to combine Excel with AI for keyword research

Keyword Research is a compass for SEO strategy.

Excel is a powerful tool that helps marketers organize, analyze, and present keyword data.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a new field.

Digital marketers can achieve even better SEO results by combining traditional Excel formulas and AI insights.

This comprehensive guide explores the intersection between Excel’s proven efficiency, and AI’s revolutionary potential for keyword research.

Excel can be used by marketers to find keywords

Excel is a powerful tool for keyword research.

The extensive features and functionality of this tool have collected, analysed, and visualised keyword data to provide insights into SEO strategies.

Data analysis and organization

Excel is a powerful tool that can be used to organize and manage large datasets.

Excel makes it easy to sort, filter and categorize large keyword lists.

Excel Formulas

Excel’s formulas have been essential for keyword analysis including:

Visualizing data

Excel’s graphing and charting tools can help you translate keyword data in a simple visual format.

You can use bar graphs, pie graphs or line graphs to represent keyword metrics such as search volume trends, ranking or competition levels.

Advanced Features

Excel’s more advanced features, such as pivot tables, are used to perform a deeper keyword analysis. These tools allow marketers to analyze, summarize, explore and present their keyword data.

Scalability and flexibility

Excel is capable of handling 100 keywords, or 100,000.

Excel is a popular tool for keyword research because of its scalability and ability to customize it to meet your specific needs.

Excel’s keyword search is now more effective and efficient thanks to AI

Excel is a powerful tool, but it has a steep learning slope and can take ages to process data manually.

The integration of AI in these areas can provide significant benefits.

Natural language processing allows us to automate and simplify traditional Excel tasks, and also enjoy a more intuitive data interactivity.

Let’s see how AI can improve your Excel keyword research.

Automate routine tasks

AI can automate repetitive tasks, such as data preparation and cleaning. This reduces the amount of manual labor.

AI can help, for example, identify and remove duplicates. It could also split keyword strings up into individual words or group keywords according to certain criteria. This can dramatically speed up the first stages of keyword research.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

AI models such as ChatGPT use NLP to allow users to interact using everyday language with data.

Even those who have little knowledge of Excel formulas can benefit from this method.

Large dataset handling

Excel is capable of handling large datasets. However, AI can handle vast amounts at a much faster pace.

It is especially useful for keyword research where we might have to deal with large lists of possible keywords.

Predictive Analysis and Insights

AI is able to offer insights into existing data that are not possible with Excel’s traditional functions.

AI can, for example, predict future trends in keywords or suggest high-performing keywords based on historical information.

Personalization of learning

AI can adapt over time to the individual needs of users by learning from their interactions.

Keyword research can be influenced in many ways, from recollecting data manipulations that have been used frequently to customizing keyword suggestions based upon past user preferences.

Data visualization support

AI can provide suggestions for the best ways to visualize data.

This tool can help users choose the best type of graph or chart based on their data and insights.

Enhancing decision-making

AI can enhance keyword research by providing a deeper level of insight. AI helps identify patterns, trends and correlations by quickly analyzing and processing data.

Excel isn’t replaced by AI, but it is enhanced.

AI does not replace Excel for keyword research, but it enhances and supplements its capabilities.

Marketers can now conduct keyword research in a more efficient, effective, and informed way by combining the robust Excel functionality with the processing power of AI.

Keyword grouping

Keyword grouping is the process of combining keywords that are similar or related. This has many benefits, including:

Excel’s versatile toolkit can help you group keywords. We’ll examine some Excel strategies to group keywords, and how AI can improve this.

Remove duplicates

Duplicate keywords can cause unnecessary noise and divert attention away from unique keywords which may be more profitable.

You should delete duplicates for a variety of reasons, including:

Combining AI with Excel can make it easier to handle duplicate data when researching keywords.

We’ll explore how to achieve this:

You can use Excel’s “Remove Duplicates Function” to remove any duplicate keywords from your list. You can use the following example:

This process, while simple, requires manual execution. It does not prevent future duplicates being introduced into the dataset.

It can be time-consuming to scan for duplicates if your dataset is large, especially if new data is constantly being added.

AI can help to improve the process. Excel can use an AI tool to automate and streamline the detection and removal of duplicates.

chatGPT can be used to create a script which automatically runs Excel’s “Remove Duplicates Function” at pre-determined intervals or whenever new data is entered.

The AI model can also check for duplicates in new data before it is entered into Excel.

