SOP 002: Keyword Research
Overview
Keyword research determines what content to create. You need:
- High-volume commercial keywords - For monetization
- Low-competition informational keywords - For quick traffic wins
Free Methods
1. Answer The Public
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| answerthepublic.com |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Input: "portable generators" |
| |
| Output: 46+ topic ideas |
| - can portable generators get wet |
| - which portable generators are the best |
| - how to start a portable generator |
| - portable generators vs inverter |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+2. People Also Ask (PAA)
- Google your main keyword
- Find the "People Also Ask" section
- Click each question to expand more questions
- Use SEO Minion Chrome extension to export all
bash
# SEO Minion Settings
PAA Levels: 6 # Clicks to expand 6 times
Export: CSV # Download to spreadsheet3. Google Autosuggest
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Type keyword, place cursor at FRONT: |
| |
| [_] portable generators |
| - best portable generators |
| - cheap portable generators |
| - quiet portable generators |
| |
| Type keyword, place cursor at END: |
| |
| portable generators [_] |
| - portable generators for camping |
| - portable generators home depot |
| - portable generators for RV |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+4. Related Searches
Scroll to bottom of Google results for more keyword ideas.
Paid Methods (Ahrefs)
Method 1: Competitor Reverse Engineering
- Paste competitor URL into Site Explorer
- Go to Organic Keywords report
- Export all keywords they rank for
- Repeat for 3-4 competitors
Method 2: Content Explorer
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Ahrefs Content Explorer |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Search: "camping" (high-level topic) |
| |
| Filters: |
| - Traffic: 500+ monthly |
| - Referring Domains: 0-10 |
| - Domain Rating: 0-30 |
| |
| Result: Low-hanging fruit keywords weak sites rank for |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+Keyword Categorization
Organize keywords by intent:
| Type | Example | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial | "best portable generator" | High (monetize) |
| Comparison | "Honda vs Champion generator" | High (monetize) |
| Informational | "how to start a generator" | Medium (traffic) |
| Navigation | "Honda generator manual" | Low (skip) |
Keyword Spreadsheet Template
| Keyword | Volume | KD | Intent | Priority | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| best portable generator | 12,000 | 45 | Commercial | High | Planned |
| generator for camping | 3,200 | 22 | Commercial | High | Planned |
| can generators get wet | 890 | 8 | Informational | Medium | Written |
Verification Checklist
- [ ] Generated 100+ keyword ideas
- [ ] Categorized by search intent
- [ ] Identified 10+ commercial keywords for monetization
- [ ] Found 20+ low-competition keywords for quick wins
- [ ] Prioritized first 25 articles to write
See Also
- 003 - Content Creation - Write content for your keywords
- Tools Reference - Ahrefs, SEO Minion setup