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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossarySEO & ContentKeyword Research

SEO & Content

Keyword Research

Finding and evaluating the search terms your audience uses, weighing volume, difficulty and intent to decide what content to create.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Short answer

Keyword research is the process of finding and evaluating the search terms a target audience uses, weighing factors such as search volume, ranking difficulty and user intent. Its findings guide which content to create, how to structure a website and which terms to target in paid search, helping content match what people actually seek.