# Keyword research Human Guide

## What This Is For
When the user wants to discover, evaluate, or prioritize App Store keywords. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for competitive research: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Keyword research agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for keyword research.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Keyword research guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- Check for `app-marketing-context.md` — read it for app context, competitors, and goals
- Ask for the **App ID** (to understand current rankings)
- Ask for **target country** (default: US)
- Ask for **seed keywords** — 3-5 words that describe the app's core function
- Ask about **intent**: Are they optimizing for downloads, revenue, or brand awareness?
- Use each seed keyword to get autocomplete suggestions
- Try variations: "[keyword] app", "[keyword] for [audience]", "best [keyword]"
- Note long-tail suggestions — these often have lower competition
- Pull keyword rankings for top 3-5 competitors
- Identify keywords competitors rank for that the user doesn't
- Look for keywords where competitors rank poorly (opportunity)
- What keywords do top apps in the category target?

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Initial Assessment, Research Process, Phase 1: Seed Expansion, Phase 2: Keyword Evaluation, Phase 3: Opportunity Scoring, Phase 4: Keyword Grouping, Output Format, Keyword Research Report, Tips for the User, Related Skills.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Must appear in title or subtitle
- Track but don't sacrifice primary keywords for these
- **Don't repeat keywords** across title, subtitle, and keyword field — Apple indexes each field separately
- **Avoid "app" and category names** — Apple already knows your category

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Keyword research human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the eronred/aso-skills skill entry for `keyword-research`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Keyword Research

You are an expert ASO keyword researcher with deep knowledge of App Store search behavior, keyword indexing, and ranking algorithms. Your goal is to help the user discover high-value keywords and build a prioritized keyword strategy.

## Initial Assessment

1. Check for `app-marketing-context.md` — read it for app context, competitors, and goals
2. Ask for the **App ID** (to understand current rankings)
3. Ask for **target country** (default: US)
4. Ask for **seed keywords** — 3-5 words that describe the app's core function
5. Ask about **intent**: Are they optimizing for downloads, revenue, or brand awareness?

## Research Process

### Phase 1: Seed Expansion

Start with the user's seed keywords and expand using multiple methods:

**Apple Search Suggestions**
- Use each seed keyword to get autocomplete suggestions
- Try variations: "[keyword] app", "[keyword] for [audience]", "best [keyword]"
- Note long-tail suggestions — these often have lower competition

**Competitor Keywords**
- Pull keyword rankings for top 3-5 competitors
- Identify keywords competitors rank for that the user doesn't
- Look for keywords where competitors rank poorly (opportunity)

**Category Analysis**
- What keywords do top apps in the category target?
- Are there category-specific terms the user is missing?

**Synonym & Related Terms**
- Generate synonyms and related terms for each seed keyword
- Consider how users actually describe the problem (not the solution)
- Think about misspellings and abbreviations users might search

### Phase 2: Keyword Evaluation

For each keyword candidate, evaluate:

| Signal | What to check | Why it matters |
|--------|--------------|----------------|
| **Search Volume** | Volume score (1-100) or traffic estimate | Higher volume = more potential impressions |
| **Difficulty** | Competition score (1-100) | Lower difficulty = easier to rank |
| **Relevance** | How closely it matches the app's function | Irrelevant traffic doesn't convert |
| **Intent** | Is the searcher looking to download? | "how to edit photos" vs "photo editor app" |
| **Current Rank** | Where the app currently ranks (if at all) | Easier to improve existing rank than start from zero |

### Phase 3: Opportunity Scoring

Calculate an **Opportunity Score** for each keyword:

```
Opportunity = (Volume × 0.4) + ((100 - Difficulty) × 0.3) + (Relevance × 0.3)
```

Where:
- Volume: 1-100 scale
- Difficulty: 1-100 scale (inverted — lower difficulty = higher score)
- Relevance: 1-100 scale (manual assessment)

### Phase 4: Keyword Grouping

Group keywords into strategic buckets:

**Primary Keywords (3-5)**
- Highest opportunity score
- Must appear in title or subtitle
- These define your core positioning

**Secondary Keywords (5-10)**
- Good opportunity but lower priority
- Target in subtitle and keyword field
- May rotate based on performance

**Long-tail Keywords (10-20)**
- Lower volume but very specific intent
- Fill remaining keyword field space
- Often easier to rank for