Does SEO Keyword Research Still Matter in 2026?
Before the AI era, the standard approach to improving online visibility was to build an SEO campaign around high-value search terms: keywords. The keyword list told SEO managers what to write about. Keywords gave us a clear way to track the success or failure of our approach. They drove SEO strategy from start to finish.
Has that changed? Recent statistics point to a shocking new paradigm in online visibility. Among the most cited: In 2026, 68% of Google searches ended without a click.
As AI upends years of search behavior, it’s fair to ask if SEO keyword research still matters. We’d say yes, keyword research is your ticket to greater online visibility. To realize that value, however, you must use keywords correctly. That hasn’t changed, AI or no AI.
Here are three reasons we still use keyword research to deliver serious visibility gains for our clients.
The Value of Keyword Research for Online Visibility
Online marketers who aren’t getting much value out of keyword research today probably didn’t get much value out of it five years ago, either. That’s because there’s a good way and a not-so-good way to use keyword lists.
Search keyphrases have never been buttons you can press to drive traffic. Slapping a bunch of keywords on a page has never been a good strategy (at least not since like 1998).
Even before AI, there was plenty of slop on the internet. Just think of all the “SEO-optimized” pages that packed keywords into a mess of useless, inexpert information. These were pages written for search engines, not for readers.
It was partly in opposition to these SEO “hacks” that Google developed its “E-E-A-T” developer guidelines. When returning search results, the Google algorithm prioritizes pages that demonstrate “experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.” That’s still their advice to content creators.
To sum up: Keyword research doesn’t help if you use the results thoughtlessly. It can help you create good content that finds its intended audience, however. Here’s how.
1. Keyword research helps you understand the relationship between audience intent and the language they use to express it.
The SEO platforms that produce SEO keyword-research tools — SEMRush, Moz, Ahrefs, etc. — aggregate actual search data. That means keyword research helps you understand the language your audience is using.
That’s helpful. As marketers, we can get stuck using our own company’s preferred language. Some of our clients describe the uses of their products as “applications.” Others use the term “use cases.” But what about the potential buyers who are searching or asking their chatbots? We’ll best reach them if we use their language, not our own. Keyword research helps us understand that language.
When we’re coming up with new product names for clients, we always do a bit of keyword research as part of that process. It helps us understand the terminology that potential buyers already use. In our traditional SEO content, using the same language as our audience demonstrates expertise and authority. Finally, understanding the language people use makes it more likely that our pages will show up in an AI overview or chatbot response.
2. Keyword research can get more value out of pages you’ve already published.
The best time to research keywords isn’t necessarily before you publish. The best content — pre- and post-AI — directly satisfies a user’s search intent. That is, it answers a question.
Try starting with questions. Is there something in your industry that doesn’t quite make sense? Something you’ve tried to clear up, only to find that the internet is silent on the topic, and AI bots always get it wrong?
That’s content-marketing gold.
- Start with original research. Talk to the engineers or product designers who know your industry best.
- Then write the answer to your own question.
- Don’t worry about keywords; just create helpful content.
- If you, as an insider, want to know something that’s not already on the internet, your audience will, too.
Give your page a few weeks to settle into the Google algorithm. Then — maybe two or three months after posting — start your keyword research. Use the tool of your choice to see which terms your page is ranking for.
Maybe you’re already ranking well for a high-value keyphrase. Maybe you’re getting a lot of AI citations. (The two signals are related and often occur together.) If so, mission accomplished. If not, however, see if there’s a high-value keyword showing up in spots 11 to 20, or even 30 — on the second or third page of the SERP, that is.
Rewrite the page to optimize for these terms. Don’t just stuff keywords, of course. Ask what the search intent behind these keywords might be. Does someone searching for “lifelike text-to-speech” want to know how TTS works, or are they ready to sign up for a TTS service? Probably the latter. But if you’re ranking for “what is TTS,” you’ve got a totally different assignment.
Discover the question behind the term. Answer that question. The fact that you’re almost ranking well means you’ve got a good start. Rewrite for the keyphrase and you’re likely to land on page one of the SERP and rack up many more AI citations at once.
