Keyword discovery

Skill RadOrigin-LLC/RAD-Claude-Skills/plugins/rad-seo-optimizer/skills/keyword-discovery

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Install

npx -y skills add RadOrigin-LLC/RAD-Claude-Skills --skill keyword-discovery

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Keyword research, find keywords, what keywords should I target, keyword analysis. Covers seed discovery, expansion, intent classification, qualitative difficulty assessment, and topic clustering. Produces 150-300 prioritized keywords. Does NOT return numerical search volumes or difficulty scores — those require a keyword-data MCP (DataForSEO / Ahrefs / Semrush — Path B). Instead, uses observable SERP signals for relative assessment.

SKILL.md

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Keyword Discovery Skill

Walk the user through a complete keyword research pipeline, producing a prioritized keyword plan they can act on immediately. Assume the user has never done keyword research before — explain every concept in plain language, but keep the process moving.

Cross-model note

Works identically on current Opus / Sonnet / Haiku models. Expansion + intent classification + clustering all benefit from batch parallelism where per-keyword work is independent.

Execution: parallel-first

Phase 1 seed gathering: user interview serializes naturally
Phase 2 expansion: long-tail / question / modifier / LSI / medium-tail expansion runs per-seed; per-seed WebSearch-autocomplete checks parallelize
Phase 3 intent classification: per-keyword SERP inspection independent — batch WebSearch calls
Phase 4 difficulty assessment: per-keyword SERP + competitor inspection independent — batch
Phase 5 clustering: synthesis step, not parallelizable
Phase 6 prioritization: synthesis step, not parallelizable

Capability Honesty

Read references/CAPABILITIES.md. Key constraints:

Real search volume numbers (e.g., "1,200 searches/month") require a keyword-data API — Path B
Real keyword difficulty scores (e.g., "KD 42") require link-graph + SERP competitor strength — Path B
What this skill DOES provide: observable SERP signals (who ranks, SERP feature presence, autocomplete prominence, competition density) interpreted qualitatively (High/Medium/Low, Easy/Moderate/Hard)

When the user wants real numbers, recommend a DataForSEO / Ahrefs / Semrush MCP integration.

Mode Flags

--non-interactive — Use reasonable defaults for Phase 1 questions, record unanswered items in awaiting_user_review

Overview

Six phases in order:

Seed Keyword Discovery — gather raw inputs
Keyword Expansion — broaden the list
Search Intent Classification — tag every keyword
Qualitative Difficulty Assessment — observable competition signals
Topic Cluster Mapping — organize into hierarchy
Prioritization — produce ranked action plan

Work through each phase sequentially. Present findings after each phase before moving on.

Phase 1: Seed Keyword Discovery

Gather Context

Before generating a single keyword, ask:

Business basics — What does the business do? Products / services?
Target audience — Ideal customers? Language / jargon they use?
Top 3 competitors — Up to three main rivals (URLs or brands)
Existing keywords — Already targeting any? List them, or "none"

Seed Sources

Mine seeds from every source below:

Source	What to extract
Business context	Industry terms, product names, service categories, brand modifiers
Competitor analysis	Terms competitors rank for (from WebSearch of competitor sites); recurring themes in their title tags, H1s, meta descriptions
Customer language	Phrases from support tickets, reviews, forum posts, testimonials — words customers use, not marketing copy
Question mining	Questions from Reddit, Quora, "People Also Ask" boxes (observable via WebSearch)
Google autocomplete	Type each seed + capture suggested completions; same for YouTube + Amazon if relevant
Internal site search	If available, top queries visitors type on-site

Deliver as a numbered table. Aim for 30-50 seed keywords before moving on.

Phase 2: Keyword Expansion

Expand each seed using four strategies. Go from ~40 seeds to 150-300 candidate keywords.

2a. Long-Tail Variations (3-5 word phrases)

Add specificity. Long-tail keywords convert better because they match precise needs.

2b. Question-Based Keywords

Prepend: who, what, when, where, why, how.

2c. Modifier Keywords

Best / Top / Review / Comparison / vs — commercial intent
Alternative / Cheap / Free — budget-conscious buyers
Near me / [City] — local intent
Template / Example / Checklist — resource seekers
For beginners / For enterprises / For [audience] — audience fit

2d. LSI / Semantic Keywords

Related terms that appear alongside the seed in top-ranking content.

2e. Medium-Tail Keywords

"Sweet spot" — 2-3 words, moderate competition. Often fastest wins.

Group the expanded list by strategy so the user can see where each keyword came from.

Phase 3: Search Intent Classification

Every keyword gets exactly one intent tag.

Intent Types

Intent	Signal words	What Google shows
Informational	how to, what is, guide, tutorial, why, tips	Blog posts, Wikipedia, knowledge panels, videos
Commercial	best, top, review, comparison, vs, alternative	Listicles, review sites, comparison tables
Transactional	buy, price, discount, coupon, sign up, download	Shopping results, product pages, pricing pages
Navigational	[brand name], login, support, contact, app	Official site, login, app store

How to Classify

Look at the actual SERP (WebSearch):

Shopping carousel / product ads → Transactional
Video pack or PAA → likely Informational
Comparison articles dominate → Commercial
Single brand dominates positions 1-3 → Navigational

Mixed intent → label dominant, note secondary.

