How to plan content when you don't know which keywords to use

Do not hand the client a raw keyword list and ask them to decode it. Do not write the article first and bolt keywords onto it afterward. Instead, combine the two inputs each side has:

• The client brings business context. Services, products, customers, locations, expertise, priorities, and the questions buyers keep asking.
• Aergos brings search evidence. Topic options, primary and supporting keywords, intent, volume and difficulty when available, competitor gaps, and overlap signals.
• A person makes the final choice. The winning topic is the one that fits the business and the reader, not simply the keyword with the largest number beside it.

If you know roughly what you want to write about, open Content Studio, choose the content type, and select Generate New. Enter the subject in the Keywords or Topic field.

You do not need to turn the idea into an exact search query first. Use a short, focused description of a service, product, customer question, or service-and-location combination. For example, financing a brownstone renovation in Brooklyn gives the system much more useful context than renovation.

Depending on the data available in the workspace, the recommendations can include:

• A suggested title and a specific content angle
• A primary keyword, with search volume and difficulty when available
• Supporting keywords that belong naturally in the same piece
• Related questions people search when question data is available
• The likely intent: informational, commercial, transactional, or navigational

Treat these as decisions to review, not instructions to accept blindly. When market data is limited, a recommendation may rely more heavily on AI-generated suggestions. Check the source and metrics shown, then choose the option that best matches what the business can say credibly and who it wants to reach. You can save strong topics for later without generating every draft immediately.

When nobody has a useful starting idea, do not stare at an empty prompt. Begin with the evidence Aergos has already organized:

• Topic Clusters shows how the site's content is organized around core subjects and where a cluster is missing a useful supporting page.
• Analytics can surface Top Search Opportunities from Search Console performance and competitor keyword gaps after those data have been refreshed.
• Action Plans may already contain opportunities that were reviewed and selected for execution.

Take the strongest subject from one of those surfaces into Content Studio and generate topic options from it. This direction matters: the opportunity provides evidence that a subject is worth considering, while Content Studio turns that subject into a concrete page idea with an intent and keyword assignment.

The highest-volume option is not automatically the best one. Compare every suggestion through four filters:

1. Business relevance. Can the company answer this credibly, and will the page attract the customers it actually wants?
2. Search intent. Match the page type to what the searcher is trying to do. Informational questions often suit articles; commercial and transactional searches usually belong on service, category, or product pages.
3. Demand versus difficulty. A moderate-volume, lower-difficulty phrase can be a more useful target than a broad head term dominated by established sites.
4. Overlap. If an existing page already serves the same intent, improve that page instead of creating a second page that competes with it.

These filters keep topic selection connected to a business outcome. Search data tells you whether demand exists and how competitive it may be. The business still has to decide whether the page deserves to exist.

A new site has no rankings or traffic history, but search demand exists independently of the domain. Aergos can still work from a focused seed, market-level keyword data, competitor coverage, and the business context supplied during setup. Four adjustments make the early recommendations more useful:

• Connect measurement early. Add and verify Google Search Console, install Google Analytics measurement, and connect both to Aergos as soon as the site is live. They may be empty at first, but history begins accumulating immediately.
• Add relevant competitors. Their established rankings provide market context while your own domain has none. Competitor gaps are a map of subjects to evaluate, not a command to copy every page.
• Prefer specificity and realistic difficulty. Longer, question-style, and lower-difficulty phrases often give a new site a more realistic starting point than broad, high-volume terms. Relevance and intent still come first, and no keyword is a guaranteed win.
• Expect some empty performance surfaces. Confirm that tracking and connections are configured correctly. Once setup is verified, zeroes are normal until rankings, impressions, and visits begin to accrue.

The practical sequence is simple: describe the business clearly, add competitors, connect measurement, and plan the first pages around specific customer needs. Historical data will improve future recommendations, but you do not need to wait for it before building the first useful content.

• Writing first and looking for keywords afterward. Adding phrases later cannot rescue a subject with little relevant demand or the wrong intent.
• Choosing by search volume alone. Volume without relevance or a realistic path to competition can produce traffic that never arrives or visitors who never become customers.
• Creating several pages for the same intent. Slightly different keywords do not always need different URLs. Build one strong page for each distinct intent.
• Starting from a raw keyword list. A list does not explain which page to build, which intent it serves, or how it fits the rest of the site.
• Accepting every suggestion. Recommendations are candidates. Remove ideas that do not fit the offer, the audience, or the company's actual expertise.

1. Enter a focused idea in Content Studio, or choose a subject from Topic Clusters, Analytics opportunities, competitor gaps, or an Action Plan.
2. Review the generated topic recommendations and compare relevance, intent, demand, difficulty, and overlap.
3. Choose one topic to create now and save other good candidates for later.
4. Generate the draft, then review and edit it in the Content Editor.
5. Send it for approval when required, then publish it or push it to the connected CMS.
6. As performance data accumulates, use the results to improve the next round of planning.