"We Did Keyword Research Last Year"
Cool.
Last year, your competitors had different content. Different keywords were trending. Some of your keywords had different intent. New products launched. Markets shifted.
Your keyword research is stale.
The Keyword Research Calendar
Weekly (5 minutes)
Check rank tracking for your top 20 keywords. Note any significant movements. No deep analysis needed — just awareness.
Monthly (1-2 hours)
Review Search Console for new queries driving impressions. Identify emerging keywords you're accidentally ranking for. Optimise for them intentionally.
Quarterly (half day)
Full keyword audit. Check for:
Annually (2-3 days)
Complete keyword research refresh. Treat it like starting from scratch. New seeds, new expansion, new competitor analysis. Then compare with your existing strategy. Ahrefs recommends a similar cadence for keeping your keyword data current.
Why Ongoing Research Matters
Search behaviour evolves. Industries change. Competitors adapt.
The keyword strategy you built 12 months ago is a snapshot of a moment that no longer exists. This is the mindset behind the SEO checklist that runs itself — SEO is a continuous process, not a project.
After 500+ campaigns, the ones that maintain consistent keyword research momentum outperform those that treat it as a one-time project. Every time.
Stay on Schedule
SEO Checkup helps you build ongoing SEO habits. 113 tasks. Free. No credit card. 30 seconds.