term plays	KD > 60, Volume > 5000	6-12 months
Defensive	Brand keywords, existing #1-3 rankings	Ongoing

Step 6: Keyword Strategy Output

Keyword Map Template

URL	Primary KW	Secondary KWs	LSI Terms	Intent	Volume	KD	Priority
/blog/topic-a	[main keyword]	[2-3 secondary]	[5-10 LSI]	Info	2,400	35	High
/product/feature	[main keyword]	[2-3 secondary]	[5-10 LSI]	Trans	1,200	55	Strategic

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:

Endpoint	Purpose
/v3/keywords_data/google_ads/search_volume/live	Volume + CPC + competition
/v3/keywords_data/google_ads/keywords_for_site/live	Keywords for a domain
/v3/dataforseo_labs/google/keyword_suggestions/live	Related keyword suggestions
/v3/dataforseo_labs/google/keyword_ideas/live	Seed → expanded keyword list
/v3/dataforseo_labs/google/keywords_for_categories/live	Category-based keywords
/v3/dataforseo_labs/google/domain_intersection/live	Competitor keyword overlap

Tertiary: SERP Analysis

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

Scoring

Category	Weight
Seed Keyword Coverage	20%
Search Intent Accuracy	20%
Competitor Gap Identification	20%
Topic Cluster Organization	15%
Prioritization Quality	15%
Strategy Actionability	10%

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)