Finding fresh, relevant subtopics keyword for your content can sometimes feel like searching needle in a haystack. Finding those related new keywords that are relevant to the main keyword are cumbersome without fully depth understanding of the main keyword’s are.

As someone who’s been in the digital marketing and content creation space, I live with the struggle. You have your main keyword or theme, but fleshing that out into a full content plan? That’s where the real work begins. Traditionally, I’d use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush, which are fantastic for many SEO tasks. However, for uncovering the nuanced subtopic keywords, that’s where AI play a key role.

Today, I want to share my process for using AI. Tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, or even up-and-comers like DeepSeek to generate insightful subtopic keywords.

Why Traditional Keyword Research Sometimes Needs a Boost

Don’t get me wrong, keyword research tools are invaluable. They give us search volume, difficulty, and competitor insights. I still use them daily for my SEO work, drawing on my experience optimizing campaigns for companies like Misumi Indonesia, where we boosted Organic Traffic by 151%. But when it comes to brainstorming the breadth and depth of a topic, AI language models can offer a different kind of creativity. They can help you think like your audience, anticipating questions and related interests you might not have considered.

My Process: Using AI for Subtopic Keyword Generation

My approach is pretty straightforward but requires a bit of iterative prompting to get the best results.

1. Start with Your Broad Theme or Pillar Keyword:

You need a starting point. This could be a primary keyword you’re targeting for SEO, or a core theme for your next series of blog posts. For example, let’s say my pillar keyword is “financial benefits of corporate vehicle rental” (for a company of leased & rental car company)

2. Crafting the Initial Prompt for AI:

I usually open up ChatGPT, Gemini, or whichever LLM I’m experimenting with. My initial prompt would be something like:

“I’m a content creator and digital marketer working on a content cluster around the main topic ‘financial benefits of corporate vehicle rental’ My target audience is small business owners in Indonesia and junior marketing executives. Can you generate a list of 20-30 potential subtopic keywords or long-tail keywords related to this? Focus on practical applications, challenges, and benefits for these audiences.”

I find that providing context about the target audience helps the AI tailor its suggestions. My experience at SMARTFREN, managing campaigns for diverse user segments, taught me the importance of audience-centric messaging. For more examples of effective prompts, check out my guide on Practical AI Prompting: My Prompts for Daily Use (Writing & Social Media Content).

3. Refining and Categorizing Generated Ideas: The first output is rarely perfect. I review the list, looking for:

• Relevance: Does it truly fit under the main theme?
• Audience Fit: Would small business owners or junior marketing executives actually search for this or find it useful?
• Untapped Angles: Does it offer a unique perspective?

Then, I might use a follow-up prompt:

“Thanks, Ok thats good. Now, could you categorize these subtopics into themes like ‘cost management’, ‘operational efficiency,’ and ‘scalability’? Also, can you suggest 3-5 more related niche subtopics that a growth-oriented SME founder might find useful for her clients?”

This helps in organizing the ideas and digging even deeper. If you’re looking for different ways AI can assist here, you might find my post on Brainstorming Content Ideas with AI: 3 Techniques That Actually Work useful.

4. Cross-Referencing with SEO Tools:

Once I have a solid list from the AI, I take those potential subtopic keywords back to my traditional SEO tools (Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner, etc.). This is where I check for search volume, competition, and existing SERP landscapes. This step ensures that the creative ideas generated by AI are also grounded in SEO viability. It’s a blend of AI’s expansive thinking and data-backed validation.

Real-World Application: From “AI in Marketing” to Specific Angles

Let’s say my broad topic is “AI in Marketing.” Initial AI output might give general terms. Through refining prompts, I could get to more specific subtopics like:

• “Using AI for personalized email marketing campaigns for SMEs”
• “Beginner’s guide to AI-powered social media content scheduling”
• “How AI can help analyze customer feedback for product development (for marketing teams)”
• “Ethical considerations of using AI in marketing data collection”

These are much more focused and actionable for content creation, addressing pain points for personas like Gilang Ramadhan, a junior marketing executive, who is learning the ropes of digital marketing, or Fitriani Hasan, a growth focus SME founder, who needs to understand AI’s impact on business processes.

Key Takeaways

• AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek are excellent for brainstorming and generating a wide array of subtopic keywords.
• Providing clear context about your target audience in your prompts leads to more relevant suggestions.
• The process is iterative; refine your prompts based on the AI’s output.
• Always validate AI-generated keywords with traditional SEO tools to check for search volume and viability.
• AI augments, not replaces, your expertise and strategic thinking.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Can AI generate keywords with good search volume? AI itself doesn’t directly access real-time search volume data in the same way SEO tools do. It generates ideas based on patterns in the vast text data it was trained on. That’s why it’s crucial to use the AI-generated ideas as a starting point and then validate them with tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Google Keyword Planner for search volume and difficulty.

Q2: Which AI tool is best for generating subtopic keywords? ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Claude are all very capable. I’ve also experimented with others like DeepSeek. The “best” often comes down to personal preference and the specific nuances of your topic. I recommend trying a couple with the same prompt to see which gives you a more useful starting point. Sometimes one model will give more creative, out-of-the-box ideas, while another might provide more structured, predictable ones.

Q3: How many subtopic keywords should I aim for from AI? It’s better to get a larger list (exp: 20-50) and then refine it down. Not all suggestions will be gold. The goal is to cast a wide net initially and then use your expertise to filter and select the most promising ones that align with your content strategy and audience needs.

Q4: Can AI help me understand the intent behind subtopic keywords? Yes, indirectly. By asking the AI to generate questions your target audience might have around a subtopic, or to explain who would search for a particular keyword and why, you can gain insights into user intent. For example, “For the subtopic ‘AI for budget-conscious small businesses,’ what specific problems or questions would motivate someone to search for this?”

Conclusion: AI, a New Brainstorming Partner

Using AI to generate subtopic keywords has become a valuable part of my content planning workflow. It helps overcome creative blocks and uncovers angles I might not have thought of through traditional methods alone. It’s like having an incredibly well-read brainstorming partner available 24/7.

Remember my experience boosting organic traffic and improving campaign performance? A lot of that success came from understanding user needs and tailoring content accordingly. AI can significantly speed up the discovery phase of that process.

Start with a broad topic, experiment with different prompts and AI tools, and see how it can enrich your content strategy.