SEO Keyword Research & SERP Analysis

Perform comprehensive keyword research using DataForSEO MCP tools. Outputs a structured keyword data file for use by seo-outline and seo-write skills.

Reference

Read ../../references/dataforseo-workflows.md (relative to this skill's base directory) for exact tool parameters and sequences.

Inputs

1. Seed keyword(s) — provided by user
2. Brand voice — read docs/seo/brand-voice.md for niche context
3. Topical clusters — read docs/seo/topical-clusters.md (if exists) to understand pillar context, related posts, and strategic role
4. Article directory — user specifies docs/seo/<slug>/ or the skill infers it from the seed keyword
5. Target market — default US (location_code: 2840, language_code: "en"); ask if different

Article Directory Convention

All per-article files live in docs/seo/<slug>/. If the user provides a slug or article directory, use it. Otherwise, derive from the seed keyword (lowercase, hyphenated, 3-5 words). If a prompt.md already exists in the directory (from /seo-research), that confirms the correct directory.

Process

Step 1 — Seed Expansion (run in parallel)

Use keyword_suggestions AND keyword_ideas with the seed keyword(s).

• Location: 2840 (US default)
• Limit: 50 each
• Merge results, deduplicate by keyword string

Step 2 — Intent Classification

Use search_intent on the merged keyword list (max 100).

Filter rules:

• KEEP: informational, commercial_investigation
• FLAG: transactional (may be better as product/landing page, not blog)
• DROP: navigational (skip for blog content)

Step 3 — Difficulty Assessment

Use bulk_keyword_difficulty on filtered keywords.

Categorize and advise:

KD Range	Label	Guidance
0-30	Easy	Good target for any domain
31-50	Medium	Target for domains with some authority
51-70	Hard	Need strong backlink strategy
71+	Very hard	Skip unless domain has high DA; suggest alternatives

If primary keyword is KD > 70, proactively suggest lower-difficulty alternatives from the expanded list.

Step 4 — Detailed Validation

Use keyword_overview on the top 20 candidates.

Extract: search_volume, cpc, competition_level, clickstream data.

Reject if:

• Search volume < 50/mo for B2B topics
• Search volume < 500/mo for B2C topics
• CPC = 0 AND competition = 0 (likely no commercial value)

Step 5 — Trend Check

Use dfs_trends_explore for the primary keyword and top 3 secondaries.

• Date range: last 12 months
• Reject if declining > 30% over 12 months
• Flag seasonal patterns (note peak months)
• Highlight rising trends (> 20% growth)

Step 6 — SERP Analysis

Use serp_organic_live_advanced for the primary keyword.

• Depth: 10 (top 10 results)
• Device: desktop

For each of the top 5 results, use on_page_content_parsing to extract:

• Heading structure (H1, H2, H3)
• Word count
• Internal/external link count

Use backlinks_summary for each top 5 URL to get referring domain count.

Step 7 — Competitor Gap Analysis (if competitors known)

If brand-voice.md lists competitors, use domain_intersection to find keywords they rank for that you don't.

Also use related_keywords and serp_competitors to identify additional opportunities.

Use relevant_pages to check if your domain already has a page that could rank (update vs. create new).

Output

Write results to docs/seo/<slug>/keyword-data.md:

# Keyword Research: {{Primary Keyword}}

**Date**: {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
**Market**: {{US/UK/etc}} | **Seed**: {{original seed keyword}}

## Primary Keyword

| Metric             | Value                               |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------- |
| Keyword            | {{keyword}}                         |
| Search Volume      | {{monthly}}                         |
| Keyword Difficulty | {{KD score}} ({{Easy/Medium/Hard}}) |
| CPC                | ${{value}}                          |
| Intent             | {{informational/commercial}}        |
| Trend              | {{Rising/Stable/Declining}}         |

**Rationale**: {{Why this keyword was selected as primary}}

## Secondary Keywords

Map to planned H2 headings:

| Keyword | Volume  | KD     | Intent     | Target H2   |
| ------- | ------- | ------ | ---------- | ----------- |
| {{kw1}} | {{vol}} | {{kd}} | {{intent}} | {{heading}} |
| ...     |         |        |            |             |

## LSI / Related Terms

For natural distribution in body text:

| Term      | Relevance       |
| --------- | --------------- |
| {{term1}} | {{High/Medium}} |
| ...       |                 |

## SERP Features

| Feature          | Present?   |
| ---------------- | ---------- |
| Featured Snippet | {{Yes/No}} |
| People Also Ask  | {{Yes/No}} |
| Video Results    | {{Yes/No}} |
| Image Pack       | {{Yes/No}} |
| Knowledge Panel  | {{Yes/No}} |

## Top 5 Competitor Analysis

| #   | URL     | Word Count | H2 Count | Referring Domains |
| --- | ------- | ---------- | -------- | ----------------- |
| 1   | {{url}} | {{wc}}     | {{h2s}}  | {{rd}}            |
| ... |         |            |          |                   |

### Common Heading Structure

{{List the H2 headings that appear across multiple top results}}

## Content Gap Opportunities

{{Topics/angles that top results miss or cover poorly}}

## Backlink Benchmark

- Median referring domains (top 5): {{N}}
- Minimum to compete: {{estimated}}

## Recommendations

- **Content type**: {{Comprehensive guide / How-to / List post / Comparison}}
- **Target word count**: {{range based on competitor analysis}}
- **Difficulty assessment**: {{Achievable/Challenging/Long-term play}}
- **Featured snippet opportunity**: {{Yes/No — format to target}}

Decision Framework

Present these alerts prominently:

• KD > 70: "This keyword is very competitive. Consider '{{alternative}}' (KD: {{N}}, Volume: {{N}}) as a more achievable target."
• Volume < 50/mo (B2B): "Low search volume. Viable as a supporting topic in a content cluster, but unlikely to drive significant traffic alone."
• Declining trend: "This keyword's search interest has declined {{N}}% over the past 12 months. Consider whether the topic is still relevant."
• No SERP features: "No featured snippet or PAA present — harder to stand out, but also less crowded."
• Existing page found: "Your domain already has {{URL}} ranking at position {{N}} for related terms. Consider updating that page instead of creating new content."