keyword-research

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from when this skill was listed. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: keyword-research
description: "Discover keyword opportunities, evaluate metrics and SERPs, and save/tag promising terms."
---

# OpenSEO Keyword Research

## Goal

Turn seed topics into a prioritized keyword opportunity set using OpenSEO MCP data. The output should help the user decide what to target, what to save, and what to research next.

## Required inputs

- `projectId`
- One or more seed topics, products, pages, competitors, or audience problems
- Optional market/location/language

If `projectId` is missing, use `list_projects` first. If the target market/location/language is unclear and would materially affect keyword metrics, ask the user; otherwise use the MCP tool defaults.

## Project context

The project-context tools are free and shared with the app and other agents.

1. Call `get_project_context` first and ground the research in it — the business, the goal, the markets, and the competitors and key pages already saved.
2. This skill needs `business_overview` and `current_goal`. If either is empty, run a minimal inline setup: ask the user, or infer from the site and confirm, just enough to fill them, write them back with `update_project_context`, then continue the research. Never front-load the full interview; suggest `seo-project-setup` at the end for the rest.
3. Before spending credits, check the research log. If the same research ran within the last 30 days, reuse that result and say so instead of re-buying it.
4. On finish, write back what is durable — a sharpened `business_overview` or `current_goal`, competitors that kept appearing in the SERPs via `addCompetitors`, pages the keywords should land on via `addKeyPages` — and append a research log entry: `{ appendResearchLog: { summary: "Keyword research: <seeds/market>. Verdict: <conclusion>" } }`.

## Deliver as a report

Deliver through the `seo-report` skill, saving with `skill: "keyword-research"`. If that skill is not available, say so and stop before writing HTML.

## OpenSEO MCP tools

- `research_keywords`: primary discovery tool. Use 1-5 seeds per call and prefer 150 results unless the user asks for exhaustive research.
- `get_keyword_metrics`: hydrate up to 700 known keywords with volume, keyword difficulty (KD), search intent, CPC, and monthly trends in one call. Use it to score candidate or known terms — including the Search Console striking-distance queries from step 1.
- `get_ranked_keywords`: pull exact ranking keyword rows when a target domain or page is part of the research brief.
- `get_search_console_performance`: when Search Console is connected, start from the project's real first-party demand — queries already earning impressions and near-ranking ("striking distance") terms. Pass `minPosition: 5, maxPosition: 20, minImpressions: 50` so the server filters the striking-distance rows for you (Google sorts by clicks and can't filter by position itself). Then hydrate those striking-distance queries with `get_keyword_metrics` to attach difficulty and intent.
- `get_serp_results`: inspect SERPs for the top candidate terms, especially when intent is ambiguous.
- `search_local_businesses`, `get_local_serp_results`, and `get_google_business_questions`: use for local SEO topics when a business/location radius matters.
- `list_saved_keywords`: avoid duplicating already-saved work or use existing tags as context.
- `save_keywords`: save selected keywords only after explicit user confirmation.

## Workflow

1. Normalize seeds into a small set of distinct research angles. If Search Console is connected for the project, first pull `get_search_console_performance` with `minPosition: 5, maxPosition: 20, minImpressions: 50` (default lookback), and hydrate those queries with `get_keyword_metrics` to attach KD and intent. That ranked, hydrated list is your fastest opportunity set — work it before broad discovery.
2. If the request is local SEO, identify the business, location/coordinates or service area, and local categories. Use `search_local_busi