Keyword Research & Clustering

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:

Niche/Industry — What space are you in?
Target Audience — Who are you writing for?
Business Goal — Traffic, leads, sales, authority?
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:

Identify primary keyword — high-traffic, high-intent topic in your niche
Brainstorm 3 sub-topics — related themes that support the primary
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

Extract current topic scope and any exclusions
Propose expansions: synonyms, related terms, acronyms
Add explicit exclusions for common false positives
Document "why" for each change
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

Extract seed topics — Identify main themes from expanded list
Group by semantic similarity — Keywords with overlapping meaning
Map intent — Assign Informational / Commercial / Transactional / Navigational
Identify pillar — Highest-volume, broadest term = pillar page
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:

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

Prioritize: Opportunity score > 3, Intent fit > 6

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]

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

keyword-research-and-clustering