keyword-research

Discover high-value SEO keywords with search intent analysis, difficulty scoring, topic clustering, and AI citation potential. Use when the user asks to "find keywords", "keyword research", "what should I write about", "keyword difficulty score", "identify ranking opportunities", "topic ideas", "what are people searching for", or "long-tail keyword suggestions". For competitor keyword gaps, see competitor-analysis. For topic coverage gaps, see content-gap-analysis.

# Keyword Research


> **[SEO & GEO Skills Library](https://github.com/aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills)** · 20 skills for SEO + GEO · [ClawHub](https://clawhub.ai/u/aaron-he-zhu) · [skills.sh](https://skills.sh/aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills)

<details>
<summary>Browse all 20 skills</summary>

**Research** · **keyword-research** · [competitor-analysis](../competitor-analysis/) · [serp-analysis](../serp-analysis/) · [content-gap-analysis](../content-gap-analysis/)

**Build** · [seo-content-writer](../../build/seo-content-writer/) · [geo-content-optimizer](../../build/geo-content-optimizer/) · [meta-tags-optimizer](../../build/meta-tags-optimizer/) · [schema-markup-generator](../../build/schema-markup-generator/)

**Optimize** · [on-page-seo-auditor](../../optimize/on-page-seo-auditor/) · [technical-seo-checker](../../optimize/technical-seo-checker/) · [internal-linking-optimizer](../../optimize/internal-linking-optimizer/) · [content-refresher](../../optimize/content-refresher/)

**Monitor** · [rank-tracker](../../monitor/rank-tracker/) · [backlink-analyzer](../../monitor/backlink-analyzer/) · [performance-reporter](../../monitor/performance-reporter/) · [alert-manager](../../monitor/alert-manager/)

**Cross-cutting** · [content-quality-auditor](../../cross-cutting/content-quality-auditor/) · [domain-authority-auditor](../../cross-cutting/domain-authority-auditor/) · [entity-optimizer](../../cross-cutting/entity-optimizer/) · [memory-management](../../cross-cutting/memory-management/)

</details>

Discovers, analyzes, and prioritizes keywords for SEO and GEO content strategies. Identifies high-value opportunities based on search volume, competition, intent, and business relevance.

## When to Use This Skill

- Starting a new content strategy or campaign
- Expanding into new topics or markets
- Finding keywords for a specific product or service
- Identifying long-tail keyword opportunities
- Understanding search intent for your industry
- Planning content calendars
- Researching keywords for GEO optimization

## What This Skill Does

1. **Keyword Discovery**: Generates comprehensive keyword lists from seed terms
2. **Intent Classification**: Categorizes keywords by user intent (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional)
3. **Difficulty Assessment**: Evaluates competition level and ranking difficulty
4. **Opportunity Scoring**: Prioritizes keywords by potential ROI
5. **Clustering**: Groups related keywords into topic clusters
6. **GEO Relevance**: Identifies keywords likely to trigger AI responses

## How to Use

### Basic Keyword Research

```
Research keywords for [topic/product/service]
```

```
Find keyword opportunities for a [industry] business targeting [audience]
```

### With Specific Goals

```
Find low-competition keywords for [topic] with commercial intent
```

```
Identify question-based keywords for [topic] that AI systems might answer
```

### Competitive Research

```
What keywords is [competitor URL] ranking for that I should target?
```

## Data Sources

> **Note:** All integrations are optional. This skill works without any API keys — users provide data manually when no tools are connected.

> See [CONNECTORS.md](../../CONNECTORS.md) for tool category placeholders.

**With ~~SEO tool + ~~search console connected:**
Automatically pull historical search volume data, keyword difficulty scores, SERP analysis, current rankings from ~~search console, and competitor keyword overlap. The skill will fetch seed keyword metrics, related keyword suggestions, and search trend data.

**With manual data only:**
Ask the user to provide:
1. Seed keywords or topic description
2. Target audience and geographic location
3. Business goals (traffic, leads, sales)
4. Current domain authority (if known) or site age
5. Any known keyword performance data or search volume estimates

Proceed with the full analysis using provided data. Note in the output which metrics are from automated collection vs. user-provided data.

