Keyword Set Governance (Onboarding)

Keyword Set Governance (Onboarding)

1. 01

   Build the keyword universe from the client's actual revenue lines, not from a seed list

   Pull the top 20 converting queries from Search Console and paid search, then map each to a product or service the client invoices for. Keywords with no revenue path get logged as watch-only.

2. 02

   Split the set into three tiers with explicit headcount limits

   Cap tier one at 25 to 40 head terms that carry the retainer narrative, tier two at 100 to 150 commercial mid-tail terms, and tier three as an uncapped long-tail pool used for volatility detection.

3. 03

   Fix the check frequency per tier before the first pull

   Daily checks on tier one and two, weekly on tier three. Hourly scheduling on a 500-keyword set inflates cost without changing the client conversation, so reserve it for launch weeks.

4. 04

   Set the device, locale, and location grid the client actually sells into

   A local services client needs city-level geo grids, while a national B2B account needs one national locale plus the two metros where pipeline concentrates. Record the grid in the account brief so delivery does not drift between analysts.

5. 05

   Add an AI citation layer alongside the classic SERP set

   Define 15 to 30 buyer-intent prompts and track brand presence in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Nightwatch and LLMrefs both cover this surface, and Peec adds sentiment scoring on the same prompts.

6. 06

   Name the competitor cohort and lock it for the quarter

   Pick 3 to 5 rivals the client's sales team actually loses deals to. Rotating competitors mid-quarter makes share-of-voice charts unreadable and invites disputes over the trend line.

7. 07

   Baseline the first snapshot and store it as the contract reference point

   Export positions, visibility share, and AI mention rates on day one. Every later report compares against this file, which ends the argument about whether the starting point was cherry-picked.

8. 08

   Write the alert thresholds and the escalation owner into the account record

   Trigger a review when a tier one term drops 5 or more positions week over week, and route it to the named strategist rather than the reporting inbox. Nozzle's pixel-from-top and above-the-fold metrics are useful secondary triggers for commercial terms.