SEO Keyword Research Pro

Conducts comprehensive keyword research with intent classification, difficulty scoring, SERP gap analysis, and topic clustering to create prioritized, ROI-fo...

End-to-end keyword research workflow: seed keyword expansion, search intent classification, difficulty scoring, SERP gap analysis, and topic cluster creation. Outputs a prioritized content calendar with ROI estimates.

Why This Skill Exists

Keyword research tools (Ahrefs, Semrush) cost $100-400/month. Most creators and indie hackers can't justify that cost. This skill encodes the same methodology into a structured workflow using free data sources (Google Suggest, People Also Ask, SERP analysis) and produces actionable content plans.

When to Activate

Activate when the user:

• Asks for keyword research, SEO strategy, or content ideas
• Mentions search volume, keyword difficulty, or search intent
• Wants to find content gaps or topic clusters
• Says "what should I write about" or "what keywords to target"
• Plans a content calendar or blog strategy

Workflow

Step 1: Seed Keyword Expansion

Given a seed keyword/topic, generate expanded keyword lists:

Category 1: Head Terms (1-2 words, high volume, high difficulty)

• Example: "project management", "task tracker"

Category 2: Body Keywords (3-4 words, medium volume, medium difficulty)

• Example: "project management for startups", "task tracker for teams"

Category 3: Long-Tail Keywords (5+ words, lower volume, low difficulty)

• Example: "best project management tool for remote startups", "free task tracker for small teams"

Category 4: Question Keywords (from Google PAA, Reddit, Quora)

• Example: "how to choose project management software", "what is the best free task tracker"

Expansion Sources:

• Google Suggest (autocomplete variations)
• Google "People Also Ask" questions
• Google "Related Searches"
• Reddit/Quora thread titles
• Competitor blog post titles
• Forum discussions (Stack Overflow, Hacker News, Product Hunt)

Step 2: Search Intent Classification

Classify each keyword into one of four intent types:

Intent	User Goal	Content Format	Example
Informational	Learn something	Blog post, guide, tutorial	"what is agile project management"
Navigational	Find specific site/brand	Landing page	"asana login", "jira pricing"
Commercial	Compare options before buying	Comparison, review, listicle	"best project management tools 2026"
Transactional	Ready to buy/sign up	Product page, pricing, demo	"buy asana premium", "jira free trial"

Step 3: Keyword Difficulty Estimation

Score each keyword 1-100 based on:

Factor	Weight	How to Estimate (Without Paid Tools)
Domain Authority of top 10 SERP results	40%	Check if sites like Wikipedia, Forbes, or major brands rank — if yes, difficulty is high
Content depth of top results	20%	Do top results have 2000+ words? Difficulty is higher
Backlinks to top results	20%	More referring domains = harder to outrank
SERP feature saturation	10%	Featured snippets, PAA, image packs reduce organic opportunity
Search volume	10%	Higher volume = more competition

Scoring bands:

• 1-30: 🟢 Easy — new sites can rank in 3-6 months
• 31-50: 🟡 Moderate — needs 20+ quality backlinks, 6-12 months
• 51-70: 🟠 Hard — needs established domain, 12+ months
• 71-100: 🔴 Very Hard — avoid unless you have strong domain authority

Step 4: SERP Gap Analysis

For top 3 target keywords, analyze the current SERP:

• What content formats rank (listicle, how-to, comparison, video)
• Average word count of top 10 results
• Common subheadings/topics covered by all top results
• Gaps: topics your competitors are NOT covering that you should
• SERP features: featured snippets, PAA, image packs, video carousels
• Content freshness: when were top results last updated?

Step 5: Topic Cluster Creation

Organize keywords into topic clusters:

text

Pillar Page: "Project Management Guide"
├── Cluster: "Agile Methodology"
│   ├── "what is agile project management" (Informational, KD: 25)
│   ├── "agile vs waterfall" (Commercial, KD: 35)
│   └── "agile sprint planning guide" (Informational, KD: 20)
├── Cluster: "Project Management Tools"
│   ├── "best project management tools 2026" (Commercial, KD: 45)
│   ├── "free project management software" (Commercial, KD: 40)
│   └── "asana vs jira vs monday" (Commercial, KD: 30)
├── Cluster: "Team Collaboration"
│   ├── "how to manage remote teams" (Informational, KD: 28)
│   └── "team communication best practices" (Informational, KD: 22)

Step 6: Prioritized Content Calendar

Output a 90-day content calendar:

markdown

## 90-Day Content Calendar

### Month 1: Foundation (Low KD, High Intent)
| Week | Keyword | Intent | KD | Est. Volume | Content Type | Word Count | Priority |
|------|---------|--------|-----|------------|-------------|------------|----------|
| 1 | "what is agile project management" | Info | 25 | 2,900 | Guide | 2,500 | 🔴 High |
| 1 | "agile vs waterfall" | Commercial | 35 | 1,900 | Comparison | 2,000 | 🔴 High |
| 2 | "free task tracker for small teams" | Commercial | 28 | 880 | Listicle | 1,500 | 🟡 Med |
| 3 | "how to manage remote teams" | Info | 28 | 1,300 | Guide | 2,000 | 🟡 Med |
| 4 | "agile sprint planning guide" | Info | 20 | 720 | Tutorial | 1,800 | 🟡 Med |

### Month 2: Authority Building (Medium KD)
[... similar table ...]

### Month 3: Competitive (Higher KD, High ROI)
[... similar table ...]

## ROI Estimation

| Keyword | Est. Monthly Traffic (3 months) | Est. Monthly Traffic (12 months) | Conversion Rate | Est. Revenue/Month |
|---------|-------------------------------|--------------------------------|----------------|-------------------|
| "best project management tools" | 150 | 800 | 2% | $480 |
| "free task tracker" | 80 | 400 | 1.5% | $180 |

Output Constraints

• All keyword suggestions must include estimated difficulty score (1-100)
• All keywords must have search intent classified
• Content calendar must be ordered by priority (Low KD + High Intent first)
• Topic clusters must show pillar→cluster hierarchy
• ROI estimates must be conservative (use 1-3% conversion rate)
• Mark all estimates with "est." — never present as exact data without a paid API

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Does not access paid keyword tool APIs (Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz)
• Does not provide exact search volumes (estimates only)
• Does not track rankings over time
• Does not build backlinks
• Does not write the content (plans the strategy only)