The idea of using a keyword matrix is far from new at this point, but it really isn't talked about much on the interwebs.

I wanted to get a sense of how important keywords were to some SEO's when it came to producing content - as a litmus test for how much impact a strategic tool like a keyword matrix might have on their efforts.

In an article by Peep Laja, he said:

SEO is going to get increasingly harder. If you're still doing SEO by optimizing for keywords, you should know: it's not 2008 anymore. Things have changed! Google understands context, natural language, intent.

And he is completely right.

Expanding on head terms and focusing on traffic is not how you are going to win the SERP's as we move into the world of 100% not provided and complete geo-personalized results.

But getting intent right is hard, and making sure you are developing the right content to support the right intent, at the right phase in the conversion funnel is even harder. But using research, analysis, and a dash of creativity gets the ball rolling…