3. Keyword research is an essential starting point for traditional SEO, which can generate high-value traffic.
Maybe only 32% of Google searches end in a click, but there’s a good chance that those searches represent your highest-value traffic: Someone who’s ready to buy. After all, AI can’t sell your products or sign someone up for your SaaS (not yet, anyway). Only your website can do those things.
The people who click are more likely to be qualified leads. The best way to get in front of them is to optimize for the questions they’re asking — whether that’s through AI or traditional search. Keyword research is still a great way to predict those questions.
If you’re not sure how to get started, send us a message. We can help with keyword research, content strategy, and genuine, human-written articles that drive visibility through AI and traditional search alike.
3 Types of SEO/GEO Content That Build Authority
What’s best for GEO today is what’s always been best for SEO: Fresh, original, high-quality content. The trick is to put something on the internet that isn’t already there. Generative AI can’t do that. It can only remix what already exists. To get AI and search engines to see your site as an authority, you’ll need to create primary resources.
Luckily, generating useful new information isn’t as hard as you might think. Here are three ways to create original material without requiring a dedicated research wing or tons of time and money.
First, though, a little background on why we’re enthusiastic about novelty in SEO/GEO content.
Research-Based Vs. Original SEO/GEO Content
In the pre-AI days, a lot of SEO content was based on research alone. Organizing information was a valuable service even if you didn’t create the data from scratch. Done right, the results were both helpful (for your audience) and beneficial (for your web traffic numbers).
For example, if your audience operates in a heavily regulated industry, you could create a list of relevant standards and regulations. You’d pull from existing regulatory and technical industry sources, but you’d create something new: An organized compilation of information that’s directly relevant to your audience. They’d click, they’d learn, and maybe they’d convert.
These days, research-based articles are less likely to lead to a click — which doesn’t make them entirely useless, of course! They still build authority and show up in search, both AI and conventional. They just tend to move the traffic needle less than they used to.
People still need to organize the internet’s information, but they increasingly trust AI to do it. Remember, the goal of content marketing is always to genuinely help your audience. That’s what brings them to your contact form. There’s no point offering something AI can do just as well. So, to stand out these days, create the content that AI can’t.
The best way to show up in AI overviews and search engine results is to say something new. To put it in vaguely sciencey terms, you must generate new data. That’s the one thing AI can’t do. It’s the best way to stand out from the proliferating AI slop. It’s also kind of exciting.
3 Types of SEO/GEO Content for Original Data Creation
Here are a few types of content that bring new ideas to the internet, broadening your visibility along the way:
1. Case Studies
Case studies are great because they’re real-world stories. They’re your stories, and they’re yours to tell. That originality makes them extremely valuable on a stagnating internet.
As we’ve mentioned before, we love case studies. They meet so many goals simultaneously. All at once, case studies are:
- Great sales content. Hand them to leads who find themselves in similar positions to the ones described in your case studies. They’re proof of effectiveness.
- Great SEO content. Only the most qualified leads will search for the sorts of challenges your case studies describe. They’re the most likely to click and take action. With well-structured success stories, you’ll show up for these highly relevant searches.
- Great GEO content. The AI chatbots love to cite examples. Case studies give them those examples on a platter.
Don’t have time to write up your success stories? At Relay Online Marketing, we make it easy. Fill out a questionnaire or just meet us on a 20-minute phone call, and we’ll take it from there. Contact us if that sounds helpful.
2. Do-It-Yourself Surveys
We’d estimate that 99% of content creators — human or otherwise — love a good statistic. Numbers look authoritative. They make our claims stronger. Good, new data that’s highly specific to your industry is very likely to show up in relevant AI responses and traditional search alike.
The trouble is, it’s hard to generate good, fresh data. Scientists are expensive. One simple DIY solution is the humble survey: Solicit responses, generate some percentages, and write up your findings.
Not comfortable surveying your strangers on Reddit? Survey your customers or staff. Any group that’s big enough to generate meaningful statistics can help you learn interesting facts about your industry — and if you’re interested, odds are your audience will be, too.
3. Editorial Articles
You’re probably an expert in your industry. You’re definitely the expert on your business, and we’re sure you have opinions. Share them.
