GUIDE · UPDATED 22 OCTOBER 2026
Keyword research, the way search works now.
Keyword research finds the words your customers use when they search, how often they search them, how hard each one is to rank for, and what the searcher wants. You then give each intent one page that answers it. Since 2025 there is a second half: your buyers also ask ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, and those assistants run their own searches before they answer. Good keyword research now covers both.
How to do keyword research in six steps
- Start from what you sell, not from a tool. List your categories, then eight to fourteen phrases for each the way a customer would type them: the category itself, prices and costs, “best”, comparisons, how to choose.
- Measure each phrase. Note its monthly search volume, its keyword difficulty and its intent. Google Keyword Planner is free; paid tools add difficulty and history.
- Sort by intent. Separate buyers choosing (“best”, “pricing”, “vs”, “tool”) from the wider audience reading up on the topic (“what is”, “how to”). Both are worth winning, with different pages.
- Look at who ranks. Open the results page for your top phrases. If the first ten are household names, choose a narrower phrase you can win first.
- Give each intent one page. Two pages chasing the same intent split your chances. Upgrade a page you already have before you write a new one.
- Measure and repeat. Watch impressions and positions in Google Search Console, and re-check the list every month.
What changed: your buyers ask AI too
When an AI assistant answers with web search on, it first turns the question into searches of its own, then reads the pages that rank for them. In our own research, the question “Which AI SEO tool is best for a B2B SaaS startup in the US?” made ChatGPT search “best AI SEO tools for B2B SaaS startups Semrush Ahrefs Surfer SEO Clearscope Frase features pricing 2026”. The answer named the tools on the pages it read.
So keyword research now has two jobs: rank for what people type into Google, and be on the pages assistants read for the questions people ask them.
| What you research | Classic keyword research | Now also |
|---|---|---|
| Demand | Monthly searches on Google | The questions buyers ask assistants, and the searches the assistants run |
| Competition | Who holds Google’s top ten | Which pages assistants cite and which brands they name |
| Success | Position and clicks | Named or cited in the answer |
Keyword research for AI answers: three additions
- Write your buyers’ questions without your brand in them. “Which accounting software suits a ten-person agency?”, not “Is Acme good?”.
- Ask them in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, several times. Record what each assistant searched, which pages it cited and which companies it named. Answers vary from run to run, so count, don’t screenshot.
- Add those searches and cited pages to your plan. A search the assistants run is a phrase worth ranking for; a page they cite is a page worth being listed on.
Free keyword research tools
- Google Search Console: the searches you already appear for, with impressions and position.
- Google Keyword Planner: search volumes, as ranges unless you run ads.
- Google autocomplete and “People also ask”: how people phrase the topic.
- Bing Webmaster Tools: keyword research from Bing, whose index also feeds ChatGPT’s search.
SEO is changing. Organiq does both halves for you.
Organiq runs this research in one go. It maps what your buyers search on Google, with volume, difficulty and where you rank, and splits it into buyers choosing and the wider audience you can win over. It then asks ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini your buyers’ questions and records what they search, cite and recommend. Last, it turns all of that into a short plan your coding agent can implement, and re-checks every week. The website preview is free and needs no account.
We make Organiq. Comparing tools? Read AI SEO tools for startups, compared.
Common questions
What is keyword research?
Keyword research finds the words your customers use when they search, how often they search them (monthly search volume), how hard it is to reach Google’s first page for them (keyword difficulty), and what the searcher wants (intent). You then decide which page on your site answers each one.
How do I do keyword research for free?
Start with Google Search Console, which shows the searches you already appear for. Add Google Keyword Planner for volumes (it shows ranges unless you run ads), Google’s autocomplete and “People also ask” boxes for phrasing, and Bing Webmaster Tools, which has its own keyword research. Then ask ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini your buyers’ questions and note what they search and cite.
What keyword difficulty can a new website rank for?
On the usual 0–100 scales, a site with few links does best below about 30. Each tool scores differently, so compare phrases within one tool, and look at who holds the top ten: a page of big publishers and brands is harder than the number suggests.
How many keywords should one page target?
One intent per page. Phrases that want the same answer, such as “keyword research” and “how to do keyword research”, belong on one page. Phrases that want different answers, such as “keyword research” and “best keyword research tool”, need separate pages, or the two will compete.
Does keyword research still matter with AI search?
Yes, and it does more. AI assistants with web search run their own searches before they answer, and they read the pages that rank for them. Ranking for those searches is how you get read; being named in the answer is the result.
What is the difference between search volume and traffic?
Search volume is how many times a month people search a phrase. Traffic is how many of them click through to you, which depends on your position, the ads and AI answers above you, and your title. Volume tells you what there is to win, not what you will get.