Here is a hypothetical AI interaction:

You might ask the following questions:

You can reduce errors and save time by letting AI handle the duplicate detection and removal. This will also ensure that your Excel data is clean and free of duplicates.

AI is not a replacement for Excel, but rather, it optimizes and enhances Excel to make your keyword research more reliable and efficient.

Text Filters

Excel’s “text filters”,, is another tool to help group keywords. To create targeted and refined keyword groups, you can filter your list of keywords based on phrases or texts.

Text filters are useful for a number of reasons.

Let’s use an example in order to go a little deeper. Imagine you have a long list of keywords, and that you want to only include those which contain a certain term. For this example, we’ll use “vegan”.

You can apply text filters in Excel by following these steps:

Excel has functions such as FIND, SEARCH, and FILTER that can be combined with formula conditions to create a more sophisticated text filter.

If you want your list of keywords to only show keywords that contain “vegan,” then you can use the formula below (assuming your keywords appear in column A).


=FILTER(A:A, ISNUMBER(SEARCH("vegan", A:A)))

This formula returns a list of words from column A which include the word “vegan.”

AI can help you make the process more interactive. Instead of manually applying filters every time, you could ask the AI to do so using natural language.

You could, for example, ask the AI to:

The AI could perform the task using a API and return a list of keywords filtered.

AI can also add complexity to text filters, which Excel cannot.

You could, for example, ask the AI to only filter keywords that have a semantic relationship to a particular term and not those that simply contain that term.

Integrating AI capabilities with Excel’s robust functionality will streamline your keyword research and provide you with more nuanced insight from your data.

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Terms.

Data preparation and cleaning

Excel has a number of functions that can help with data preparation and cleaning.

We’ll show you how to use some of these features and provide some AI prompts that will enhance the process.

CONCATENATE

When researching keywords, Excel’s CONCATENATE function is used to create new keyword combinations. This is usually for long-tail keyword searches.

Imagine, for example, that you have the seed keyword “vegan recipe.”

You could have a separate list of terms like “easy”, “quick”, “healthy”, “for beginners”, etc. You can use the CONCATENATE feature to generate new keyword combinations:


=CONCATENATE(A2, " ", B2)

The seed keyword is “vegan recipes” and the descriptor is “easy”. The result will be “vegan easy recipes.”

Drag the fill handle to the bottom to create multiple long-tail keyword phrases.

AI Enhancement: How to make this better

The CONCATENATE feature in Excel is a useful tool for generating new keyword combinations. However, it has some limitations. The manual method is not very effective, as the keyword combinations are dependent on the descriptors you have set.

AI can enhance this process by allowing more creative and context-relevant keyword combinations.

An AI model can create a range of new terms and phrases based on your seed keyword.

You might, for example, ask the AI to:

The AI can then suggest combinations of words that you may not have included in your initial list, such as “vegan meal prep recipes”, “high protein vegan recipes”, “gluten free, vegan recipes”, etc.

AI is capable of much more than simple concatenation. It can generate questions based on its understanding of context and language, such as: “What are some easy vegan breakfast recipes?” or “How do I make an easy vegan recipe?”

The long-tail keywords reflect the way people search naturally, and targeting them in your SEO strategy will improve your website’s visibility.

The AI does not replace Excel’s CONCATENATE feature, but rather enhances it by providing a more diverse and nuanced keyword combination based on natural language.

SEARCH function

Excel’s SEARCH feature can be used to find the position and presence of a keyword or phrase in a cell.

You can use the SEARCH feature to find out if the keyword “chocolate”, for example, is in your long-tail keyword list.


=SEARCH("chocolate", A2)

This is a search for “chocolate”. A2 is where you enter the search.

This function returns the position of the first instance “chocolate”, within the cell, or an error message if it cannot find the text.

This method is a great way to classify or filter your keyword list according to the presence of specific terms. It will help you better target your SEO efforts.


Enhance this with AI

The SEARCH function has some limitations. The SEARCH function is case-insensitive, and it cannot understand synonyms or semantic meaning.

A model such as ChatGPT, an AI, can recognize synonyms and understand semantically related words.

If you ask an AI:

Excel’s SEARCH function would miss keywords like “cocoa,” dark chocolate,” milk chocolate,” choc,” and other terms that may be relevant for your search but are not returned by the AI.

The ISNUMBER function is a useful tool for identifying numbers.

