beginner14-20 credits2-3 minutes with AI6 steps

Keyword Research and Validation

Expand seed keywords into a prioritized list with volume, difficulty, and SERP validation. This workflow takes a few starting ideas and turns them into a data-backed keyword strategy with clear priorities.

When to use this workflow

•You are planning new content and need keyword targets
•You want to validate whether a topic has enough search demand
•You are building a content calendar and need to prioritize topics
•A client asked for keyword recommendations for their industry

Prerequisites

•2-5 seed keywords related to your topic or business
•Your target country (defaults to United States if not specified)
•An idea of your site's domain authority for difficulty filtering

Example prompt to get started

“I run a project management SaaS. Research keywords around "project management software" — I need a prioritized list of 20-30 keywords I can realistically rank for.”

Paste this into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected AI assistant with DFY Hub SEO tools enabled.

Step-by-step workflow (6 steps, ~10 credits)

Expand seed keywords into ideas

Keyword Ideas Generator2 credits

Generate keyword ideas from your seed terms. This uses organic ranking data to find keywords related to your seeds that real websites rank for.

What to look for

✓Total number of ideas returned — fewer than 20 means your seeds are too niche
✓Keywords with question modifiers (how, what, why) — great for blog content
✓Long-tail variations (3+ words) with lower competition — easier wins

Get search volume and CPC data

Keyword Search Volume1 credit

Look up monthly search volume, CPC, and competition level for your expanded keyword list.

What to look for

✓Monthly search volume — prioritize keywords with 100+ searches for content, 1k+ for pillar pages
✓CPC value — high CPC ($5+) indicates commercial intent and monetization potential
✓Competition level — "LOW" competition with decent volume are the best opportunities

Decision point

If most keywords have under 50 monthly searches, your niche may be too narrow. Go back to step 1 with broader seed terms.

Assess keyword difficulty in bulk

Bulk Keyword Difficulty1 credit

Get difficulty scores for your top keyword candidates. Difficulty reflects how hard it would be to rank on page 1 based on the current competition.

What to look for

✓Difficulty under 30 — achievable for newer sites with good content
✓Difficulty 30-60 — requires strong content plus some backlinks
✓Difficulty above 60 — only target if you have high domain authority (DA 50+)

Decision point

If all your target keywords have difficulty above 60, consider targeting long-tail variations or adding modifiers (e.g. "best X for small business").

Classify search intent

Search Intent Classification2 credits

Determine whether each keyword has informational, commercial, navigational, or transactional intent. This dictates what type of content you should create.

What to look for

✓Informational intent — create blog posts, guides, or how-to content
✓Commercial intent — create comparison pages, reviews, or feature pages
✓Transactional intent — create product pages, pricing pages, or landing pages

Validate SERP for top keyword

Google Organic Search Results2 credits

Pull the live Google search results for your highest-priority keyword. Manually inspect what's ranking to understand the content format and domain authority needed to compete.

What to look for

✓Content format of top 3 results — listicle, long-form guide, tool, or video
✓Domain authority of ranking sites — if top 5 are all DA 80+ sites, reconsider targeting
✓Featured snippets or People Also Ask boxes — presence means you can win position 0

Check keyword trends over time

Google Trends Data2 credits

Verify the keyword's search trend is stable or growing. Avoid investing in keywords with declining interest.

What to look for

✓Overall trend direction — growing, stable, or declining over the past 12 months
✓Seasonal spikes — plan content publication 1-2 months before peak interest
✓Related rising queries — emerging keywords you should add to your strategy

Decision point

If the trend shows a consistent decline over 2+ years, deprioritize this keyword unless you have a specific reason to target it.

Pro tips

Group your final keywords by search intent and create one piece of content per intent cluster rather than one per keyword.

Keywords with high CPC but low organic difficulty are gold — they have commercial value but competitors aren't optimizing well for them.

Re-run this workflow quarterly. Search demand shifts, and new keyword opportunities emerge as trends change.

Continue with these workflows

Complete Competitor SEO Analysis

Full teardown of a competitor's SEO presence: organic traffic, keyword portfolio, backlink authority, and on-page optimization. Use this to understand exactly how a competitor is winning in search and where they're vulnerable.

26-31 creditsbeginner

Technical and Content Site Audit

Evaluate a website's technical health, content quality, and search authority. Combines on-page analysis, technology detection, backlink assessment, and organic performance to produce a holistic site health report.

22-27 creditsintermediate

Content Gap Analysis

Find keywords your competitors rank for that you don't. This workflow systematically identifies content opportunities by comparing keyword portfolios, then validates and prioritizes the gaps by volume, difficulty, and intent.

17-25 creditsintermediate

Run this workflow now

Connect DFY Hub MCP to your AI assistant and paste the example prompt above. Your AI will execute each step automatically.

Get Started Free

Credit-based pricing. No monthly minimum.