Chapter 3

Keyword Research for AI Blog Content

Writing great content doesn't matter if no one is searching for the topic. Keyword research helps you find what your audience is actually looking for.

Start with search intent

Before picking keywords, understand what the searcher wants. There are four types of search intent: informational (learning), navigational (finding), transactional (buying), and commercial (comparing). Most blog content targets informational and commercial intent.

Find long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases like "how to reduce SaaS churn with onboarding" instead of "SaaS onboarding." They have lower competition, higher conversion rates, and are easier to rank for — especially for new blogs.

Evaluate keyword difficulty

Not all keywords are worth targeting. High-difficulty keywords are dominated by established sites. Focus on keywords with a difficulty score you can realistically compete for. Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Keyword Planner can help evaluate this.

Use "People Also Ask" for content ideas

Google's "People Also Ask" boxes show related questions real people are searching. These are gold for blog content — each question can become an H2 in your blog or a separate post.

Map keywords to content

Create a simple spreadsheet mapping your target keywords to blog posts. One primary keyword per post, plus 2-3 related secondary keywords. This prevents keyword cannibalization (multiple posts competing for the same keyword).

Using Quillly for keyword tracking

Quillly integrates with Google Search Console to track which keywords your blogs rank for. You can also manage a keyword list per website in the dashboard and track your target terms over time.