name	keyword-research
description	Keyword research for UK local service businesses. Generates silo-compatible keyword map. Binding input for heading-tree and internal-linking skills.

Keyword Research Skill

Purpose

Generates keyword map organized by silos. One canonical keyword per page.

Primary Objective

Maximize transactional intent coverage for service (silo top) and area pages.

Not "more keywords" — focused targeting.

Skill Output Contract

Output is binding input for:

heading-tree skill (H1 from canonical keyword)
internal-linking skill (silo structure)
lead-gen-copy skill (page copy)

This is not a suggestion list.

Input

business:
  service: "house removals"       # Core service
  location: "Bristol"             # Primary location
  service_areas: ["Bath", "Weston-super-Mare"]
  services: ["house removals", "office removals", "packing"]

Output

silos:
  - name: "house-removals"
    keywords:
      silo_top:
        canonical: "house removals bristol"
        supporting: ["removal company bristol", "movers bristol"]
      areas:
        - page: "/areas/bath"
          canonical: "removals bath"
          supporting: ["house movers bath"]
      articles:
        - page: "/blog/moving-costs"
          canonical: "how much do removals cost"
          
questions: [...]
near_me: [...]

Keyword Budget Per Page

Page Type	Canonical	Supporting	Long-tail	Total Max
Homepage	1	2	2	5
Service (silo top)	1	2	3	6
Area page	1	1	2	4
Article	1	1	0	2

Canonical keyword = THE one keyword for H1. Only one per page.

Silo Structure

Keywords organized by content silos:

silo:
  name: "house-removals"
  
  silo_top:                        # Service page = money page
    page: "/services/house-removals"
    canonical: "house removals bristol"
    supporting:
      - "removal company bristol"
      - "movers bristol"
    long_tail:
      - "cheap removals bristol"
      - "best removal company bristol"
      
  areas:                           # Feed up to silo top
    - page: "/areas/bath"
      canonical: "removals bath"
      supporting: ["house movers bath"]
      
    - page: "/areas/weston"
      canonical: "removals weston-super-mare"
      
  articles:                        # Support silo top
    - page: "/blog/moving-costs"
      canonical: "how much do removals cost"

Keyword Types

Canonical Keywords

ONE per page. Used in:

H1 heading (required)
Meta title (required)
URL slug (if possible)

Page Type	Pattern
Homepage	`{service} {location}`
Service	`{service} {location}`
Area	`{service} {area}` or `removals {area}`
Article	Question or topic phrase

Supporting Keywords

2-3 per page. Used in:

H2 headings (1-2)
Meta description
Body content

Long-tail Keywords

Modifiers + core keyword. Used in:

Body content
FAQ answers
NOT in H1/H2

Modifier Type	Examples
Price	cheap, affordable, budget
Quality	best, top rated, professional
Urgency	same day, emergency, last minute
Size	small, single item, full house

Synonym Rules

ONE dominant synonym per page.

synonyms:
  house_removals:
    dominant: "house removals"      # Use in H1
    supporting: ["movers", "moving company", "relocation"]
    
# Page uses ONE dominant, others in body only
page: "/services/house-removals"
h1: "House Removals Bristol"        # Dominant
body: "...our moving company..."    # Supporting

"Near Me" Keywords

Special handling — NOT in headings.

Allowed	Forbidden
Schema LocalBusiness	H1
Google Business Profile	H2
FAQ answer	Meta title
CTA text	URL

near_me_keywords:
  - "removals near me"
  - "moving company near me"
  
usage:
  schema: true
  gbp: true
  faq: "Looking for removals near me? We cover..."
  heading: false  # NEVER

Question Keywords

Allocated to FAQ or articles:

questions:
  faq:                    # Short answers on service pages
    - "how much do removals cost"
    - "how long does moving take"
    - "are you insured"
    
  articles:               # Long-form content
    - "how much does it cost to move a 3 bed house"
    - "removal company vs man and van"
    - "how to pack for a house move"

Question Type	Destination	Answer Length
Cost	FAQ or Article	1 para or full guide
Process	FAQ	1-2 sentences
Comparison	Article	Full guide
How-to	Article	Full guide

Complete Output Example

keyword_research:
  business:
    service: "house removals"
    location: "Bristol"
    
  silos:
    - name: "house-removals"
      silo_top:
        page: "/"
        canonical: "house removals bristol"
        supporting: ["removal company bristol"]
        long_tail: ["cheap removals bristol"]
        
      areas:
        - page: "/areas/bath"
          canonical: "removals bath"
          
    - name: "office-removals"
      silo_top:
        page: "/services/office-removals"
        canonical: "office removals bristol"
        
  questions:
    faq: ["how much do removals cost"]
    articles: ["how to pack fragile items"]
    
  near_me: ["removals near me"]
  
  summary:
    total_pages: 8
    total_keywords: 24
    silos: 2

Blocking Conditions (STOP)

Condition	Result
No canonical for page	STOP
>1 canonical per page	STOP
Near-me in heading	STOP
Budget exceeded	STOP

Non-goals

Does NOT provide search volumes
Does NOT analyze competition
Does NOT track rankings
Does NOT prioritize by traffic

Forbidden

❌ Multiple canonical keywords per page
❌ "Near me" in H1/H2
❌ Exceeding keyword budget
❌ Same canonical on two pages
❌ Keywords without silo assignment

References

patterns.md — Keyword patterns by type
synonyms.md — Service synonym mapping
modifiers.md — Long-tail modifiers

Definition of Done

Every page has ONE canonical keyword
Keyword budget respected
All keywords assigned to silo
No "near me" in headings
Synonyms: one dominant per page
Questions allocated to FAQ/article
Output ready for heading-tree skill

keyword-research

Install Skill

SKILL.md