# Keyword Research Summary — December 2025

**Date:** 2025-12-27  
**Conducted by:** @strategist  
**Tool:** DataForSEO (Google Ads Search Volume, Related Keywords)  
**Budget spent:** ~$0.35  
**Location:** United States  
**Language:** English

---

## Topics Researched

### 1. Remote Claude Workspace / MCP Remote Access

**Keywords tested:**
- claude desktop mcp
- mcp server remote
- claude desktop remote access
- claude projects multiple devices
- remote ai workspace

**Key findings:**

| Keyword | Volume | KD | Competition | Verdict |
|---------|--------|----|-----------|----|
| **claude desktop mcp** | 880 | 8 | LOW (0.02) | 🟢 Strong opportunity |
| mcp server remote | 30 | - | LOW (0.23) | 🟡 Niche but viable |
| claude desktop (parent) | 18,100 | 30 | LOW (0.09) | 🟢 Massive topic |

**Trend analysis:**
- Peak in Apr-July 2025 (1,600-1,900 searches/month)
- Current: ~400-900/month (declining but stable)
- YoY growth: +666% from Dec 2024

**Strategic assessment:**
- **Best opportunity** among tested topics
- Low competition (KD 8) = easy to rank
- Transactional intent = readers ready to implement
- Parent topic (Claude Desktop) has huge volume → halo effect potential

**Distribution potential:** Dev.to, HN (Show HN), r/ClaudeAI

---

### 2. Claude Code / MCP Image Generation

**Keywords tested:**
- claude code image generation
- mcp image generation
- generate images cursor ide
- ai coding image workflow

**Key findings:**

| Keyword | Volume | KD | Competition | Verdict |
|---------|--------|----|-----------|----|
| claude code image generation | 10 | - | LOW (0.05) | 🟡 Emerging niche |
| mcp image generation | 10 | - | LOW (0.12) | 🟡 Emerging niche |

**Trend analysis:**
- Extremely low volume (10-30/month)
- Inconsistent pattern, no clear growth trend
- MCP peaked Jul 2025 (30/month)

**Strategic assessment:**
- **Not for traffic** — too low volume
- **Good for thought leadership** — early mover in MCP ecosystem
- **Betting on future growth** — if MCP goes mainstream, could 10-100x
- Historical parallel: early Docker tutorials

**Distribution potential:** r/modelcontextprotocol, r/ClaudeAI, niche communities

---

### 3. "Too Many Models" Problem / Consistency

**Keywords tested:**
- too many ai models
- consistent ai image generation
- ai image api comparison

**Key findings:**

All keywords returned **zero or negligible search volume**.

**Strategic assessment:**
- **Problem-aware keywords don't exist** — people experience the pain but don't search for it
- **Not an SEO play** — won't drive organic traffic
- **Thought leadership value** — articulates unspoken frustration
- **Social distribution** — HN, Reddit, LinkedIn (not Google)

**Alternative approach:**
- Write as opinion/manifesto piece
- Target comparison keywords ("stable diffusion vs flux")
- Focus on counter-positioning vs competitors
- Distribute via social/community channels

---

## Key Learnings

### 1. Parent Topic Strategy Works

**Example:** "claude desktop" (18.1k volume) vs "claude desktop mcp" (880 volume)

- Ranking for specific long-tail can drive halo traffic from parent topic
- Even low-volume keywords (880) are worth targeting if parent is huge
- Low KD + high-volume parent = excellent ROI

### 2. Problem-Aware Keywords Often Don't Exist

**Pattern identified:**
- Developers experience pain (choice paralysis, context switching)
- But don't search for the problem ("too many models" = 0 volume)
- They search for solutions or specific tools

**Implication:**
- Don't rely solely on keyword volume for content decisions
- Community signals (Reddit, HN, forums) reveal real pain points
- Thought leadership pieces need social distribution, not SEO

### 3. Emerging Topics = Early Mover Advantage

**MCP ecosystem example:**
- Currently 10-880 searches/month (very low)
- But competition is near zero (KD 7-12)
- Potential for 10-100x growth if ecosystem matures
- Risk: may never materialize

**Strategy:**
- Mix quick wins (high volume, low KD) with bets (low volume, emerging)
- Monitor trends — if MCP volume grows, double down
- Early content ages well (historical SEO value)

### 4. Intent Matters More Than Volume

**Transactional intent observation:**
- "claude desktop mcp" = 880 volume, transactional intent
- Readers are ready to implement, high engagement
- Better than 10k informational searches (low engagement)

**Ranking factors:**
- Low KD (7-12) = easy to rank in emerging topics
- Backlink profile matters less (avg 8-100 domains)
- Content quality + early timing = win

---

## Topic Opportunities Ranked

| Topic | Volume | KD | Intent | Effort | Verdict |
|-------|--------|----|----|--------|---------|
| 1. Remote Claude MCP | 880 | 8 | Transactional | Medium | 🟢 **Do first** |
| 2. Claude Desktop (parent) | 18.1k | 30 | Commercial | High | 🟢 Long-term target |
| 3. MCP Image Gen | 10-30 | <12 | - | Medium | 🟡 Thought leadership |
| 4. Too Many Models | 0 | - | - | Low | 🟡 Social/HN only |

---

## Budget Notes

**Total spent:** ~$0.35

**API calls made:**
1. Google Ads Search Volume (11 keywords) — $0.15
2. Related Keywords for "claude desktop" (depth 1, 20 results) — $0.20

**Remaining budget:** ~$9.65 for December

---

## Recommendations for Future Research

### High-Priority Topics to Validate

**AI coding workflow keywords:**
- "cursor mcp setup"
- "ai image generation api"
- "next.js ai images"
- "placeholder images api"

**Banatie-specific angles:**
- "consistent image generation"
- "project-based image api"
- "ai image cdn"

### Research Strategy

**Before writing any article:**
1. Check parent topic volume (use Related Keywords)
2. Verify intent (informational vs transactional)
3. Look at SERP features (PAA, video, featured snippets)
4. Check trend (growing vs declining)

**Budget allocation:**
- $0.50/article for validation
- Save budget for quarterly deep dives
- Use free tools (Perplexity, Brave) for initial discovery

### Topics NOT Worth Researching

Based on patterns observed:

❌ **Don't research:**
- Problem-aware keywords without solution-seeking behavior
- Brand-specific queries ("cloudinary pricing" = already decided)
- Very broad topics with KD >70 (can't compete)

✅ **DO research:**
- Solution-seeking keywords ("how to X", "X tutorial")
- Comparison keywords ("X vs Y")
- Integration/workflow keywords ("X with Y")

---

## Next Steps

1. **Validate emerging topics quarterly** — check if MCP volume is growing
2. **Track rankings** — monitor "claude desktop mcp" after publishing
3. **Expand parent topics** — if "claude desktop mcp" ranks, try related queries
4. **Test social distribution** — compare HN traffic vs organic for thought pieces

---

**Last updated:** 2025-12-27  
**Next review:** 2026-03-27 (quarterly)
