What information can guide keyword and content strategy?

To plan a keyword and content strategy, consider reader needs, search intent, long-tail and related keywords, competitor information, and estimates of search volume, keyword difficulty, and advertising costs together. These help you determine what to write, which format to use to answer readers’ questions, and which topics to prioritize. Tool data can guide planning, but it does not guarantee traffic or sales. Keywords used by competitors are not necessarily suitable for your own website.

Define the scope of a topic around the answers readers need

Anu Goyal on Warrior Forum recommends providing the information visitors need through original content, using specific keywords and relevant place names. This is forum advice, not an official search engine rule. It serves as a reminder to choose keywords with the intended audience and the purpose of the content in mind.

Interviews published by Tenten in 2019 also discussed researching long-tail keywords, synonyms, and related terms, as well as inviting experts to comment or be interviewed. These approaches can help identify more detailed questions to answer within a topic. When presenting expert opinions, explain the circumstances in which they apply rather than treating them as universal conclusions.

In our content work at Procrustes, we turn the questions customers genuinely care about into articles and continue to plan, write, and update that content.

Use search intent to determine what the content should accomplish

Semrush divides search intent into four categories. These can serve as a starting point for content planning, but they remain interpretations of searchers’ goals:

• Navigational: Looking for a specific website or page.
• Informational: Seeking to understand a topic; explanatory or how-to content may be appropriate.
• Commercial investigation: Gathering information before a purchase; comparisons and selection guides may be appropriate.
• Transactional: Seeking to complete an action such as a purchase; check whether the corresponding page can meet that need.

Whether search results include features such as featured snippets can also help you choose content formats and plan advertising. However, the appearance of a particular search feature does not guarantee visibility for your content.

Use competitor information to find candidate keywords, not to copy competitors’ strategies

Semrush explains how to find relevant keyword ideas from competing websites and what to learn from competitors’ ad copy and estimated spending on keywords. Keyword ideas help expand your topic options, while ad copy and spending estimates offer clues about how competitors present their selling points and how much they may be investing in advertising.

These keywords may not suit your website, so check whether they align with your products, services, and audience. In particular, estimated spending is not the same as competitors’ actual spending, nor does it show that their advertising is effective.

Weigh traffic opportunities, costs, and performance goals when setting priorities

Search volume can indicate the scale of demand. Site-specific keyword difficulty metrics can help assess organic search competition, while cost per click can be weighed against your advertising budget. If search volume is provided only as a broad range, traffic and budget projections will also carry greater uncertainty. Clicks, conversions, and costs in advertising forecasts should likewise be treated as estimates.

The 2019 Tenten interviews also suggested setting key performance indicators based on each client’s circumstances, evaluating landing pages, and tracking conversions. When prioritizing topics, you therefore need not focus solely on attracting more traffic. You can also check whether proposed content supports established goals and decide which metrics to use to assess results.