Keyword Research & Clustering

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

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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?

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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" |

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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).

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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

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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 |

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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 |

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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 |

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Prioritization Matrix

Score each keyword 1–10:

| Keyword | Demand | Competition | Intent Fit | Opportunity | |---------|--------|-------------|------------|-------------| | [keyword] | [1–10] | [1–10, lower=easier] | [1–10] | Demand − Competition |

Prioritize: Opportunity score > 3, Intent fit > 6

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Output Format

# Keyword Research: [Niche/Topic]

## 6 Circles Content Plan

### Primary Keyword: [keyword]
- Monthly searches: [range]
- Competition: [low/medium/high]
- Intent: [informational/commercial/transactional]

### Sub-topic A: [theme]
1. [Article idea] — [target keyword] — [volume]
2. [Article idea] — [target keyword] — [volume]
3. [Article idea] — [target keyword] — [volume]

### Sub-topic B: [theme]
4–6. [...]

### Sub-topic C: [theme]
7–9. [...]

## Prioritized Content Queue

| Priority | Topic | Keyword | Volume | Difficulty | Opportunity |
|----------|-------|---------|--------|------------|-------------|
| 1 | [topic] | [keyword] | [vol] | [1–10] | [score] |

## Quick Wins (Low Competition, Decent Volume)
- [keyword 1] — [rationale]
- [keyword 2] — [rationale]

## Content Gaps Found
- [gap 1] — competitors missing [what]
- [gap 2] — outdated content on [topic]

## Community Insights
- Top pain point: [description]
- Common question: [question]
- Terminology used: [terms]

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Related Skills

• seo-and-aeo-strategy — SEO optimization and AI search visibility
• content-strategy-and-planning — Detailed content strategy from keyword research
• content-creation-and-marketing — Writing the actual content
• programmatic-seo — Building SEO pages at scale from keyword data