keyword-research-and-clustering

What this skill does

# Keyword Research & Clustering

## Workspace Context

Read bootstrap context before asking questions: `strategy/brand.md` for brand, audience, offer, channels, tools, constraints, and metrics; `about/me.md` for personal voice; `content/ideas.md` and `content/calendar.md` for content planning. Use legacy product-marketing context files only as fallback. Save generated drafts to `content/<platform>/drafts/YYYY-MM-DD_short-topic-slug.md`, and route durable learnings back to `strategy/brand.md`, `about/me.md`, or `content/ideas.md`.

## Operating Contract

This skill is self-contained for its frontmatter scope: use its local instructions, references, scripts, and assets as the playbook; ask only for missing task-specific inputs; hand off to adjacent skills instead of expanding scope; and return an actionable artifact, decision, plan, draft, or diagnostic.



Research keywords, expand them systematically, cluster by topic and intent, and prioritize for content strategy — all without expensive tools.

---

## Required Input

Ask the user for:
1. **Niche/Industry** — What space are you in?
2. **Target Audience** — Who are you writing for?
3. **Business Goal** — Traffic, leads, sales, authority?
4. **Existing Content** — Do you have a site/blog already?

---

## The 6 Circles Method

Generate 13 content ideas from a single seed keyword using nested topic clusters.

```
                    ┌─────────────────────┐
                    │   PRIMARY KEYWORD   │  ← 1 pillar topic
                    │   (Largest Circle)  │
                    └─────────────────────┘
                              │
            ┌─────────────────┼─────────────────┐
            ▼                 ▼                 ▼
     ┌───────────┐     ┌───────────┐     ┌───────────┐
     │ Sub-topic │     │ Sub-topic │     │ Sub-topic │  ← 3 supporting themes
     │     A     │     │     B     │     │     C     │
     └───────────┘     └───────────┘     └───────────┘
            │                 │                 │
      ┌─────┼─────┐     ┌─────┼─────┐     ┌─────┼─────┐
      ▼     ▼     ▼     ▼     ▼     ▼     ▼     ▼     ▼
     [1]   [2]   [3]   [4]   [5]   [6]   [7]   [8]   [9]  ← 9 content pieces
```

**Process:**
1. Identify primary keyword — high-traffic, high-intent topic in your niche
2. Brainstorm 3 sub-topics — related themes that support the primary
3. Generate 3 pieces per sub-topic — specific articles addressing aspects of each

### Content Types for Supporting Pieces

| Type | Example |
|------|---------|
| How-to Guide | "How to [achieve outcome] with [method]" |
| Comparison | "[Option A] vs [Option B]: Which is better for [use case]" |
| List Post | "[Number] [adjective] ways to [achieve result]" |
| Case Study | "How [persona] achieved [result] using [approach]" |
| Trend Analysis | "[Topic] trends in [year]: What's changing" |
| Beginner Guide | "[Topic] for beginners: Everything you need to know" |
| Tool Review | "Best [category] tools for [audience/use case]" |
| Problem-Solution | "Why [problem happens] and how to fix it" |

---

## Seed Generation (50–100 Keywords)

### Google Autocomplete & PAA
- Type `[keyword]` + a–z variations
- "how to [keyword]", "best [keyword] for", "[keyword] vs"
- Capture People Also Ask questions from SERP

### Community Mining

| Source | What to Extract |
|--------|-----------------|
| **Reddit** | Pain points, questions, terminology |
| **Quora** | Question patterns, answer gaps |
| **Industry Forums** | Niche-specific problems |
| **YouTube Comments** | Objections, confusion points |
| **Amazon Reviews** | Customer language, unmet needs |

### Reddit Mining Protocol

Search queries:
```
site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "how do I"
site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "help"
site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "struggling with"
site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "recommend"
site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "vs"
```

Extract: Questions asked repeatedly (content opportunities), complaints about existing solutions (angle differentiation), terminology and slang (keyword variations), upvote patterns (demand signals).

