Keyword research that showswhat your customers actually search for
- Real search volume, keyword difficulty and CPC per term
- The keywords your competitors rank for and you miss
- Grouped into clusters automatically so you can build content around them
45+ Google reviews · 4.9/5Included from Starter, €116 per month billed annually · cancel monthly
The problem
Most businesses are guessing at keywords
You write about the topic that feels obvious to you, or about the term your team has always used internally. Often nobody searches for it, or a competitor with ten times your authority owns the top of the results. The outcome is hours of work on content that never brings in traffic, and no clear reason why.
With keyword research in SEOptimate you know up front what people search for, how strong the competition is, and which term deserves a page of its own.
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the process of establishing which words your audience types into Google, how often they search for them each month, and how strong the competition is on those terms.
That determines which pages and articles you create and in what order. A complete research run gives you four data points per keyword: the monthly search volume, the keyword difficulty, the CPC as a signal of commercial value, and the search intent, meaning whether someone wants to learn, compare or buy. On top of that you look at the keywords competitors already rank for while you do not, known as the competitor gap. Finally you group related keywords into clusters, so you write one strong page per topic instead of several thin pages competing with each other. In SEOptimate those steps live in one screen, and you send a keyword straight to the content generator.
How does keyword research work in SEOptimate?
From a domain to a concrete keyword list in three steps. No spreadsheets and no juggling separate tools.
Enter your domain or topic
Start with your own website or with a topic you want to grow into. Add your main competitors so the tool knows what to compare you against.
Get volume, difficulty and gaps
For every keyword you see the monthly search volume, the keyword difficulty, the CPC and the search intent, along with the terms your competitors rank for and you do not.
Continue with ready-made clusters
Related keywords are grouped around a single topic automatically. Pick a cluster and send it to the content generator, which turns it into a brief and an article.
Why does this get you results faster?
No loose exports and no guesswork. Everything you need to decide what to work on, in one screen.
Real numbers per keyword
Search volume, keyword difficulty, CPC and search intent side by side. You see at a glance whether a term is commercially interesting and whether you can realistically rank for it.
See what competitors are winning
The competitor gap shows the keywords bringing them traffic while you are absent. That is usually the shortest route to more visitors.
Automatic clustering
Keywords around the same topic are bundled with a main term and supporting terms. You write one strong page instead of five thin ones.
Straight through to content
From your keyword list one click produces a brief and a full article. Research and execution live in the same tool, so nothing gets lost along the way.
Which numbers do you see per keyword?
Four data points decide whether a keyword is worth your time. Here is what they mean and how to use them.
| Data point | What it tells you | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Search volume | The average number of searches per month in your market. | Below 50 a month rarely deserves its own page, unless the intent is strongly commercial. |
| Keyword difficulty | How strong the competition on page one is, on a scale from 0 to 100. | Start with terms below 30 while your domain still has little authority. |
| CPC | What advertisers pay per click for this term. | A high CPC signals buying intent. Those terms deserve priority over purely informational ones. |
| Search intent | Whether someone wants to learn, compare, buy or navigate. | Decides the content type: a blog for informational, a category or landing page for transactional. |
swipe →
This is what your keyword list looks like
Every keyword in your project in one overview, with the numbers alongside and the gaps against your competitors marked separately. Filtering on low difficulty gives you the opportunities you can act on in the short term.
Works together with
Keyword research is the starting point. This is what happens to those terms next.
Build pillar and cluster structures on your keywords, with search intent per term and internal links placed automatically.
See content strategyTurn a keyword into a complete SEO article with headings, internal links and an FAQ with schema markup.
See the content generatorNo subscription yet? The free generator shows you keyword ideas without an account.
Go to the free toolFrequently asked questions about keyword research
What is keyword research exactly?
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Keyword research is the process of mapping the words your audience types into Google, how often they search for them each month, and how strong the competition is on those terms. That tells you which pages and articles to create, in what order, and which terms are not worth your time.
Is keyword research included in every plan?
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No. Keyword research belongs to the paid plans: Starter includes one research run per month, Basic two and Pro four. The free Lite account is meant for getting to know the tool and includes one blog and ten content ideas per month, without keyword research. If you want keyword ideas with no strings attached first, use the free keyword generator.
What does it cost?
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Starter is €116 per month billed annually, or €129 billed monthly, and includes one keyword research run per month. Basic is €152 with two runs and Pro is €179 with four. Every plan is cancellable monthly and there are no setup fees.
Where does the search volume data come from?
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For every keyword we show the monthly search volume, the keyword difficulty, the CPC and the search intent. That data comes from established keyword databases and sits right next to your own keywords in the dashboard, so you never have to switch between tools.
What is a competitor gap or missed keyword?
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It is a keyword your competitors rank for and you do not. SEOptimate compares your keywords against the competitors you specify and lists the differences separately. That gives you a single list of where traffic is available right now.
What does the automatic clustering do?
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Keywords that revolve around the same topic are grouped into clusters, with one pillar topic and supporting keywords around it. You then write one strong page per cluster instead of five thin articles that compete with each other.
Can I use the keywords straight away?
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Yes. From your keyword list you send a keyword directly to the content generator, which turns it into a brief and a full article. Nothing needs to be exported or retyped.
Ready to start
Know within an hour where to place your bets
Pick a plan, connect your domain and see which keywords are available to you. Keyword research is included from Starter, and you can cancel monthly.
Included from Starter, €116 per month billed annually · cancel monthly