Plans — Keyword Research

Seed a research artifact from opportunities, a topic, manual keywords, or a Page Explorer cluster; AI expands and clusters it; you star the keepers.

What is it?

The first phase of a Content Plan. You hand the system a seed — a few Opportunity Finder rows, a topic string, a list of typed keywords, or a saved Page Explorer cluster — and a Cloud Function runs Gemini to expand it semantically, cluster the results, and assign each keyword an intent + source. You then star (curate) the keywords that should drive the downstream plan.

When should I use it?

You want to anchor a plan on a specific topic but need the AI to surface adjacent terms.
You picked a few keywords in the Opportunity Finder and want them expanded into a full cluster.
You're working from a Page Explorer cluster that already groups related queries.

How to use it

Open Content Plans and click New research.
Pick a seed type:

- From opportunities — uses the keywords you checked in the Opportunity Finder. - Topic — type a short topic phrase. - Manual keywords — paste a list (one per line). - Page cluster — pick a saved Page Explorer cluster from the dropdown.

Click Start research. The pipeline runs in the background; the row appears in the research list.
When status flips to Ready, open the research and use the Star column to curate keepers.
Use the cluster cards on the right to keep groups together — clustered curation produces tighter plans.

Tips and best practices

Star 15–40 keywords for a solid plan. Under 5 and the pipeline rejects you ("not enough curated keywords").
Include a mix of pillars (broad), longtails (specific), and intents (informational + transactional).
If the first pass is weak, click Regenerate to re-run expansion + clustering on the same seed.

Gotchas and limits

Requires GSC connected for opportunities-seeded research; topic/manual seeds work without it.
Regeneration consumes Gemini credits — visible in the Monthly usage pill in your account menu.
Research artifacts persist forever; delete old ones from the Plans list when they're no longer relevant.