Keyword Research & Clustering Research keywords, expand them systematically, cluster by topic and intent, and prioritize for content strategy — all without expensive tools. Required Input Ask the user for: Niche/Industry — What space are you in? Target Audience — Who are you writing for? Business Goal — Traffic, leads, sales, authority? Existing Content — Do you have a site/blog already? The 6 Circles Method Generate 13 content ideas from a single seed keyword using nested topic clusters. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ PRIMARY KEYWORD │ ← 1 pillar topic │ (Largest Circle) │ └─────────────────────┘ │ ┌─────────────────┼─────────────────┐ ▼ ▼ ▼ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │ Sub-topic │ │ Sub-topic │ │ Sub-topic │ ← 3 supporting themes │ A │ │ B │ │ C │ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ │ │ │ ┌─────┼─────┐ ┌─────┼─────┐ ┌─────┼─────┐ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] ← 9 content pieces Process: Identify primary keyword — high-traffic, high-intent topic in your niche Brainstorm 3 sub-topics — related themes that support the primary Generate 3 pieces per sub-topic — specific articles addressing aspects of each Content Types for Supporting Pieces Type Example How-to Guide "How to [achieve outcome] with [method]" Comparison "[Option A] vs [Option B]: Which is better for [use case]" List Post "[Number] [adjective] ways to [achieve result]" Case Study "How [persona] achieved [result] using [approach]" Trend Analysis "[Topic] trends in [year]: What's changing" Beginner Guide "[Topic] for beginners: Everything you need to know" Tool Review "Best [category] tools for [audience/use case]" Problem-Solution "Why [problem happens] and how to fix it" Seed Generation (50–100 Keywords) Google Autocomplete & PAA Type [keyword] + a–z variations "how to [keyword]", "best [keyword] for", "[keyword] vs" Capture People Also Ask questions from SERP Community Mining Source What to Extract Reddit Pain points, questions, terminology Quora Question patterns, answer gaps Industry Forums Niche-specific problems YouTube Comments Objections, confusion points Amazon Reviews Customer language, unmet needs Reddit Mining Protocol Search queries: site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "how do I" site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "help" site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "struggling with" site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "recommend" site:reddit.com "[niche]" + "vs" Extract: Questions asked repeatedly (content opportunities), complaints about existing solutions (angle differentiation), terminology and slang (keyword variations), upvote patterns (demand signals). Keyword Expansion Techniques Modifier Categories Question modifiers: What is {keyword} / How to {keyword} / Why {keyword} / When to {keyword} Comparative modifiers: {keyword} vs {competitor} / {keyword} alternatives / best {keyword} / {keyword} comparison Intent modifiers: {keyword} guide / {keyword} tutorial / {keyword} examples / {keyword} template / buy {keyword} / {keyword} pricing Audience modifiers: {keyword} for beginners / {keyword} for {industry} / {keyword} for small business / {keyword} for enterprise Expansion Procedure Extract current topic scope and any exclusions Propose expansions: synonyms, related terms, acronyms Add explicit exclusions for common false positives Document "why" for each change Keep query count manageable — merge near-duplicates instead of adding many variations Free Tool Arsenal Demand Research Tool Use For Access Google Keyword Planner Volume ranges, competition ads.google.com (free account) Google Trends Seasonality, rising topics trends.google.com Ahrefs Free Generator 150 suggestions with difficulty ahrefs.com/keyword-generator Ubersuggest 3 searches/day with metrics neilpatel.com/ubersuggest Intent Discovery Tool Use For Access Google Autocomplete Real-time user queries Type in search bar People Also Ask Question-based content Scroll down in SERP Answer the Public Visual question maps answerthepublic.com AlsoAsked PAA clustering alsoasked.com Competition Assessment (Manual SERP Analysis) For each target keyword, analyze top 10 results: Signal What to Look For Opportunity If... Content Depth Word count, comprehensiveness Top results are thin (<1000 words) Freshness Publication date, last update Top results are 2+ years old Format Match Does format match intent? Results don't match searcher need Authority Gap Domain strength of rankers Small sites ranking (not all big brands) Content Gaps Missing subtopics, unanswered questions PAA questions not covered Sweet Spot Targets by Site Stage Site Stage Monthly Search Volume Competition Level New site (0–6 months) 100–500 Low Growing site (6–18 months) 500–2,000 Low–Medium Established site (18+ months) 1,000–10,000 Medium Clustering Algorithm Extract seed topics — Identify main themes from expanded list Group by semantic similarity — Keywords with overlapping meaning Map intent — Assign Informational / Commercial / Transactional / Navigational Identify pillar — Highest-volume, broadest term = pillar page Map supporting — Lower-volume terms support pillar Cluster Structure Example PILLAR: "content marketing" (highest volume) ├── CLUSTER: "content marketing strategy" (commercial) │ ├── content marketing plan template │ ├── content marketing framework │ └── how to create content marketing strategy ├── CLUSTER: "content marketing examples" (informational) │ ├── B2B content marketing examples │ ├── content marketing case studies │ └── content marketing success stories └── CLUSTER: "content marketing tools" (commercial) ├── best content marketing tools ├── content marketing software └── content marketing platforms Intent Classification Signal Intent "what is", "how to", "guide" Informational "best", "vs", "review", "compare" Commercial "buy", "price", "discount", brand Transactional Brand name, specific product Navigational Prioritization Matrix Score each keyword 1–10: Keyword Demand Competition Intent Fit Opportunity [keyword] [1–10] [1–10, lower=easier] [1–10] Demand − Competition Prioritize: Opportunity score > 3, Intent fit > 6 Output Format

Keyword Research: [Niche/Topic]

6 Circles Content Plan

Primary Keyword: [keyword]

Monthly searches: [range]

Competition: [low/medium/high]

Intent: [informational/commercial/transactional]

Sub-topic A: [theme] 1. [Article idea] — [target keyword] — [volume] 2. [Article idea] — [target keyword] — [volume] 3. [Article idea] — [target keyword] — [volume]

Sub-topic B: [theme] 4–6. [...]

Sub-topic C: [theme] 7–9. [...]

Prioritized Content Queue | Priority | Topic | Keyword | Volume | Difficulty | Opportunity | |

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| | 1 | [topic] | [keyword] | [vol] | [1–10] | [score] |

Quick Wins (Low Competition, Decent Volume)

[keyword 1] — [rationale]

[keyword 2] — [rationale]

Content Gaps Found

[gap 1] — competitors missing [what]

[gap 2] — outdated content on [topic]

Community Insights

Top pain point: [description]

Common question: [question]

Terminology used: [terms]