--- name: rampstackco/seo-keyword source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/rampstackco-seo-keyword@2/SKILL.md source_sha256: 49a53fce0955 --- # Keyword Research Find the queries worth ranking for, classify them by intent, cluster them into topics, and prioritize what to produce. Stack-agnostic. Tool-agnostic (works with any keyword tool). --- ## When to use - Starting a new site or content section - Planning a content calendar - Looking for ranking opportunities on an existing site - Understanding search intent before writing - Building topic clusters for internal linking - Identifying content gaps vs competitors ## When NOT to use - Optimizing a single page where the target query is already known (use `seo-onpage`) - Comparing your site to a competitor across many dimensions (use `seo-competitor`) - Auditing existing content for performance (use `seo-content-audit`) --- ## Required inputs - The site or topic area - The target audience and what they need - A keyword tool (Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, Google Keyword Planner, or similar) OR access to search console for an existing site - Optional: 3 to 5 known competitors to seed the research If no tool is available, the skill still works using SERP inspection and search console data alone, but the volume estimates will be rough. --- ## The framework: 4 stages ### Stage 1: Discover Cast a wide net. Sources: - **Seed terms** from the brief or the user's vocabulary - **Competitor keywords** (any keyword tool will export these) - **Search console queries** for an existing site (find the page-1 and page-2 queries) - **Related searches and "People also ask"** in actual SERPs - **Customer language** (support tickets, sales calls, reviews) - **Forum and community language** (Reddit, niche forums, Stack Overflow) Goal: 200 to 500 candidate keywords for a typical content sprint. More if planning a year of content. ### Stage 2: Classify by intent Every keyword maps to one of four intents. Get this right or the rest is noise. | Intent | Signal | Page type that wins | |---|---|---| | **Informational** | "how to," "what is," "why," "best way to" | Article, guide, tutorial | | **Navigational** | brand or product name + modifier | Brand homepage, product page | | **Commercial** | "best," "review," "vs," "comparison," "alternatives" | Listicle, comparison, review | | **Transactional** | "buy," "price," "deal," "near me," "for sale" | Product page, category page | A keyword tool's volume tells you the demand. The SERP tells you the intent. When in doubt, look at what's actually ranking. If page 1 is articles, the query is informational. If page 1 is product pages, it's transactional. **Hybrid intents exist.** "Best running shoes" is commercial-investigational. "Best running shoes under $100" is the same intent narrowed by a budget filter. Treat hybrids as their dominant intent and note the modifier. ### Stage 3: Cluster Group keywords that should target the same page (or topic cluster). Two clustering approaches: **Approach A: SERP overlap.** If two keywords share at least 3 of the top 10 results, they target the same page. This is mechanical and reliable. **Approach B: Topical relevance.** Group keywords by the underlying topic, not just word overlap. "How to start a podcast" and "podcast equipment for beginners" are the same topic, different facets. Use both. A typical cluster has: - 1 primary keyword (highest volume, broadest intent) - 5 to 15 secondary keywords (variations and long-tails) - 1 page that targets them all ### Stage 4: Prioritize For each cluster, score on three dimensions: **Opportunity** (1 to 5): - Volume (raw search demand) - Click potential (some queries answer themselves in the SERP, lowering CTR) - Conversion potential (does this query attract buyers or browsers?) **Difficulty** (1 to 5): - Domain authority of top results - Backlink count of top results - Content depth and freshness of top results - Whether the SERP has features (featured snippets, AI overview, video carousel) that compete with organic **Strategic fit** (1 to 5): - Does it serve our audience? - Does it support our positioning? - Does it link to commercial pages naturally? **Priority score = Opportunity + Strategic fit - Difficulty.** Rank the clusters. Top 20 percent get produced first. --- ## Workflow 1. **Define the scope.** What site, what topic area, what audience. 2. **Run discovery.** Pull seeds, competitor exports, search console data, SERP inspections. Aim for 200 to 500 candidates. 3. **Deduplicate and clean.** Remove obvious junk, brand misspellings, irrelevant terms. 4. **Classify by intent.** Mark each keyword. 5. **Cluster.** Group into topical clusters. Aim for 20 to 50 clusters. 6. **Score each cluster** on opportunity, difficulty, and strategic fit. 7. **Prioritize.** Rank by composite score. Identify the top 10 to 20 clusters to produce first. 8. **Output.** Use the template in [`references/keyword-research-template.md`](references/keyword-research-template.md). --- ## Failure patterns - **Chasing volume without intent.** A 10,000-volume informational keyword does not drive purchases. Match query to commercial outcome. - **Targeting impossibly competitive keywords.** New sites cannot rank for "credit cards." Find the underserved long-tail variant. - **Ignoring search console.** Existing sites already rank for queries they did not target. These are the easiest wins. - **Treating clusters as one-keyword-per-page.** A page can target 10 to 30 related keywords. One-keyword-per-page leads to thin, cannibalized content. - **Ignoring SERP features.** A query with a featured snippet, AI overview, and a video carousel above the organic results may not be worth pursuing. - **Static keyword research.** Search demand shifts. Refresh the research at least annually for evergreen sites, quarterly for fast-moving topics. --- ## Output format Default output: a spreadsheet (CSV or sheet) with one row per keyword and one row per cluster, plus a markdown summary with the top 10 to 20 clusters detailed. Recommended columns for the keyword sheet: | Column | Source | |---|---| | Keyword | Discovery | | Volume | Tool | | Difficulty | Tool | | Intent | Manual classification | | SERP features | Manual or tool | | Cluster | Stage 3 | | Cluster role (primary/secondary) | Stage 3 | | Opportunity score | Stage 4 | | Strategic fit | Stage 4 | | Priority | Composite | | Notes | Free text | --- ## If required data is unavailable This skill's output depends on data, measurements, or tool results it cannot generate on its own. When a required input, tool, or data source is unavailable or unverifiable, the sanctioned output is the deliverable with the gap stated: what was needed, what was actually obtained or verified, and which parts of the output are affected. Fabricating, estimating, or interpolating a required number to complete the deliverable is never sanctioned. A stated gap is a complete answer. --- ## Reference files - [`references/keyword-research-template.md`](references/keyword-research-template.md) - Spreadsheet column definitions and a markdown summary template. - [`references/intent-classification-guide.md`](references/intent-classification-guide.md) - Detailed examples of each of the four intent categories.