Keyword research is the foundation of every successful SEO strategy. Yet in 2026, a lot of keyword research still follows the same routine: look for high-volume terms, check the difficulty, and create content. This simplistic approach ignores how the search landscape has changed: the rise of AI Overviews, the fragmentation of intent, and a Google algorithm that understands semantic context far beyond individual keywords.
Step 1: Understand search intent before volume
In 2026, search intent matters more than volume. For example, a keyword with 100 searches/month and a clear transactional intent can generate more revenue than a term with 10,000 searches/month and a vague informational intent. SEO practitioners usually distinguish four main types of intent (an industry typology, not an official Google classification):
- Informational: The user wants to learn something ("what is technical SEO")
- Navigational: The user is looking for a specific site ("Zerkado login")
- Transactional: The user wants to buy or take action ("seo tool price," "buy backlinks")
- Commercial: The user compares before buying ("best seo tool 2026," "semrush vs ahrefs")
To determine it, look at the types of results shown on the results page (articles, product pages, comparisons, videos, AI Overviews). Zerkado's rank tracking module then shows which URL on your site ranks for each tracked keyword: if that page doesn't match the intent, it's a signal to fix.
Step 2: Semantic clustering
Google understands topics far beyond exact keywords: a single well-optimized page can rank for many semantic variations of the same topic. Clustering means grouping the keywords that share the same intent and can be targeted by a single page.
A reliable method is to compare SERPs: if two keywords show largely the same pages in the top 10, they belong to the same cluster and can be targeted by the same page. This prevents keyword cannibalization, a mistake that can cost you a lot of traffic.
Step 3: Prioritize by potential ROI
Not all keywords are equal in terms of return on investment. Prioritization should combine four criteria. The weighting below is an example to start from, to be adapted to your goals:
| Criterion | Weight | How to measure it |
|---|---|---|
| Search volume | 20% | Keyword tools / Google Keyword Planner |
| Commercial intent | 30% | CPC as a proxy (high CPC = strong intent) |
| Ranking feasibility | 25% | Difficulty vs your domain authority |
| Business relevance | 25% | Alignment with your offer and your goals |
Step 4: Take advantage of AI Overviews opportunities
Google's AI Overviews have created a new category of keywords: those where being cited by Google's AI can bring visibility, and even clicks, without the top ranking. Zerkado's AI Visibility module checks, on the questions you give it, whether Google shows an AI Overview and whether your site is cited in it.
To put this into practice, try Zerkado for free for 14 days, no credit card required. Among other things, the content opportunities module finds the keywords your competitors target and you don't, and the queries left underexploited in your Search Console.