Search has split in two. People still type into Google — but they also ask ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, and increasingly get their answer from an AI Overview before ever clicking a link. Francis Joy, founder of Cerebron Technolabz and a Semrush AI Visibility Essentials Certified consultant with 10+ years in SEO, builds keyword strategies for Kerala businesses that work across both — classic SERPs and AI-generated answers.
What Is a Keyword? A keyword is the term or phrase someone types — or now, speaks or asks an AI assistant — when looking for information, a product, or a service. Search engines and AI models both use these terms to judge how relevant your content is to what someone actually wants.
What Is Keyword Research? Keyword research is the process of identifying and analyzing the search terms your audience uses around a topic, product, or industry. It looks at intent, search volume, and competition to select the terms most worth targeting, and, in 2026, it also looks at how those same questions get answered inside AI Overviews and chatbot responses.
Why Keyword Research Still Drives SEO. Keyword research remains the foundation of any SEO strategy. Targeting the right terms improves visibility in search results, attracts relevant organic traffic, and increases conversions. Done well, it also tells you what your audience actually needs, which shapes sharper, more targeted marketing across every channel, not just search.
Search Volume and Keyword Difficulty. Search volume is how many times a keyword is searched, typically measured monthly, and it tells you how much demand exists for a term. Keyword difficulty measures how hard it would be to rank for that term, based on competitor strength, domain authority, and backlink profiles. Balancing the two — enough demand, achievable difficulty — is where most keyword strategies win or lose.
The keyword research playbook that worked in 2016 is incomplete in 2026. Search behavior has shifted, and keyword research has to shift with it.
A growing share of Google searches now get answered directly on the results page. Ranking #1 doesn't guarantee a click anymore — being the source an AI Overview cites matters just as much.
People ask ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity full questions, not fragments. Keyword research now has to capture natural language questions, not just short-tail search terms.
AI engines evaluate whether your content covers a topic comprehensively, not just whether one keyword appears. Research now maps clusters of related entities and subtopics, not isolated phrases.
Beyond informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional intent, it's now worth flagging which queries are likely to trigger an AI-generated answer versus a traditional results list, since each needs a different content structure to win.
This is exactly where keyword research overlaps with GEO/AEO (Generative and Answer Engine Optimization): the keyword and entity research done here directly feeds how discoverable your business is inside AI-generated answers, not just Google's blue links.
See how targeted keyword research turned into #1 rankings for clients across healthcare, software, energy, childcare, and language education, in markets spanning Kerala, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Germany.
SEO Status: 2023-2024
| Keyword | Google Position |
|---|---|
| Fibroid Expert Dubai | 1 |
| Best Fibroid Center in Dubai | 1 |
| Best Gynecologist in Mediclinic Dubai | 1 |
| Laparoscopic removal of fibroid in Dubai | 1 |
| Hysteroscopic removal of fibroid in Dubai | 1 |
| Fibroid Expert UAE | 2 |
| Best fibroid Surgeon in UAE | 1 |
| Best fibroid center in UAE | 1 |
| Dr. Alphy S Puthiyidom | 1 |
SEO Status: 2023-2024
| Keyword | Google Position |
|---|---|
| Billing Software in Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Restaurant Software in Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Asset Management Software in Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Vehicle Management Software in Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Manufacturing Software in Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Real Estate Software in Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Laundry Software in Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Spa and Salon Software in Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Fitness Gym Software in Saudi Arabia | 1 |
SEO Status: 2023-2024
| Keyword | Google Position |
|---|---|
| Tubular Battery Provider in Kerala | 1 |
| Home Inverter Installation in Kerala | 1 |
| Online UPS Kerala | 1 |
| Solar Off Grid Installation Company in Kerala | 1 |
| Solar MPPT Inverters Provider in Kerala | 1 |
| Home Inverters in Kerala | 1 |
| Solar On Grid Installation Company in Kochi | 1 |
| Solar Battery Distributor in Kerala | 1 |
SEO Status: 2023-2024
| Keyword | Google Position |
|---|---|
| Storage Energy Battery Germany | 1 |
| Solar Street Light Battery Germany | 1 |
| Power Tools Battery Germany | 1 |
| Lithium Ion Battery in Germany | 1 |
| Lifepo4 Battery Germany | 1 |
| Energy Storage Battery Germany | 1 |
| German Lithium Ion Battery Manufacturers | 1 |
| Lipo Battery Germany | 1 |
SEO Status: 2023-2024
| Keyword | Google Position |
|---|---|
| Babysitting services Trivandrum | 1 |
| Babysitting agency Kochi | 1 |
| Professional babysitters Trivandrum | 1 |
| Trusted Childcare Services Kochi | 1 |
| On-demand babysitting Trivandrum | 1 |
| Reliable Childcare Solutions Kochi | 1 |
| Emergency babysitting services Trivandrum | 1 |
| Montessori Trained Babysitters in Kakkanad | 1 |
| Montessori Trained Babysitters in Calicut | 1 |
A transparent, 8-step methodology that produces keyword strategies holding up across both classic SERPs and AI-generated answers.
Define the business, its niche, and who it's actually trying to reach, since every keyword decision downstream depends on this.
Build an initial list of core terms tied to your products, services, and industry.
Use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ahrefs to surface related terms, search volume, and difficulty scores, alongside entities and subtopics that AI engines associate with your niche.
Pull People Also Ask data, forum and community questions, and test how ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity currently answer queries in your space, to find gaps you can fill better.
Review what competitors already rank for, where they're weak, and which of their keywords are realistically winnable.
Group keywords by informational, commercial, transactional, and navigational intent, and flag which are likely to surface in AI Overviews versus standard results.
Rank the final list by relevance, volume, and achievable difficulty, favoring long-tail and low-competition terms where they align with business goals.
Map prioritized keywords to specific pages, blog posts, and metadata, with clear content briefs so the research actually converts into ranked, cited content.
Francis Joy is the founder and CEO of Cerebron Technolabz, an ISO 9001:2015 certified digital marketing and software agency based in Kochi, Kerala. With 10+ years of hands-on SEO experience, he holds a Semrush AI Visibility Essentials Certification and received the Corporate Vision 2025 Award for his work in digital marketing and search strategy.
His keyword research work sits at the intersection of classic SEO and the newer discipline of GEO/AEO optimization, which means the strategies built here are designed to hold up as search itself keeps shifting toward AI-generated answers, not just ranked links. That approach has produced #1 rankings for clients across healthcare, software, energy, childcare, and education verticals, in markets spanning Kerala, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Germany, as shown in the case studies above.
Ready to find out what your customers — and the AI tools they're increasingly using — are actually asking? Reach out to Francis Joy directly.
