Documentation
Keyword Research
Compare keyword metrics, expand a seed, and save keywords for your project.
Keyword Research, the PirateSERP tool for search demand, returns search volume, cost per click (CPC), paid competition, organic difficulty, and search intent for a keyword list or a seed. Search volume, CPC, and top-of-page bid figures cover the market and language you select. Search data is included with your subscription, so you don't need a separate data-provider key.
Look up a keyword list
- In the header, select the project. Your project's market and language fill the form.
- Click Keyword list.
- In the Keywords box, enter up to 1,000 unique keywords, one per line or separated by commas. A counter shows how many keywords the box holds.
- In the Market and Language lists, select a market and a language. Market lists your project's default country first, then English-speaking countries, then All other countries.
- Click Run Keyword Research, and keep the page open until the results appear.
Expand a seed
To find related keywords that you haven't listed yet, follow these steps:
- Click Expand a seed.
- In the Seed type list, select a seed type.
- Enter the seed in the field for that seed type, as described in the following table.
- In the Keywords to return list, select a size.
- Click Expand Seed.
The following table describes each seed type:
| Seed type | Field | Enter | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keywords | Seed keywords | Up to 20 keywords, separated by commas, such as plumber near me, drain cleaning | You know the terms your customers use and want the variations around them. |
| URL | Page URL | One full page address, such as https://competitor.com/services/plumbing | You want the keywords Google associates with a single page, yours or a competitor's. |
| Whole site | Domain | One domain, such as competitor.com | You want the keyword footprint of a whole competitor domain. |
A Whole site seed accepts a bare domain such as competitor.com or a full address such as https://competitor.com. A URL seed requires the full http or https address.
Google refuses keyword seeds that contain punctuation it can't use. Keyword Research names each rejected seed in the error message, so you can correct it. Use letters, numbers, and spaces, with no more than 10 words in each seed.
If your project has saved services, select one in the Business service list to fill the seed field. Review the seed before you submit it.
Keywords to return offers 100, 250, 500, or 1,000 keywords. Start at 100 to confirm that the seed matches the right topic, then rerun it at a larger size. A larger size takes longer and reaches further from the seed, so it returns more keywords that you discard.
Read the results
The results header shows the keyword count, the seed, the market, and the language. Three tiles summarize the set: Keywords, With search volume, and Combined monthly volume.
The following table describes the result columns:
| Column | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Search volume | Compare estimated monthly searches in the selected market. |
| CPC (USD) | Compare the average advertising cost per click, in US dollars. |
| Competition and Index | Compare paid-search competition. Index runs from 0 to 100 and measures how many advertisers bid on the keyword, not organic ranking difficulty. |
| Top-of-page bid | Read the low-to-high range that advertisers pay for a top-of-page ad on the keyword, in US dollars. A high range means a click on this keyword earns money for someone, which is an argument for targeting it organically. |
| Trend | Compare the last three months of demand against the three months before them. ▲ means demand is growing, ▼ means demand is fading, and 0% means demand held steady. |
| Difficulty | Compare organic ranking difficulty on a 0-100 scale. A score of 29 or less is easy, and a score of 70 or more is very hard. Hold the pointer over the score to read its band, from Very easy to Extremely hard. |
| Intent | Check whether the query suits informational, commercial, transactional, or navigational content. |
Read Trend together with Search volume. A rising trend on a small volume marks a topic that you can target before its demand grows. A falling trend on a large volume can still justify a page. Seasonal keywords swing in both directions during the year, so check a keyword again at a different time of year before you drop it.
Target a keyword with strong search volume, a high top-of-page bid, and low difficulty first.
Click a column heading to sort the table. Click Export all N to download every row the filters leave visible, or Export N selected to download only the ticked rows, where N is the number shown on the button. The file includes the bid range, the trend percentage, and the monthly search volumes. A missing value, shown as n/a, does not mean zero demand or zero competition. Trend shows n/a when a keyword has too little history to compare.
Save and organize keywords
- Select the keywords that you want to keep, or select the header checkbox to select every row.
- Enter tags in the tags, comma-separated field.
- Click Save selected.
The Saved keywords list belongs to your active project. Click All or a tag to filter the list. Select entries and click Remove to delete them, or click Export CSV to download the filtered list with each keyword's tags, market, and language.
Click Cluster, or Recluster after an earlier run, to group saved keywords by meaning. When a cluster holds more than one keyword, the list opens grouped under each cluster's name, and By cluster switches between the grouped and flat views. The flat view shows a Cluster column only when clusters hold more than one keyword. Clustering covers up to 2,000 saved keywords and groups each language separately. Run it again after you save more keywords.
Send keywords to Rank Tracker
- Select the keywords that you want to track, or select the header checkbox to select every row.
- Click Send to Rank Tracker.
The keywords join Rank Tracker in your active project. A message shows how many keywords were added and how many were already tracked. If the project has no tracked domain yet, add one in Rank Tracker before positions are checked.
Reopen a search
Past searches lists every keyword set and seed that you ran in the active project, with its date, market, and language. Click an entry to reopen its saved results without spending another lookup. Click Delete search to remove an entry. Switch projects to find another client's searches.
Language limits
Search volume is unavailable for Macedonian. Difficulty and intent are unavailable for Catalan. Before you change the language, see Languages.
Continue in other tools
Click Research on a result row to open Content Editor with that keyword, market, and language. Review the reference selection before you create a draft.
To group a seed into pillars and clusters before you write, build a map in Topical Maps. To track a keyword's ranking position after you publish, send it to Rank Tracker.