Lesson 5.1: The Full Workflow, Start to Finish
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to run the complete keyword research process from scratch on any new campaign, with a clear sense of how long each step takes and what you can and can't skip under time pressure.
Here's the complete workflow in sequence:
Step 1 — Buyer language (30–60 minutes)
Gather ten to twenty seed keywords from first-party sources: intake forms, CRM notes, sales call language, customer emails. These are your research anchors. Everything else builds from them.
Can you skip this? Only if you have direct knowledge of the buyer's language from personal experience selling or supporting the product. If you're running an account for a business you don't understand from the inside, you can't skip this.
Step 2 — Google autocomplete (20–30 minutes)
Run each seed keyword through systematic autocomplete expansion: completions, left-right expansion, common modifiers. Capture raw keyword candidates and start your negative keyword list simultaneously.
Can you skip this? No. This is the fastest, highest-signal, zero-cost research input you have. Skipping it and going straight to Planner is the exact mistake this course is correcting.
Step 3 — SERP reading (20–40 minutes)
For each keyword you're seriously considering for T1, spend five minutes reading the results page. Note ad copy, intent signals, PAA topics, and related searches. Confirm intent. Identify competitive context.
Can you skip this? You can skip it for keywords whose intent you're already highly confident in from Lessons 2.1 and 2.2. You should not skip it for any keyword where you're uncertain about intent or competitive pressure.
Step 4 — Competitor research (15–20 minutes)
Incognito browser, manual searches for your top T1 candidates, reading ad copy and landing pages. This is reconnaissance, not copying. Understand the competitive landscape before you enter it.
Can you skip this? You can shorten it if you already know the competitive landscape. You should not skip it entirely on a new account in an unfamiliar niche.
Step 5 — Search Console (10–15 minutes, if available)
Pull transactional queries with organic intent and add them to your raw list with high confidence.
Can you skip this? Yes, if the site is new or you don't have access.
Step 6 — Tiering (30–45 minutes)
Run your raw list through the intent signals checklist. Assign T1/T2/T3. Add match types. Write one-sentence rationale for each T1 entry. Finalize your negative keyword list.
Can you skip this? No. This is the step that turns research into a launch-ready list. Skipping it means launching with an unfiltered raw list, which is how you end up with the same outcome as a Planner-generated campaign.
Step 7 — Launch, then Search Terms loop (ongoing)
Set a recurring twenty-minute weekly review. Add negatives, promote terms, flag for watching. This is where your list gets better over time.
Total pre-launch time: Two to three hours for a new account with no existing data. Faster once you've done it a few times and have a working process and template.