The ISNUMBER Excel function is used in conjunction with other functions such as SEARCH in order to verify if a keyword or term in question is found in a text.

You might, for example, have a list in Column A of key phrases and you want to see if “mountain bike” is mentioned in any of them. You can use the following:


=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("mountain bikes," A:A)), "Yes," "No")

This formula returns Yes when “mountain bike” is located in column A, and No otherwise.


Enhance this with AI

Excel’s ISNUMBER/SEARCH combination is an effective tool for researching keywords. It is only able to match exact phrases and doesn’t take into account the different ways people may search for the same concept.

AI integration can help make the process more flexible. ChatGPT, an AI model that recognizes the phrase “mountain bike” as well as variations and synonyms like “mountain bicycling,” “off-road biking,” etc.

AI can identify these variations and give you a list of cells that includes not only the exact match, but also phrases relevant to context.

MATCH function

Excel’s MATCH function can be useful in determining the position of specific keywords in your list.

For example, you might use:


=MATCH("road trip", A1:A100, 0)

This formula returns the relative “roadtrip” position within the range A1 to A100.


Enhance this with AI

MATCH is a useful function, but it only returns the match that it finds. AI could scan all data and return every instance of the keyword. This would provide a comprehensive overview of where the keyword appears.

You could, for example, ask the AI to:

The AI can then provide a list or keywords/phrases containing ‘roadtrip’. This will give you more context about your data.

AI can also analyze variations and synonyms, allowing for a more detailed analysis.

You can get more out of your keyword research by leveraging AI’s natural language understanding abilities. This will help you develop a stronger SEO strategy.

Indicator function

In Excel, the INDEX function is used to extract a keyword based on relative position.

For instance, you might use:


=INDEX(A1:A100, 15)

This formula returns the 15th keyword from the range A1 to A100.


Enhance this with AI

Traditional INDEX functions are limited, because they only provide the keyword in a particular position. AI can help you add context to your analysis and provide a deeper understanding.

You might, for example, ask the AI to:

Or…

The AI can then provide a list with synonyms and related searches, giving you a better understanding of the keyword landscape.

AI can provide you with more insights into your keyword data and help you develop more effective SEO campaigns.

XLOOKUP is a powerful tool for analyzing data.

The XLOOKUP feature can be a useful tool in keyword research. It allows you to find a keyword and return its value.

You could, for example, use it to determine the volume of searches for a particular keyword:


=XLOOKUP("summer vacation", A2:A100, B2:B100)

This formula will search for “summer holiday” in the range of A2:A100, and return the corresponding search volume within the range B2 to B100.


Enhance this with AI

XLOOKUP in Excel is a useful tool, but it only allows for exact matches. You could use AI to ask “What is search volume for similar search queries as’summer holiday’?”

The AI would then return search volumes not only for’summer vacations’ but also for similar queries such as’summer holidays,”summer getaways,’ etc.

It can help you get a better idea of search volume for related keywords, rather than the exact match. This could be crucial in determining your SEO strategy.

Avoiding false matches

Excel can prevent false matches by formatting data and applying the correct functions.

It is necessary to combine techniques as a single formula cannot prevent all false matches. One common strategy is using stricter criteria for your Excel functions, and cleaning and normalizing your data before you perform lookups and matches.

You can use the MATCH function to prevent false positives such as “business trip” and “round trip.” The exact match mode can be used as follows:


=MATCH("road trip", A1:A100, 0)

The third parameter “0” in this formula looks for a match that is exact. Then, “round-trip” or “business trip”, would not match.

You can use a combination like IF, ISERROR and SEARCH to exclude specific phrases or keywords from your keyword research.

You can use the following search terms to exclude results such as “business trip”, “round-trip” or “round-trip”:

=IF(ISERROR(SEARCH(“business trip”, A1)) + ISERROR(SEARCH(“round trip”, A1)), A1, “Excluded”)

This formula will check each cell from A1 to A100. The formula returns “Excluded” if “business trip” or round trip is found in a cell. If the cell is empty, the value of the cell will be returned.


Enhance this with AI

AI can help to prevent false matches by understanding the context and meaning of words. You could, for example, ask the AI to:

The AI would then be able to provide a list with keyword phrases that contain ‘roadtrip’, but not ‘business’ or ’round’ trip. This way false matches are prevented.

You can improve your keyword analysis and research by leveraging AI’s ability to understand context.

