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The very first keyword set for a new account, built before the billing cycle starts, off the back of the sales calls. Seed it from the transcripts, expand and validate it, then pick the top set the first wave of pages will target. The generic per-cycle keyword mechanics — volume, SERP-cliff, dedupe — live in Organise keywords for a cycle; this is the onboarding version.
Source note: the dedicated How to start first set of keywords SOP page in Notion is currently empty. The steps below are the first-keywords portion already documented in the Month-1 “Before Day 1” flow; this page consolidates them. It needs Raymond to confirm and extend.

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Where the seed comes from

The sales-call transcripts carry most of the strategy. The client usually names focus keywords and areas of interest for month 1, so extract seed keywords from them. Once the client confirms with payment, kick off the background research.

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Steps

  • Extract seed keywords from the sales-call transcript(s): the focus keywords and areas of interest the client named.
  • Parse the transcript into a Pi memory file so the account’s context is set up. See how-to: 2.1.1 Create org & init Pi.
  • Expand the seeds with keyword research. Run the keyword-exploration skill to grow the seed list. See how-to: 2.2.1 Keyword exploration.
  • Add keywords to the dashboard, tagged Core, Fringe, <month>, Alternative, etc.
  • Run through Google Search Console for other keyword opportunities (if the client has an existing site with GSC data).
  • Note key assumptions and questions to clarify with the client on the research call.

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Validate the set

Before you ship anything, run the set through the standard checks: pull US search volume, do a SERP-cliff read on each term, check for existing pages and current rankings, and drop near-duplicates. The full mechanics are in Organise keywords for a cycle.
First-cycle note: with no history to calibrate against, lean harder on the SERP cliff and strategic fit. Keywords the client named on the sales call skip the SERP-cliff gate on entry (see the keyword survival gates).

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Rank and pick the top set

Once the set is expanded and validated, rank it and pull a top 5 and a top 10 to describe the product. Use customer language, not founder-speak; the top 5 usually capture the client’s USP or a competitor alternative ([competitor] alternative). This top set becomes the spine of the kickoff strategy — one keyword can carry both a landing page and a blog.
See Organise keywords for a cycle for the ranking framework. The top set then feeds the kickoff document.

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The first wave

Landing pages lead the first wave. Once the seeds are expanded and tagged, pick the first 10 to 20 landing-page keywords and ship the first 5 landing pages, prioritising by the product’s unique edge and the lowest cannibalization risk (start with the /uses/<slug> pages before the hub page). Pull a top-5 and a top-10 keyword set for the pSEO pages and publish the top 5. Blogs follow: the first 3 blog posts, listicles or BOFU how-tos. Landing pages are the fastest path to a first ranking, so they go first, and the blogs build the supporting authority behind them.