domains / marketing / seo-keyword-research / keyword-research

keyword-research

Skill card

combined

The four copies overlap on the core task (seed expansion, intent classification, difficulty/volume scoring, and pillar-cluster grouping) but each contains material steps or constraints the others lack, and they disagree on tooling and scoring. aaron-he-zhu adds a strict 8-phase contract, evidence-labeling rules, and keyless local helpers (autocomplete, Firecrawl SERP sampling, Wikipedia attention proxy) plus a GSC striking-distance shortcut. kostja94 adds a detailed manual discovery playbook (alphabet autocomplete, position variants, PAA, competitor reverse, user feedback) and a SERP-overlap clustering method. Ryze-AI-Adgent is tool-specific, requiring the Ryze MCP connector and Google Ads/DataForSEO calls, and mandates CPC in the output. nowork-studio is a thin pointer to an external WORKFLOW.md and explicitly defers calendar work to a different skill. Crowning one copy would hide real alternative procedures and tooling paths.

Repositories

Other copies

Combined skill

---
name: keyword-research
description: Discover, analyze, and prioritize keywords for SEO and GEO content strategies from a seed keyword or niche. Identifies high-value opportunities based on search volume, competition, intent, and business relevance. Generates topic clusters.
---

# Keyword Research

## 1. Scope & Context
- Clarify product/service, target audience, business goal, site domain authority (DR), geography, and language.
- If a project context file (e.g., `contextus.md`) exists, read it and load only relevant modules.
- Identify available tool access: Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, SEO tools, Search Console, or MCP connectors.

## 2. Discovery
- **Seed Expansion**: Start with core, problem, solution, audience, and industry terms.
- **Manual Methods**:
  - **Alphabet Autocomplete**: Type seed + space + each letter (a-z, 0-9) to capture long-tail queries with real traffic.
  - **Position Variants**: Try prefix (`a keyword`), suffix (`keyword a`), and middle (`how to keyword a`) patterns.
  - **Question Modifiers**: Use `how to`, `what is`, `why`, `vs`, `for beginners`, etc.
  - **PAA & Related Searches**: Extract high-value signals from Google People Also Ask and Related Searches.
  - **Competitor Reverse**: Analyze competitor titles, H1s, and URLs to find topics they rank for (positions 4-10 are opportunities).
  - **User Feedback**: Mine support tickets, reviews, and community forums (Reddit, Quora) for unmet search demand.
- **Tool-Based Methods** (if available):
  - **Ryze MCP**: Use `google_ads__generateKeywordIdeas` to collect up to ~200 ideas.
  - **GSC Striking Distance**: If Search Console is connected, mine query data for terms already ranking in positions 5-20. These are proven demand and the fastest opportunity set.
  - **Keyless Helpers**: Use local scripts for Google Autocomplete expansion, Firecrawl for live SERP sampling (to see who ranks), and Wikipedia pageviews for topic demand/seasonality proxies.

## 3. Classification & Intent
- Tag each keyword by intent: Informational, Navigational, Commercial, or Transactional.
- **Intent Signals**:
  - Informational: "how," "what," "guide," "tutorial."
  - Commercial: "best," "compare," "vs," "review."
  - Transactional: "buy," "price," "coupon," "free shipping."
- **SERP Check**: Search the term to verify intent. Knowledge cards suggest informational; product lists suggest commercial; brand sites suggest navigational.

## 4. Scoring & Evaluation
- **Metrics**: Assign search volume, keyword difficulty (1-100), and CPC (if available).
- **Evidence Labels**: Label every metric as **Measured** (tool/export), **User-provided**, **Calculated**, **Estimated**, **Proxy**, or **Unknown**. Never invent volumes; if data is missing, mark it Unknown with a reason.
- **Opportunity Score**: Compute `Opportunity = (Volume × Intent Value) / Difficulty`. Use Intent Values: Informational=1, Navigational=1, Commercial=2, Transactional=3.
- **GEO-Check**: Flag AI-answer-friendly queries (questions, definitions, comparisons, lists, how-tos) for Generative Engine Optimization.

## 5. Clustering & Topical Map
- Group keywords into pillar (hub) and cluster (spoke) topic hubs.
- **Clustering Methods**:
  - **SERP Overlap**: Keywords with overlapping top-ranking pages belong in the same cluster.
  - **Semantic**: Group by meaning and related concepts.
  - **Intent-Based**: Separate pages if intent differs within a cluster.
- For each cluster, identify the target keyword, supporting keywords, total volume, and whether an existing page should be optimized or a new page created.

## 6. Deliverable
- **Executive Summary**: High-level findings and top opportunities.
- **Prioritized Plan**: Rank clusters by volume × winnability. Favor clusters where the site already has striking-distance positions (5-20).
- **Cluster Tables**: One table per cluster showing keyword, volume, CPC, intent, and current position.
- **Quick Wins / Growth / GEO Opportunities**: Name at least 3 specific opportunities in each category.
- **Next Steps**: Recommend the next skill (e.g., competitor-analysis or content-strategy) based on the keyword set.

## Conflicts
- **Ryze-AI-Adgent/open-seo-mcp-skills**: Requires the Ryze MCP connector and mandates CPC in the output. If this connector is not available, use the manual and keyless methods above.
- **aaron-he-zhu/aaron-marketing-skills**: Enforces strict evidence labeling and an 8-phase announcement structure. If using this skill's specific scripts, follow its `NOT_SCORED` rule for missing decision-critical inputs.
- **kostja94/marketing-skills**: Emphasizes manual discovery and SERP-overlap clustering. Use these methods when tool access is limited.
- **nowork-studio/notfair-plugin**: Defers to an external WORKFLOW.md. If that file is present, follow it; otherwise, use this combined instruction.