Keyword Research
Run structured SEO keyword discovery, intent checks, and topical mapping before content or landing work.
Overview
Keyword Research is an agent skill most often used in Launch (also Validate and Grow) that finds target keywords, assesses difficulty and intent, and builds topical maps for SEO.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills --skill keyword-researchWhat is this skill?
- Initial assessment: product, audience, goals, and tool access (GSC, Trends, SEO suites)
- Discovery table covers user perspective, competitors, autocomplete, alphabet method, and People Also Ask
- Notes that ~95% of keywords get fewer than 10 searches/month—prioritize high-intent low-volume terms
- Metadata version 1.3.1; points to content-strategy for clustering after research
- Reads .claude or .cursor project-context.md when present for positioning alignment
- Skill metadata version 1.3.1
- ~95% of keywords get fewer than 10 searches per month (per skill guidance)
Adoption & trust: 949 installs on skills.sh; 586 GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You know your product but lack a prioritized keyword list grounded in intent, volume reality, and how people actually search.
Who is it for?
Solo founders and marketers preparing landing pages, blog pillars, or AI-search-visible copy who can use free or paid SEO tools for discovery.
Skip if: Teams that already have approved keyword clusters and only need editorial calendars—use content-strategy instead.
When should I use this skill?
When the user wants keyword research, target keywords, search volume, search intent, keyword difficulty, topical maps, autocomplete, alphabet method, or People Also Ask—and not full clustering alone.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You leave with assessed target keywords, discovery-method coverage, and a clearer topical map—then invoke content-strategy for clustering when ready.
- Prioritized target keyword list with intent and difficulty notes
- Topical map outline from discovery methods
- Documented competitor and user-perspective seed terms
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Keyword research is the canonical Launch shelf for organic visibility decisions before distribution and on-page SEO execution. The skill centers search volume, difficulty, intent, autocomplete, and PAA—core SEO research, not lifecycle email or support ops.
Where it fits
Map pain-point queries and competitor SERPs before committing to a landing-page promise.
Build a prioritized keyword list with intent labels ahead of on-page SEO and distribution copy.
Refresh long-tail opportunities using autocomplete and PAA after shipping initial articles.
How it compares
Research-and-intent workflow for keywords, not a one-click rank tracker or paid ads keyword bid tool.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is keyword-research for?
Solo builders and indie marketers who need agent-guided SEO discovery, intent labeling, and topical mapping before writing or shipping landing content.
When should I use keyword-research?
Use it in Launch for SEO and GEO groundwork, in Validate when scoping positioning and search language, and in Grow when expanding content around new intents or autocomplete/PAA opportunities.
Is keyword-research safe to install?
It is procedural marketing guidance without built-in credential exfiltration; review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page and vet the ingested repo like any third-party skill.
Workflow Chain
Then invoke: content strategy
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Keyword Research
# SEO Content: Keyword Research Guides keyword research for SEO: finding target keywords, assessing difficulty, understanding search intent, and building topical maps. ~95% of keywords get fewer than 10 searches/month; low-volume, high-intent terms often yield faster rankings and conversion. **When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output. ## Initial Assessment **Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read it for product, audience, and positioning. Identify: 1. **Product/service**: What you offer 2. **Audience**: Who searches for it 3. **Goals**: Traffic, conversions, brand 4. **Tool access**: Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, or SEO tools ## Discovery Methods ### Base Discovery | Method | Purpose | |--------|---------| | **User perspective** | What pain points? What would they search? Customer language from product context | | **Tool expansion** | Related keywords, questions, suggestions; Google autocomplete, PAA, Related Searches | | **Competitor reverse** | Analyze competitor titles, H1, URL; identify topics they rank for; find gaps (#4–10 = opportunity) — see **competitor-research** | | **Google PAA** | People Also Ask and Related Searches; high-value signals from real user behavior | | **Extract from article** | When auditing existing content: extract seed keywords from title, H1, H2s, meta keywords, first 100 words; then search `"[primary keyword]"` or `"[primary keyword] related keywords"` for opportunities; use `"[primary keyword]" site:competitor.com` if competitors known | ### Google Autocomplete (Long-Tail Discovery) Google autocomplete reflects real user searches; suggestions only appear if queries have actual traffic. Free; often uncovers low-volume long-tail that keyword tools miss. ~70% of search traffic is long-tail; lower competition, higher conversion. **Alphabet method** (seed + space + letter): - Type seed keyword + space + each letter: `keyword a`, `keyword b`, ... `keyword z` - Record relevant suggestions; repeat with numbers 0-9 - Example: `SEO a` -> "SEO audit," "SEO agency"; `SEO b` -> "SEO basics," "SEO best practices" **Position variants** (seed in different positions): - **Prefix**: `a keyword`, `b keyword` (discover what users add before) - **Suffix**: `keyword a`, `keyword b` (most common; alphabet method) - **Middle**: `how to keyword a`, `best keyword for` (question + modifier combos) **Question modifiers**: - `how to keyword`, `what is keyword`, `why keyword`, `when to keyword`, `keyword vs` - `keyword for beginners`, `keyword for small business`, `keyword without` **Why it works**: Keyword tools filter low-volume terms; autocomplete only shows queries with real traffic. Use with PAA and Related Searches for full coverage. Categorize results by intent (informational, commercial, transactional). ### Incremental Discovery - **User feedback**: Support, community, reviews, NPS—high-frequency questions = unmet search demand - **Multi-platform search**: Reddit, Quora, X (Twitter), Hacker News—real questions and discussions ## Search Intent | Intent | Content type | Example | |--------|--------------|---------| | **Informational** | Blog, guide, FAQ | "how to optimize sitemap" | | **Navigational** | Brand page | "alignify login" | | **Commercial** | Comparison, review | "S