88 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
# Keyword Research & Competitive Analysis
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## Keyword Research Process
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1. **Seed keywords** — Start with obvious terms for the topic
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2. **Expand** — Find related terms, questions, long-tail variations
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3. **Analyze** — Check search volume, difficulty, intent
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4. **Prioritize** — Balance volume, difficulty, and business value
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5. **Map** — Assign keywords to pages (one primary per page)
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## Keyword Metrics
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| Metric | What It Means | Action |
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|--------|---------------|--------|
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| Search volume | Monthly searches | Higher = more potential traffic |
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| Keyword difficulty | Competition level | Higher = harder to rank |
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| CPC | Ad cost per click | Higher = more commercial value |
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| SERP features | Snippets, maps, images | Affects CTR potential |
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## Keyword Types
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**By intent:**
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- Informational: "how to", "what is", "guide"
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- Navigational: brand names, specific sites
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- Transactional: "buy", "price", "discount", "best"
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- Commercial: "vs", "review", "alternative"
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**By length:**
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- Head terms: 1-2 words, high volume, high competition
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- Long-tail: 3+ words, lower volume, easier to rank, higher conversion
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## Competitive Analysis
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### What to Analyze
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1. **Who ranks** — Top 10 for target keywords
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2. **What they cover** — Topics, subtopics, depth
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3. **How they structure** — Format, headings, media
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4. **Where they link** — Internal and external links
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5. **Why they rank** — Authority, content quality, technical
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### Gap Analysis
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Find opportunities competitors miss:
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- Topics they don't cover
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- Questions they don't answer
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- Formats they don't use (video, tools, calculators)
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- Depth they lack
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### Content Comparison
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| Factor | Competitor A | Competitor B | Your Content |
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|--------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
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| Word count | | | |
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| Subtopics covered | | | |
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| Media (images, video) | | | |
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| Freshness | | | |
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| E-E-A-T signals | | | |
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## Keyword Mapping
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One primary keyword per page. Related keywords support the primary.
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```
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/page-url/
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├── Primary: main target keyword
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├── Secondary: related keyword 1, related keyword 2
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└── LSI: semantically related terms
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```
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## Tracking
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Track rankings over time:
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- Weekly for competitive terms
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- Monthly for long-tail
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- Note algorithm updates that affect rankings
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## Tools
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Free options:
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- Google Search Console — actual queries driving traffic
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- Google Trends — relative search interest
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- Google autocomplete — real user queries
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- People Also Ask — question-based keywords
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- Related searches — bottom of SERP
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The skill does keyword research without external tools by analyzing SERPs and using public Google data.
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