keyword-deep-dive
Use when planning to rank for a specific keyword. The agent Googles it, reads the top 10, classifies intent, reads the top 3 competitor pages, and produces a 90-day ranking plan with intent, SERP analysis, and content recommendations.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/inhouseseo/superseo-skills /tmp/keyword-deep-dive && cp -r /tmp/keyword-deep-dive/skills/keyword-deep-dive ~/.claude/skills/keyword-deep-diveSKILL.md
# Keyword Deep Dive A complete picture of a single keyword's opportunity — intent, competition, what it takes to rank, and a specific 90-day plan. The agent does all the research itself. No keyword tool required. ## Input **Target keyword** (required). Optionally: a URL if you already have a page targeting this keyword. If the user didn't provide a keyword, ask for it before proceeding. ## Role You are a senior SEO strategist specializing in keyword intelligence and SERP analysis. ## Step 1: Research the SERP Google the target keyword. Read the top 10 results in detail, the top 3 in full. Note for each top 3: - Domain (note authority proxies: is it a known brand? Specialist vs generalist?) - Content format (guide / comparison / listicle / tool / video / product page) - Approximate word count - Unique angle or hook - Freshness signals (publish date, last updated) - E-E-A-T signals present ## Step 2: Classify Intent Classify dominant intent: **Informational / Commercial Investigation / Transactional / Navigational**. **Zero-click risk assessment:** - Informational queries: roughly 60% of searches end without a click ([Digital Bloom 2026 organic traffic report](https://thedigitalbloom.com/learn/organic-traffic-crisis-report-2026-update/)); mobile zero-click behavior reaches 77% - Featured snippet present: 42.9% CTR if we hold it, near-zero if we don't ([First Page Sage 2026](https://firstpagesage.com/reports/google-click-through-rates-ctrs-by-ranking-position/)) - AI Overview present: organic CTR drops 58-61% for the top-ranking page ([Ahrefs Dec 2025](https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks-update/) / [Seer Interactive](https://www.seerinteractive.com/insights/aio-impact-on-google-ctr-september-2025-update)); brands cited in the AI Overview earn 35% more clicks - Flag clearly if the keyword has structurally low click-through potential ## Step 3: Assess SERP Features What SERP features are active? - Featured snippet (what format — paragraph, list, table? Who holds it?) - People Also Ask (how many questions? What are they?) - AI Overview - Image pack / video carousel - Local pack - Site links - Knowledge panel ## Step 4: SERP Volatility Signal Can you tell if the SERP is stable or turbulent? - If top results look freshly updated / have "Updated YYYY" in the title → moderate volatility - If multiple top results are from different years (2021, 2024, 2026) → stable - If results are all dated past 6 months with news angles → turbulent - If you can't tell → say so, don't fabricate ## Step 5: Competitive Read of Top 3 Fetch and read the top 3 pages. For each: - Key sections they cover - Word count - Internal linking patterns (what they link to) - What they cover that others don't - What they do that's genuinely hard to replicate (original data? First-party screenshots? Proprietary frameworks?) ## Step 6: Output ### Keyword Profile - Keyword | Apparent search intent | Estimated difficulty (Easy / Moderate / Hard based on SERP competition, not a KD score) - SERP features present and their CTR impact - Zero-click risk: Low / Medium / High ### Competitive Read For each of the top 3 competitors: - URL | Domain authority proxy | Format | Words (approx) | Unique angle | What they do best ### Content Gaps (what's missing from top results) Specific subtopics or angles that top-ranking pages don't cover well. These are where a new entrant can differentiate. ### Ranking Strategy **If the user has no existing page for this keyword:** **Quick assessment:** - Is this keyword worth pursuing? (Intent match to business? Traffic potential? Zero-click risk?) - Realistic timeline: Easy (3-6 months) / Moderate (6-12 months) / Hard (12-24 months authority play) **Content requirements:** - Content type to build (matches SERP) - Word count target (average of top 5 + 10%) - Sections that MUST be covered (from competitive read) - Unique angle this page should take (from gap analysis) - E-E-A-T signals required **If the user already has a page ranking:** **Position diagnosis:** - Current position apparent from Google? (If not in top 100, note this) - Compared to the top 3, what's missing? Specific content depth? Word count? Intent alignment? **Optimization plan:** - Quick wins (title/meta rewrite for CTR, add missing section, fix intent mismatch) - 30-day content plan (sections to add, depth to deepen) - Supporting cluster pages to create for internal linking ### Title Tag & Meta Rewrites Propose 2 title tag options (max 60 chars) and 1 meta description (max 160 chars). Each with reasoning. ### Ranking Timeline Estimate - Current position (or "unranked"): [X] - Realistic 90-day target: [Y] - Effort: Low (CTR fix) / Medium (content update) / High (new content + internal links) ## What to Ignore - **KD scores alone** — meaningless without reading the actual SERP. Use the read above instead. - **High volume, zero-click keywords** — impressions without clicks aren't worth the effort unless you need brand exposure - **Fighting Wikipedia, Reddit, or news aggregators** for positions 1-3 — different content types, unwinnable ## Next Step Need a full content brief to execute the ranking plan? Use `content-brief` with this keyword as context. ## Bundled references Load from `references/` only when the step calls for them. - **`ctr-benchmarks-by-position.md`** — the full 2026 position → CTR curve with AI-Overview-adjusted numbers (Step 2, when estimating traffic potential) - **`zero-click-and-aio-impact.md`** — how AI Overviews, featured snippets, and zero-click SERPs change the ranking math (Step 2, for the zero-click risk line) - **`serp-features-recognition.md`** — checklist for detecting every SERP feature visually (Step 3, if uncertain which features are active) - **`serp-volatility-heuristics.md`** — how to read SERP volatility without access to a rank tracker (Step 4, when volatility is ambiguous) - **`difficulty-from-serp-signals.md`** — how to estimate KD from reading the to
Use when planning a new article. The agent Googles the keyword, reads the top 10 results, classifies intent, maps the content gap, and produces a writer-ready brief with structure, outline, and on-page artifacts. No keyword tool required.
Use when auditing a page for E-E-A-T signals. The agent reads the page and scores Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — then tells you exactly what to add to each dimension.
Use when extracting first-party expertise from a subject-matter expert before writing content. Produces a knowledge document of contrarian takes, specific examples, and surprising outcomes that AI can't fabricate.
Use when you want to win a featured snippet for a keyword you already rank for. The agent checks the current snippet format, analyzes your content, and rewrites the relevant section to match what Google wants.
Use when rewriting or refreshing an existing page that's underperforming. The agent fetches the URL, analyzes the current content, researches the SERP, and rewrites using the full anti-AI-slop ruleset — no data exports needed.
Use when planning link acquisition. Classifies the site's authority phase from site age and visible signals, then recommends phase-appropriate tactics from the bundled tactic playbook library. No backlink tool required.
Use when auditing a specific page's SEO performance, content quality, and competitive position. The agent fetches the URL, Googles the primary keyword, reads the top 3 competitors, and produces a full 7-dimension audit — no exports, no analytics access required.
Use when a page ranks for a keyword but isn't in the top 3 and you want to know exactly what's missing. The agent compares the page to the top-ranking competitors and produces a specific list of entities, subtopics, and relationships to add.