## Instructions

When a user requests keyword research:

1. **Understand the Context**

   Ask clarifying questions if not provided:
   - What is your product/service/topic?
   - Who is your target audience?
   - What is your business goal? (traffic, leads, sales)
   - What is your current domain authority? (new site, established, etc.)
   - Any specific geographic targeting?
   - Preferred language?

2. **Generate Seed Keywords**

   Start with:
   - Core product/service terms
   - Problem-focused keywords (what issues do you solve?)
   - Solution-focused keywords (how do you help?)
   - Audience-specific terms
   - Industry terminology

3. **Expand Keyword List**

   For each seed keyword, generate variations:
   
   ```markdown
   ## Keyword Expansion Patterns
   
   ### Modifiers
   - Best [keyword]
   - Top [keyword]
   - [keyword] for [audience]
   - [keyword] near me
   - [keyword] [year]
   - How to [keyword]
   - What is [keyword]
   - [keyword] vs [alternative]
   - [keyword] examples
   - [keyword] tools
   
   ### Long-tail Variations
   - [keyword] for beginners
   - [keyword] for small business
   - Free [keyword]
   - [keyword] software/tool/service
   - [keyword] template
   - [keyword] checklist
   - [keyword] guide
   ```

4. **Classify Search Intent**

   Categorize each keyword:

   | Intent | Signals | Example | Content Type |
   |--------|---------|---------|--------------|
   | Informational | what, how, why, guide, learn | "what is SEO" | Blog posts, guides |
   | Navigational | brand names, specific sites | "google analytics login" | Homepage, product pages |
   | Commercial | best, review, vs, compare | "best SEO tools [current year]" | Comparison posts, reviews |
   | Transactional | buy, price, discount, order | "buy SEO software" | Product pages, pricing |

5. **Assess Keyword Difficulty**

   Score each keyword (1-100 scale):

   ```markdown
   ### Difficulty Factors
   
   **High Difficulty (70-100)**
   - Major brands ranking
   - High domain authority competitors
   - Established content (1000+ backlinks)
   - Paid ads dominating SERP
   
   **Medium Difficulty (40-69)**
   - Mix of authority and niche sites
   - Some opportunities for quality content
   - Moderate backlink requirements
   
   **Low Difficulty (1-39)**
   - Few authoritative competitors
   - Thin or outdated content ranking
   - Long-tail variations
   - New or emerging topics
   ```

6. **Calculate Opportunity Score**

   Formula: `Opportunity = (Volume × Intent Value) / Difficulty`

   **Intent Value** assigns a numeric weight by search intent:
   - Informational = 1
   - Navigational = 1
   - Commercial = 2
   - Transactional = 3

   ```markdown
   ### Opportunity Matrix
   
   | Scenario | Volume | Difficulty | Intent | Priority |
   |----------|--------|------------|--------|----------|
   | Quick Win | Low-Med | Low | High | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
   | Growth | High | Medium | High | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
   | Long-term | High | High | High | ⭐⭐⭐ |
   | Research | Low | Low | Low | ⭐⭐ |
   ```

7. **Identify GEO Opportunities**

   Keywords likely to trigger AI responses:
   
   ```markdown
   ### GEO-Relevant Keywords
   
   **High GEO Potential**
   - Question formats: "What is...", "How does...", "Why is..."
   - Definition queries: "[term] meaning", "[term] definition"
   - Comparison queries: "[A] vs [B]", "difference between..."
   - List queries: "best [category]", "top [number] [items]"
   - How-to queries: "how to [action]", "steps to [goal]"
   
   **AI Answer Indicators**
   - Query is factual/definitional
   - Answer can be summarized concisely
   - Topic is well-documented online
   - Low commercial intent
   ```

8. **Create Topic Clusters**

   Group keywords into content clusters:

   ```markdown
   ## Topic Cluster: [Main Topic]
   
   **Pillar Content**: [Primary keyword]
   - Search volume: [X]
   - Difficulty: [X]
   - Content type: Comprehensive guide
   
   **Cluster Content**:
   
   ### Sub-topic 1: [Secondary keyword]
   -