VLOOKUP

VLOOKUP is used in keyword research to find specific information from a different row.

You can use VLOOKUP to determine the search volume for a particular keyword, for example, if your list of keywords is in column A, and the search volumes are in column B.

This is how it would appear:


=VLOOKUP("mountain trek", A2:B100, 2, FALSE)

This example shows that “mountain trekking” is the keyword, A2:B100 represents the table array containing the keyword and the search volume, 2 is the index column number of the search volume, and FALSE is an exact match.


Enhance this with AI

AI is a powerful tool that can help you understand your keywords better.

AI is able to understand the context of keywords and their semantic similarity, rather than simply returning search volumes for exact keyword matches.

You might ask:

The AI can then scan your dataset to return the search volume of’mountain trip’ and other related keywords, such as a’mountain climb’, a’mountain excursion’, or a’mountain adventure’.

This AI-enhanced keyword method can give you a wider view of the potential keyword landscape and help you identify opportunities that you may have missed with traditional Excel methods.

SUMIF (Sum of the Average) and AVERAGEIF

Excel’s SUMIF and AVERAGEIF can be useful in keyword research if you need to calculate the average or sum of values that satisfy a condition.

You can use these functions, for example, to determine the average or total search volume of keywords.

How to use SUMIF


=SUMIF(A2:A100, "*retreat*", B2:B100)

This formula adds up the values of B2:B100, (search volumes), where the cell in A2 to A100 correspondingly contains the word “retreat.”

Here’s an example of how to use AVERAGEIF


=AVERAGEIF(A2:A100, "*retreat*", B2:B100)

This formula calculates average values for B2:B100 when the cell corresponding to A2:A100 contains the word “retreat.”


Enhance this with AI

AI can enhance the utility of these functions, by providing a context-aware interpretation for your keyword data.

In calculating the average or sum, the AI can include related or synonym terms like “retreat”,’resort’,’sanctuary’, and ‘haven’.

An example AI prompt might be:

AI can then calculate a sum, or an average of all keywords that are contextually related. This will give you a better understanding of your data as well as help inform your SEO strategy.

Combining AI and traditional Excel methods will allow you to achieve a more detailed analysis of keyword research.

Generating graphs

The visual representation of data is crucial in keyword research. It provides insights and helps to understand trends, patterns, and comparisons.

Excel’s diverse chart types make it a powerful tool to create these visuals.

Graphs can turn raw data into useful insights. They can be anything from bar graphs comparing keyword volume to line graphs tracking keyword performance over time.

It can be time-consuming and complex to prepare the data. AI can help here.

We’ll look at some examples of how AI can improve the graph generation in Excel when it comes to keyword research.

Data preparation and processing

AI can assist you in preparing and refining your data before even creating a chart.

A model based on AI could, for example, help you identify and remove irrelevant keywords or outliers from your dataset.

The AI can be taught to recognize the similarity in meaning between keywords by using natural language understanding.

An example AI prompt might be:

The AI can then remove any keywords that do not fit in this context. This helps to ensure data is relevant before it is visualized.

Identification of patterns and trends

AI can identify patterns and trends that manual analysis might not have identified.

An AI, for example, could be used in Excel graphs to predict future trends using your keyword data.

This could be a prompt from AI:

These trends can be included in your Excel graphs to give you a view of the future.

Excel and AI are better together

Excel and AI play a significant role in keyword research today.

Excel’s extensive range of functions, formulas, and graphing tools allow for detailed data manipulation. Its graphing features provide clear and concise visualisations of keyword trends, comparisons, and other keywords.

AI models such as ChatGPT revolutionize the way we interact with data. The keyword research process is streamlined by their ability to handle large datasets.

AI tools make the process easier and more user-friendly. They can do everything from cleaning and preparing your data to searching for keywords and grouping them, as well as providing visual insights via graph generation.

These tools complement each other extremely well, but they don’t necessarily replace one another. The combination of Excel’s powerful data handling and visualisation capabilities with the intuitive, interactive interface of an AI model results in a potent mix that improves keyword research outcomes.

In an age where data-driven decisions are the norm, integrating AI into your existing tools is more than just a nice upgrade. It’s also a step towards gaining a competitive advantage.

The value of AI cannot be underestimated.

As AI technology improves, its importance in data analysis and keyword search will only increase.

The ultimate goal of these tools is to help you create relevant content and reach your audience. Excel and AI are a powerful force that can propel your digital marketing to new heights.

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