---

## Keyword Expansion Techniques

### Modifier Categories

**Question modifiers:**
- What is {keyword} / How to {keyword} / Why {keyword} / When to {keyword}

**Comparative modifiers:**
- {keyword} vs {competitor} / {keyword} alternatives / best {keyword} / {keyword} comparison

**Intent modifiers:**
- {keyword} guide / {keyword} tutorial / {keyword} examples / {keyword} template / buy {keyword} / {keyword} pricing

**Audience modifiers:**
- {keyword} for beginners / {keyword} for {industry} / {keyword} for small business / {keyword} for enterprise

### Expansion Procedure

1. Extract current topic scope and any exclusions
2. Propose expansions: synonyms, related terms, acronyms
3. Add explicit exclusions for common false positives
4. Document "why" for each change
5. Keep query count manageable — merge near-duplicates instead of adding many variations

---

## Free Tool Arsenal

### Demand Research

| Tool | Use For | Access |
|------|---------|--------|
| **Google Keyword Planner** | Volume ranges, competition | ads.google.com (free account) |
| **Google Trends** | Seasonality, rising topics | trends.google.com |
| **Ahrefs Free Generator** | 150 suggestions with difficulty | ahrefs.com/keyword-generator |
| **Ubersuggest** | 3 searches/day with metrics | neilpatel.com/ubersuggest |

### Intent Discovery

| Tool | Use For | Access |
|------|---------|--------|
| **Google Autocomplete** | Real-time user queries | Type in search bar |
| **People Also Ask** | Question-based content | Scroll down in SERP |
| **Answer the Public** | Visual question maps | answerthepublic.com |
| **AlsoAsked** | PAA clustering | alsoasked.com |

---

## Competition Assessment (Manual SERP Analysis)

For each target keyword, analyze top 10 results:

| Signal | What to Look For | Opportunity If... |
|--------|------------------|-------------------|
| **Content Depth** | Word count, comprehensiveness | Top results are thin (<1000 words) |
| **Freshness** | Publication date, last update | Top results are 2+ years old |
| **Format Match** | Does format match intent? | Results don't match searcher need |
| **Authority Gap** | Domain strength of rankers | Small sites ranking (not all big brands) |
| **Content Gaps** | Missing subtopics, unanswered questions | PAA questions not covered |

### Sweet Spot Targets by Site Stage

| Site Stage | Monthly Search Volume | Competition Level |
|------------|----------------------|-------------------|
| New site (0–6 months) | 100–500 | Low |
| Growing site (6–18 months) | 500–2,000 | Low–Medium |
| Established site (18+ months) | 1,000–10,000 | Medium |

---

## Clustering Algorithm

1. **Extract seed topics** — Identify main themes from expanded list
2. **Group by semantic similarity** — Keywords with overlapping meaning
3. **Map intent** — Assign Informational / Commercial / Transactional / Navigational
4. **Identify pillar** — Highest-volume, broadest term = pillar page
5. **Map supporting** — Lower-volume terms support pillar

### Cluster Structure Example

```
PILLAR: "content marketing" (highest volume)
├── CLUSTER: "content marketing strategy" (commercial)
│   ├── content marketing plan template
│   ├── content marketing framework
│   └── how to create content marketing strategy
├── CLUSTER: "content marketing examples" (informational)
│   ├── B2B content marketing examples
│   ├── content marketing case studies
│   └── content marketing success stories
└── CLUSTER: "content marketing tools" (commercial)
    ├── best content marketing tools
    ├── content marketing software
    └── content marketing platforms
```

### Intent Classification

| Signal | Intent |
|--------|--------|
| "what is", "how to", "guide" | Informational |
| "best", "vs", "review", "compare" | Commercial |
| "buy", "price", "discount", brand | Transactional |
| Brand name, specific product | Navigational |

---

## Prioritization Matrix

Score each keyword 1–10:

| Keyw