Of course, you’ll want to keep it relevant to the business. Your political views aren’t likely to show up in search. But original ideas about how your industry could be more efficient, or more ethical, or more exciting — those might. Call it thought leadership if you must. The point is to express your point of view, to share what you’ve learned from your unique vantage point within the industry.
If those insights are hard to get down on paper, we can help. Contact us to turn a quick conversation into original SEO/GEO content that makes your authority clear.
Why Case Studies Are Great for GEO
We used to think of case studies as sales copy. They showed off your competitive differences. They gave qualified leads confidence that you were the right partner. This was brand storytelling, best for tugging the heartstrings (or purse strings) of sales prospects who were almost ready to click “buy.”
In other words, we classified case studies as bottom-of-funnel content. For the top of the sales funnel — the discovery phase of a buyer’s journey — we’d recommend helpful, informative blog posts. We’d try to find out what questions your audience hand, then post the best answers to those questions.
Generative AI has completely flipped our view of case studies (or success stories, if you prefer). They’re not just for sales anymore. They’re also essential top-of-funnel tools, ideal for getting brand mentions into AI overviews and website links into AI citations. Here’s why case studies are more important than ever in the era of zero-click search.
Case Studies in the Shift From SEO to GEO
In retrospect, traditional SEO was simple. Every search query was a question. Post the best answer to that question and you’d climb the SERP rankings. There was an alignment of interests between searchers, search engines, and content producers: Everyone wanted the best answers to show up first.
Now search engines want their own answer to show up first. Searchers seem okay with the shift. It’s hard to know which numbers to trust, but everyone seems to agree that some huge majority — between 60 and 80 percent — of searches are ending without a click.
In some ways, that’s not as huge a shift as it sounds. As we’ve mentioned before, people who want to buy something still have to go to your website. Search engine rankings are still important for your bottom line.
But the new paradigm does change the type of content that puts your brand in front of fresh eyes. Before generative AI engines, concise, informative content was great for digital visibility. Now you can’t just answer a question, because AI will do that for you — and the AI overview always comes first.
To get discovered, you must show up in AI overviews and AI chatbot responses. That’s the goal of generative engine optimization (GEO). Case studies have become really good for GEO for three main reasons:
1. Case studies give chatbots easy access to examples.
Generative AI can’t make anything up, but it’s programmed to project authority. It uses real-world examples to do so. If you can provide such an example, you have a strong chance of showing up in the AI-generated answer to a question that’s highly relevant to your industry.
2. Case studies demonstrate experience.
As half-baked chatbots take over the internet, real experience is only growing in value. The people who make the chatbots know that, so it’s no surprise that, in 2024, Google added “Experience” to its Search Quality Rater Guidelines. (This joins the pre-existing factors of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).
With a full slate of success stories on your website, you show off your experience to prospective customers, search engines, and AI bots alike. You’re more likely to be cited in an AI overview. You may also rank higher on traditional search engine results pages (SERPs).
3. Case studies put you in front of highly qualified leads.
The nice thing about AI search is that it encourages people to ask really, really specific questions. (Now, AI will answer those questions whether it has good information or not, so this benefit doubles as a drawback.)
But suppose you run a B2B business in a narrow niche, like selling rubber seals to gas mask manufacturers or something. If someone asks ChatGPT, “How do I repair a horse gas mask,” that is a qualified lead. It’s someone you want to get in front of.
Now say there’s not much info online about rubber gas mask seals in general, let alone specifically for horse gas masks. And say you did a custom horse-gas-mask seal job a few years ago. If you tell that story on your website, chances are high that the AI bots will mention you to that searcher.
In other words, the case study will help you get discovered. It will also, simultaneously, help you convert a prospect into a customer. In fact, scratch what we said earlier: Case studies haven’t shifted from bottom-of-funnel to top. They’ve grown to occupy the entire sales funnel at once.
We Will Write Case Studies For You (Without AI)
We’ll talk about what makes a good case study some other time. But if you’d like help telling your success stories, contact us today. We’re experts in the form (and we’re probably cheaper than you think).
