1. Start by Deeply Understanding the Business—Not the Keywords
Before opening any keyword tool, invest time in learning the company and its products inside out. Study their offerings, customer base, and unique selling points. Ask:
- What problems do they solve?
- Who are their ideal customers?
- How do their customers describe their needs?
This foundational understanding separates effective SEO from generic guesswork.
2. Create Your Own Keyword List Based on Customer Behavior
After researching the business, manually brainstorm keywords you believe their customers use. Think like their audience:
- What phrases would they type into Google?
- What questions or pain points would they have?
- Are there local or industry-specific terms they prefer?
This step ensures your keywords reflect real customer intent, not just search volume.
3. Compare Your List with Search Console Data
Now, open Google Search Console and analyze the client’s actual search queries. If your manually generated keywords match their top-performing terms, you’ve successfully decoded their customers’ language.
If they don’t align, revisit your research—your initial assumptions may need refinement.
4. Why This Method Works Better Than Relying on Tools First
Most SEOs jump straight into keyword tools, leading to:
- Targeting the same competitive terms as everyone else.
- Missing niche, long-tail opportunities that convert.
- Creating content that doesn’t resonate with real buyers.
By validating your intuition with real data, you ensure your strategy aligns with how customers actually search.
5. How AI Content Fits Into This Strategy
Once you’ve confirmed the right keywords, AI can help scale content creation—but only if:
- It’s based on your researched keywords (not generic ideas).
- It avoids overused, robotic phrases (leverage, optimize, innovate).
- It’s tailored to the specific audience you’ve studied.
Example:
- ❌ Weak AI content: “10 Best Cupcake Trends in 2024” (Generic, no real value)
- ✅ Strong AI content: “Why [City] Customers Preve Vanilla Frosting: A Baker’s Insight” (Based on real customer behavior)
6. The Biggest Mistake Businesses Make with AI Content
They let AI generate ideas instead of executing well-researched ones. The key is to:
- First understand the business and customers.
- Then validate keyword assumptions with Search Console.
- Finally use AI to produce content—not decide it.
7. The Proof Is in the Data
If your manual keyword list matches Search Console queries, you’ve proven that:
- You understand the customer’s search intent.
- Your content strategy is data-backed, not guesswork.
- AI-generated articles will be relevant and useful (not just filler).
8. The Takeaway: Research Validates Everything
Great SEO begins with knowing the business better than the competition. Tools and AI are just helpers—they can’t replace deep customer insight.
Do this instead:
- Study the company and its buyers.
- Brainstorm keywords before checking tools.
- Validate with Search Console.
- Use AI to execute—not replace—your strategy.
This approach ensures higher rankings, better conversions, and content that actually works.