How can you efficiently choose keywords and build a keyword list?

To choose keywords efficiently, start with seed keywords relevant to your business and use them to expand a list of candidate terms. Filter the list by business relevance, search intent, search volume, and organic search competition, then organize primary and secondary keywords by topic. Save time by making data collection and organization more efficient, not by skipping human judgment. Tool-generated keywords are only candidates: you still need to check that they fit your audience’s needs and content goals. (S1, S4, S5)

Find seed keywords in your products and customer questions

Seed keywords are broad terms related to your field. Use them to generate search term suggestions, then keep those particularly relevant to your business. Look beyond the product names used internally at your company and consider these sources: (S1, S4)

• Your products or services and their core features.
• Questions customers ask about your products or services.
• The language customers use when speaking with product, sales, and customer service teams.

At Procrustes, we turn questions that genuinely matter to customers into articles, with ongoing content planning, writing, and updates.

The wording a business uses may not be what its audience commonly searches for. In a 2019 discussion with practitioners, Semrush compared dealers’ preferred term, “pre-owned vehicles,” with consumers’ term, “used cars.” This example is a reminder to check the terms your audience actually uses. Do not assume that the search volume gap at the time still applies today or in other markets. (S4)

Understand search intent before comparing data

A keyword’s high search volume does not necessarily make it a priority. Semrush’s analysis process considers search popularity, organic search competition, and search intent together. Understanding intent helps you identify what content users expect and how close they are to making a purchase. (S1)

• Informational: Users want to learn about or understand something.
• Navigational: Users want to find a specific website or page.
• Commercial investigation: Users are researching and comparing options before purchasing.
• Transactional: Users are ready to complete an action, such as a purchase.

When filtering keywords, first ask, “Is this term relevant to the business? What content do people searching for it need?” Then compare search volume and competition. Businesses have different goals and audiences, so a single metric cannot determine the priority of every keyword. (S1, S4)

Organize candidate keywords into a working list by topic

Once you have identified suitable primary keywords, save them in one list and give it a clear name. Then find secondary keywords and group the terms by topic. Semrush’s 2024 guide uses this approach. The point is to see which keywords belong to the same topic, rather than simply accumulate terms. (S5)

You can also consider the customer lifecycle as you organize keywords, handling keyword research, audience targeting, and content planning together to avoid duplicated work. This practical suggestion came from the 2019 discussion; it is not an official search engine rule. (S4)

Automate data compilation, but keep human review

If you already have forum post titles and their context, you can follow the approach demonstrated in a 2025 Semrush article: give AI a CSV file containing that information and ask it to identify pain points and generate clearly relevant keywords without duplicates. Then check whether the output’s format and content make sense.

This can help expand a candidate list, but it cannot replace the filtering described above. One participant in the 2019 discussion also argued that you still need to invest time in initial research. Another was more cautious about automated research, preferring to compile data first and review it manually. (S4, S8)