Keyword Research Skill
Overview
Keyword Research identifies what your audience searches for. This skill teaches the 6 Circles Method to find keywords aligned with your positioning.
Keywords: keyword research, SEO keywords, search volume, keyword strategy, content planning, search intent, keyword analysis
Core Methodology
The 6 Circles Method finds keywords at the intersection of:
- Aligned with your positioning — Keywords that match your angle
- Your customer's language — How they actually search
- Avoiding competitor blind spots — Keywords competitors ignore
- Good search volume — People actually search for these
- You can write about — You have expertise or perspective
- Drive business results — Keywords that convert
The 6 Circles Method
Circle 1: Positioning Alignment
Start with keywords aligned with your positioning angle.
Example: If your positioning is "The project management tool for remote teams," your keywords should be about remote work, distributed teams, async communication.
Not: General project management keywords that competitors dominate.
Circle 2: Customer Language
Use the language your customers actually use, not industry jargon.
Example: If your customers say "remote work tools," don't target "distributed workforce management solutions."
How to find: Review customer conversations, support tickets, social media comments.
Circle 3: Competitor Blind Spots
Find keywords competitors ignore or underestimate.
Example: If competitors target "project management software," target "project management for remote teams" or "async project management."
How to find: Analyze competitor content. What keywords do they NOT target?
Circle 4: Search Volume
Find keywords with meaningful search volume (100+ searches/month).
Example: "Project management" (100k+ searches) is too competitive. "Project management for remote teams" (1k searches) is better.
Rule: Target keywords with 100-10,000 searches/month for fastest ranking.
Circle 5: Your Expertise
Only target keywords you can write about better than competitors.
Example: If you're a remote work expert, target "remote work" keywords. If you're a productivity expert, target "productivity" keywords.
Not: Keywords outside your expertise.
Circle 6: Business Results
Target keywords that drive revenue, not just traffic.
Example: "How to manage remote teams" drives leads. "Remote work statistics" drives traffic but not leads.
Focus: Keywords with commercial intent.
How to Use This Skill
- List Your Positioning Keywords — What keywords align with your positioning?
- Add Customer Language — How do customers search for this?
- Find Competitor Gaps — What keywords do competitors miss?
- Check Search Volume — Which keywords have 100-10,000 searches/month?
- Verify Your Expertise — Can you write better content than competitors?
- Confirm Business Intent — Will these keywords drive revenue?
Keyword Clusters
Organize keywords into clusters:
Cluster: Remote Team Management
- remote team management
- how to manage remote teams
- remote team communication
- distributed team tools
- async team managementIntegration with Other Skills
Keyword Research works with:
- SEO Content — Your keywords guide what to write about
- Content Atomizer — Your keywords inform repurposing strategy
- Positioning Angles — Your positioning guides keyword selection
Common Pitfalls
Too Competitive — Targeting keywords with 100k+ searches. Too Niche — Targeting keywords with <100 searches/month. No Business Intent — Targeting keywords that don't drive revenue. Outside Your Expertise — Targeting keywords you can't write about better.
Next Steps
Once you've identified your keywords, move to Skill 06: SEO Content to create ranking content.