How to Build a Content Plan with Sheer Guesswork
Here’s a story: When I started writing blogs for the industrial sector, I didn’t know much about OSHA. That was an issue, as OSHA is…well, kind of important in the industrial sector.
To prepare for my first few blogs, I did research. I asked questions that might seem obvious: What’s the difference between OSHA and NIOSH? What happens if you violate OSHA guidelines? Who’s responsible for a compliance violation? Is OSHA run by lizard people?
Surprisingly, the internet was oddly silent (except on the lizard people issue, which took me down a rabbit hole). Getting the answers to some of these basic questions took some digging, so I started writing blogs addressing those types of topics — the types of things that an industrial audience would almost certainly understand from the outset.
I pitched those articles to our clients, they accepted them, and those pages started ranking. Today, those first blogs are some of the most successful pieces we’ve written about the industrial sector, with several Featured Snippets and numerous top-10 SERPs.
Not bad for guesswork.
Building a Content Plan: Robot Eagles vs. Stupid Flying Beetles
You can pay a lot for content ideas. SEMRush doesn’t give you their Topic Research tools unless you upgrade to a premium account, to the tune of about $400 per month. Moz’s Keyword Explorer is an excellent alternative, but access costs at least $79 per month. MarketMuse uses AI to generate topics with strong growth potential; subscriptions start at around $400 a month and go up (and up) from there. You could make that investment.
Or you could go with your gut. That sounds terrible, I know. We digital marketers like to present ourselves as laser-focused birds of prey, spearing our goals with deadly accuracy from 10,000 feet in the air, and data-focused strategies certainly have their place.
But eagles aren’t the only animals that eat and lay eggs and generally do okay: So do June bugs.
A Relay content expert. Credit: Egor Kamelev at Pexels.
If you’ve ever watched one of these bumbling beetles try to regain its footing after flying into your curtains, you might not think of them as inspiring. But they get the work of being a June bug done, even if that means reproducing through accidental mid-air collisions. (I am sure this is how it happens and will not listen to entomologists who claim otherwise.)
June bugs succeed through the repeated effort of a first-timer, not by being the smartest bug in the room (that’d be spiders). They approach every task with the stumbling amateurishness of a three-month-old. And when I’m coming up with growth-focused topics for a content plan, and my SEO tools fail me? I try to think like a June bug. That is, I put my inner expert to sleep for a while.
Beginner’s Mind in a World of SEO Experts
Boosting traffic through organic search boils down to one process: providing the best possible answer to the questions most relevant to your industry. There’s no trick. There’s no shortcut. You just have to a: uncover the questions your audience is asking, and b: create the best answers to those questions on the internet.
If building an effective content plan starts with finding the right questions, a new writer’s perspective can be surprisingly useful in that effort.
Why? Because content writers don’t know as much about your industry as you do. They never will. They’re also tired, generally, and a a little bit incompetent. Not as incompetent as a June bug, maybe, but often in the running.
That’s also typically true of your audience. Even if you’re writing B2B pieces at a fairly advanced level, a good portion of your readers will want key terms clarified, and some of them will visit your site to try to shore up their knowledge of the industry. Addressing the easy stuff — even if it seems fairly obvious to you — can significantly widen your reach.
Using What You Don’t Know to Connect with Your Audience
I’m not saying “the power of big data” can’t help you build leads through targeted content. I’m not saying that ignorance is a virtue, even, but I am saying this: Listen to your ignorance.
If you’re curious about something in your industry, so’s someone else. If you can’t find an answer on the first page of Google, you’ve got a golden opportunity, SEO-wise — and those are rare. As you read industry literature, or conduct research, or talk to clients, take notes on everything you don’t know. Then search for answers.
Worst case scenario, you learn more about your industry. Even better? You find your next great content topic. Like a flailing June bug tripping into a tasty houseplant, your ignorance can lead you backward to your goal. If you don’t have enough ignorance, hire a writer who does.
I’m pretty sure I just claimed heavy ignorance as a value proposition, so it’s probably time to end this post. On the other hand…you found this page somehow.
Anyway, here’s a gif of a June bug on its back. Ha ha, keep trying, little buddy!