When launching a new site or taking over an existing blog, the first mistake often consists of writing pages on topics that no one is searching for. We produce content, publish it, wait, and the traffic doesn’t come. The problem lies upstream: without solid keyword analysis, we are working blindly. Choosing the right terms before writing a single line is what separates a visible site from a ghost site.
Keyword Analysis and Organic CTR: The Context Has Changed
A keyword with a high search volume no longer guarantees a flow of visitors. Since 2024, the average organic click-through rate on Google has dropped significantly. Ahrefs observed a decline from 1.76% in June 2024 to 0.61% in September 2025. AI Overviews, featured snippets, and rich results capture an increasing share of attention directly on the results page.
In practice, this means we can no longer simply sort keywords by volume. We need to assess the likelihood that a click will actually reach your page. A keyword with 500 monthly searches that generates a real click is worth more than a term with 5,000 searches absorbed by an AI response at the top of the page.
To better understand the complete methodology behind this approach, one can refer to the keyword analysis on Lordy’s which details the operational steps.
Search Intent: The Filter That Changes Everything in SEO
Many guides list tools before explaining what to look for. In practice, the effective sequence is the opposite: we start by understanding what the visitor wants to achieve, then we choose the appropriate tool.
Search engines rank each query according to a dominant intent. When someone types “best keyword analysis tool,” they are comparing. When they type “how to find long-tail keywords,” they want a method. Targeting a keyword without identifying the intent is like answering the wrong question.
Specifically, we categorize our keywords into three operational categories:
- Informational: the user seeks to understand a concept or solve a problem (“what is a long-tail keyword,” “how to analyze SEO competition”)
- Commercial/comparative: they are evaluating options before making a choice (“Semrush vs Ahrefs,” “best free SEO tool 2025”)
- Transactional: they are ready to take action (“buy Semrush subscription,” “free trial Ahrefs”)
An editorial site should focus on the first two categories. An e-commerce site also targets the third. This sorting helps avoid producing content that never converts.
Keyword Analysis Tools: Which to Use According to Need
We don’t need ten tools. We need the right tool at the right time. Here’s how we distribute the work on the ground.
Google Keyword Planner to Explore a Sector
Free and directly connected to Google Ads data, the Keyword Planner remains the most reliable starting point for obtaining search volume ranges. It works well for mapping out the major themes of a sector before refining. Its limitation: the volumes are rounded and the suggestions remain quite broad.
Semrush and Ahrefs for Competitive Analysis
These two platforms allow you to see which keywords your competitors are ranking for, along with their estimated traffic and difficulty score. We use them to identify gaps in the semantic coverage of an existing site. Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool generates suggestions grouped by sub-themes, which speeds up the construction of an editorial plan.
AnswerThePublic and Google Suggest for Long-Tail
Conversational queries and specific questions (“which tool to find free keywords”) often represent the best opportunities. AnswerThePublic aggregates Google suggestions in the form of questions. We complement this with “People Also Ask” directly in Google results. The long-tail concentrates a considerable cumulative volume and generally lower competition.
GEO and Conversational Queries: Adapting Your Analysis to AI Engines
AI response engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini) are changing the nature of queries. Users no longer type “Italian restaurant Paris 11,” they ask “which Italian restaurant is not too expensive in the 11th for a birthday with children.” This phenomenon has a name: GEO, for Generative Engine Optimization.
For keyword analysis, this means working on multidimensional intents rather than isolated terms. We no longer just target “convertible sofa,” but we structure the content to answer “which convertible sofa for a 20 m² studio with daily use.”
Responses vary on this point depending on the sectors. In technical B2B niches, the impact of AI Overviews remains limited. In tourism, health, or consumer tech, the share of no-click results is rising quickly. It is essential to monitor the actual SERP of each target keyword before betting on it.
Building an Actionable Keyword Plan for Your Content Strategy
Analysis is worthless if it remains in a spreadsheet. Here’s how we transform a list of terms into an action plan:
- Group keywords by thematic cluster: a pillar page covers the broad topic, satellite articles address the sub-questions
- Assign a priority based on the potential traffic ratio / positioning difficulty, incorporating the AI Overview risk
- Map each cluster to an existing or to-be-created URL, to avoid cannibalization between pages
- Reassess every quarter: volumes and intents evolve, especially since the arrival of AI responses in Google results
An outdated keyword plan generates unnecessary content. The frequency of updates is as important as the quality of the initial analysis.
Keyword analysis remains the foundation of any SEO strategy, but its evaluation criteria have shifted. Search volume, intent, likelihood of actual click, potential for citation by AIs: these four filters applied together allow you to focus your efforts on terms that truly bring qualified traffic.