Add an "Intent" column to the keyword table.

Phase 4: Qualitative Difficulty Assessment

Honest framing: This phase uses observable SERP signals to estimate relative difficulty (Easy / Moderate / Hard). It does NOT produce numerical difficulty scores. For real Keyword Difficulty metrics, integrate a DataForSEO / Ahrefs / Semrush MCP (Path B).

Factors to Evaluate (per target keyword, batch WebSearch)

Factor	Easy signal	Hard signal
Who ranks now	Forums, small blogs, thin content	Major brands, .gov, Wikipedia
Content format	Short articles, outdated posts	In-depth guides, interactive tools
SERP features	Featured snippet available	Knowledge panel from Wikipedia
Commercial value	No ads = lower commercial value	Heavy ads = lucrative but competitive
Domain diversity	10 different domains on p1	3 domains own 7 results
Content age	Many results from 3+ years ago	All results from last 6 months

Difficulty Scale (qualitative)

Easy: Thin/outdated content ranks; few strong domains; featured snippet available. Well-written article can rank in weeks.
Moderate: Mix of strong and weak pages; requires comprehensive content + some backlinks. Expect 2-6 months.
Hard: P1 is all high-authority with deep content. Requires significant authority, backlinks, time (6-12+ months).

Add "Difficulty" and "Observed Opportunity" columns:

#  | Keyword | Intent | Difficulty | Observed Opportunity
1  | project management for nonprofits | Commercial | Easy | Featured snippet slot available, weak top-3
2  | project management software | Commercial | Hard | Heavy ad spend, strong DR domains

Volume Signal (qualitative, not numerical)

Use observable signals to estimate relative volume:

High signal: prominent autocomplete, multiple SERP features, heavy ad coverage
Medium signal: autocomplete present, some SERP features
Low signal: no autocomplete, thin SERP, no ads

Do NOT invent "monthly search volume" numbers. Mark relative volume as High/Medium/Low.

Phase 5: Topic Cluster Mapping

Organize keywords into a content hierarchy.

Hierarchy

Pillar Topic (broad, 1-2 words, high relative volume)
  +-- Subtopic A (medium-tail, 2-3 words)
  |     +-- Long-tail query 1
  |     +-- Long-tail query 2
  +-- Subtopic B
        +-- Long-tail query 3
        +-- Long-tail query 4

How to Build Clusters

Identify pillars — broadest, highest-relative-volume terms → comprehensive pillar pages (2,000-4,000 words)
Group subtopics — medium-tail as subtopics → supporting articles (1,000-2,000 words)
Attach long-tail — become sections within subtopic articles, standalone FAQ entries, or short posts
Map internal links — every subtopic links up to pillar; pillar links down to every subtopic; subtopics in same cluster link to each other where relevant

Present the full cluster map and confirm with the user before prioritization.

Phase 6: Prioritization

Scoring Criteria (qualitative)

Criterion	Scale	Description
Business relevance	1-10	How closely does this keyword relate to the product/service?
Volume signal (relative)	High / Medium / Low	From observable SERP signals — NOT numerical volume
Competition level	Easy / Moderate / Hard	From Phase 4
Content gap	Yes / No	Does the site already have content targeting this?
Estimated effort	Low / Medium / High	Time + resources to create ranking content

The Three Lists

1. Top 10 Quick Wins

Keywords where content already exists (or is easy to create), competition signals easy, rank in weeks.

2. Top 10 Strategic Targets

High-relevance with moderate competition. Dedicated content + some link building. Expect results in 2-6 months.

3. Top 10 Long-Term Plays

High-competition, high-reward. Build toward these by first ranking for easier related keywords.

Content Type Recommendations

Content Type	When to use
Blog post	Informational long-tail, how-tos
Landing page	Transactional, product comparisons
Comprehensive guide	Pillar topics, informational medium-tail
Tool or calculator	"Calculator", "template", "generator" queries
Video	"How to" queries where Google shows video results
FAQ section	Question-based long-tail
Case study	"[Industry] + results/example"

The 70/20/10 Content Mix

70% Foundation — how-to guides, tutorials, listicles, FAQ. Safe, proven formats. Start here.
20% Growth — original research, data-driven posts, expert roundups, detailed comparisons. Higher effort, differentiates.
10% Moonshots — interactive tools, contrarian pieces, original frameworks, viral-potential content. Most underperform but wins are outsized.

Tag each content calendar entry with its mix category.

Delivery Checklist

Tone and Style

Plain language. Define jargon first time used.
Specific actions. "Write a blog post" is not actionable. "Write a 2,000-word comparison of X vs Y targeting commercial intent" is.
Tables for any list > 5 items.
Summary after each phase.
When lacking real search volume data, say so honestly and use relative estimates based on observable signals.