How to build a keyword map for a website?

Building a keyword map takes 5 steps: seed → expansion → volume check → clustering → URL mapping. For a micro-site, 1–2 days; for e-commerce, 2–4 weeks. Rule: don't try to do it all at once — better to build 200 quality queries in a week than 2000 garbage queries in a day.

Step 1 — Seed (1 day)

Write 10–30 base phrases describing your niche.

Step 2 — Expansion (2–5 days)

• Google Keyword Planner (free).
• Ahrefs / Semrush / Moz (paid).
• Google Suggest, "People also ask".

Step 3 — Volume (1–2 days)

Mark monthly volume for each query. Drop everything below 10/mo unless it's a transactional gem.

Step 4 — Clustering (1–3 days)

Group by SERP similarity. Same top-10 results → same cluster → one page.

Step 5 — URL mapping (1–2 days)

Each cluster → existing URL or new page to create.