Lesson 1 · Affiliate websites
Keyword research for an affiliate website
Turn audience questions into a small content map with distinct page purposes and evidence requirements.
Choose three starter pages, group related queries and document the evidence each page needs.
Prerequisites: Have a specific reader and a draft project idea. The foundations project-plan lesson can help; no keyword-tool account or approved affiliate account is required.
Prepared with Codex; same-agent factual and editorial review. Research checked 2026-10-07.
In this lesson
Start with the decision your reader needs to make, then choose the page that can help. Keyword research should leave you with a small content map and an evidence plan. A long export of phrases is only a starting point.
In this lesson, you will group related questions, interpret optional demand metrics and choose three useful starter pages.
Follow the question to the page
- 1. Name the reader
A specific person, their situation and the decision you can help with.
- 2. Collect query ideas
Words that person might use, including product, problem and comparison questions.
- 3. Inspect the answer needed
Current result formats, what they cover and evidence you can add.
- 4. Assign a page
One proposed URL, a clear purpose and a next action for each distinct task.
Google advises anticipating readers' different search terms. Its language-matching systems can relate a page to queries without every exact phrase appearing in the text.1 Write naturally; do not turn wording variations into a publishing quota.
Check intent before choosing a format
Search a few candidate phrases for your target market. Record the date, leading result types and what the reader seems to need. Open relevant results rather than relying entirely on titles. This is your qualitative assessment, not a numerical difficulty score.
- Learn: explain a problem or show a process.
- Compare: present decision criteria and evidence for alternatives.
- Evaluate one product: distinguish documented specifications from your actual use.
- Find a provider or buy: consider whether a retailer or booking page would serve the task better than another article.
For example, “raised bed size for small patio” and “small patio raised bed dimensions” might belong to one size-selection page. Confirm that their results and reader needs overlap. If one needs a sizing worksheet and another needs a product comparison, reconsider the grouping.
Use demand numbers carefully
You can complete the exercise with searches and a spreadsheet. Use metrics when you have access; keep unavailable data Unknown.
| Optional signal | What it means | What it cannot establish |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword Planner average monthly searches | A rounded estimate for the keyword and close variants, using the selected date range, location and network.2 | Visits your site will receive or separate audiences you can safely add together. |
| Keyword Planner competition | Relative advertiser participation for the selected targeting.2 | Organic ranking difficulty. |
| Google Trends interest | Relative search interest normalized for time and location, scaled from 0 to 100.3 | A count of monthly searches or forecast sales. |
Access matters: Google's Keyword Planner documentation currently requires completed account setup and billing information for basic keyword ideas. It describes “Discover new keywords” and “Get search volume and forecasts”; the forecasts are for advertising, not a prediction of organic visits.4,2 This lesson does not require creating an account or running a campaign.
Record a metric's provider, country, date range, settings and retrieval date. Do not relabel a missing estimate as zero, or mistake a reported zero for proof that nobody has the question. Compare priorities using the same settings where possible.
A hypothetical patio-gardening map
Suppose you want to help people choose a raised bed for a small patio. These phrases, routes and priorities are hypothetical planning choices. We have not measured their volume, competition, rankings or earnings.
| Query idea | Proposed page | Original contribution and evidence needed |
|---|---|---|
| Raised bed size for small patio; small patio raised bed dimensions | /guides/raised-bed-size/ | A space worksheet with measured available space and documented product dimensions. Both phrases initially share one page. |
| Metal vs wooden raised garden beds | /compare/metal-vs-wood/ | Criteria for the reader's constraints, supported by exact product documentation. Test any claimed use or durability yourself. |
| Garden Tower alternatives | /compare/garden-tower-alternatives/ | Compare documented footprint, growing-space layout and limitations of selected options. Keep untested performance separate. |
| Raised bed drainage on a patio | /guides/patio-drainage/ | Document manufacturer requirements and questions the reader must resolve for their actual setting. |
| Raised garden bed review | /reviews/tested-bed/ | Defer a firsthand review until you have real use evidence. A sourced specification comparison is a different promise. |
| Garden Tower affiliate program | Outside this consumer map | Exclude this publisher-enrollment question from the patio buyer's plan. It serves a different audience. |
The gardening directory can help you discover relevant businesses. It does not replace product documentation, firsthand evidence or the terms for your own affiliate account.
The point is to make grouping, deferral and exclusion decisions. You do not need to publish every candidate.
Choose the first three pages
Ask three questions before drafting:
- Reader fit: will this answer a decision your intended reader actually faces?
- Evidence: can you obtain the measurements, documentation or experience the page promises?
- Contribution: what useful worksheet, comparison or explanation will you add?
Google's content guidance asks for original information, clear sourcing and added value rather than a rewrite of existing results.5 Use those questions to inspect your plan. They do not guarantee ranking.
For each selected page, write its purpose, related queries, proposed URL, original contribution, missing evidence and next action. If two briefs promise the same answer, consider one stronger page. If a claim needs a test you have not done, change the promise or defer it.
Put the map into your project plan
Take your three page briefs back to the first-project lesson. Choose one achievable page to research and build first.
Site structure, crawlability, link handling and measurement are separate parts of the website curriculum. A finished keyword map is a planning deliverable; traffic and affiliate results still need to be observed.
Put it into practice
Your turn.
Write ten query ideas for your reader. For each, note the task, observed result formats, market/date and evidence you can contribute. Keep unavailable volume Unknown.
Group related ideas into three starter pages with one proposed URL each. Name one original contribution, the missing evidence and the next action per page. Defer one idea you cannot support and exclude one that serves a different audience.
Check your thinking
Three pages should answer three distinct reader decisions. Similar wording alone should not create extra URLs. A useful first map might include size selection, a materials comparison and a documented drainage question; a review waits for real use evidence. Advertiser competition is not organic difficulty, and search estimates are not forecast visits. A keyword with missing data stays Unknown.