Stop "Finding Keywords", Start "Positioning Battlefields": A High-Level Website Monetization Strategy

What's the first action most of us learn when we start with SEO?

Open a keyword tool, enter a "seed keyword," and then hunt through piles of data for the holy grail of "high search volume, low competition."

This approach isn't wrong, but it's just tactics. If you want to build a website or product that actually makes money, you need strategy. You need to stop simply "finding keywords" and start learning to position your battlefield on the macro "human needs map."

This article provides you with a high-level three-layer strategic framework to help you start from "problems" and ultimately find keyword clusters that have not only traffic but also commercial value.

Mindset Shift: From "Keyword Thinking" to "Battlefield Thinking"

Traditional website building follows an "inside-out" approach:

Product/Idea -> Keywords -> Content

In this mode, you're like someone holding a hammer, looking for nails everywhere. Your vision is limited to your "hammer," easily falling into the trap of "I think this product is great, why isn't anyone searching for it?"

High-level strategy is "outside-in":

Problem -> Users -> Intent -> Scenarios -> Keyword Clusters -> Content/Product

In this mode, you're first an anthropologist and strategist. You first understand the world, understand the pain, desires, and behaviors of specific groups, find opportunities from there, and then build solutions (content or products). You're claiming a fertile territory, not a single isolated nail.

Three-Layer Strategic Framework for "Battlefield Positioning"

How to achieve this transformation? Follow these three steps from macro to micro.

Layer 1: Define Your "Problem Universe"

Before everything begins, forget keywords, forget products, focus on one thing: Who are you solving what problem for? This "problem" is your entire universe.

How to find problem universes?

1. "Eavesdrop" from communities: Immerse yourself in Reddit, Quora, V2EX, Hacker News, and other communities, listening like a detective to users' complaints, questions, and moments of frustration.

   • Look for titles like: "How does everyone solve X problem?", "Is there any tool that can help me do Y?", "Z product is too hard to use, any alternatives?"
   • These unpolished languages are shortcuts to real needs.

2. "Mine" from yourself:

   • Solve your own pain points (Solve Your Own Itch): As developers, designers, marketers... you must have encountered countless repetitive, tedious, inefficient steps in your workflow. That script you wrote to be lazy might be the seed of a product.
   • Examine your life: Your hobbies (cycling, travel), your daily life (cat ownership, fitness) - what moments make you think "if only there was a... that would be great"?

3. "Predict" from trends:

   • Follow Google Trends, industry reports, technology trends (like AI, low-code). Trends will spawn new behaviors, and new behaviors will bring entirely new problems.

✅ Output of this stage: One or more clear "problem statements," not keyword lists. For example:

• "Indie developers struggle to quickly create professional-looking marketing materials when launching products."
• "Content creators spend too much time adjusting sizes and adding subtitles when distributing videos across platforms."

Layer 2: Map "User Intent Journey" (Intent Map)

When you've selected a problem universe, next map out the "mental journey" of users in this field. From when they realize a problem exists to when they finally find a solution, what will they think? What will they search for?

We can use the classic TOFU/MOFU/BOFU marketing funnel to build this map.

Using "Indie developers creating marketing materials" as an example:

1. Top of Funnel (TOFU): Problem Awareness

   • User psychology: "My website looks so amateur," "How can I make my product seem more credible?", "My ad banners have such low click-through rates."
   • Search intent: Exploratory, informational.
   • Keyword direction: how to design banner, ways to improve ad click rate, product website design principles.

2. Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Solution Exploration

   • User psychology: "What are some good online banner creation tools?", "Canva is too complex for me, are there simpler alternatives?", "Which is better for me, Bannerify or Figma?".
   • Search intent: Comparative, research-oriented.
   • Keyword direction: best banner generator for saas, online ad creator free, Canva alternatives, Bannerify vs Canva.

3. Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Decision Purchase

   • User psychology: "How much does Bannerify cost per month?", "How to export GIF from Bannerify?", "What are the reviews for Bannerify?".
   • Search intent: Transactional, navigational.
   • Keyword direction: Bannerify pricing, how to use Bannerify animation, Bannerify review.

✅ Output of this stage: A mind map centered around user journey, clearly showing every branch and node from top-level problems to bottom-level needs.

Layer 3: Implement "Keyword Cluster Mining"

Now, we can finally bring out powerful SEO tools like Ahrefs, Semrush. But at this point, our purpose is no longer blind searching, but validating, quantifying, and expanding our intent with a map.

Some more efficient mining methods:

• "No seed keyword" startup method: Drop a successful competitor website (like Bannerify.co) directly into the tool's Site Explorer, check its Top Pages report. This is like directly looking at the "traffic secrets" of top students, quickly validating which user problems are most valuable.

• "Conversational" mining method: Use AlsoAsked.com or AnswerThePublic. Input a core question (like "make banner ad"), and it generates a visual map showing all related questions users would continue asking.

• AI-assisted exhaustive method: Leverage AI's associative and organizational capabilities to help you complete work that previously took hours. Give a good prompt:

  Act as a top-tier SEO strategist. My target users are indie developers facing the problem of "needing to quickly create marketing materials for SaaS projects."
  
  Based on the user journey (problem awareness, solution exploration, decision purchase) these three stages, generate 100 potential long-tail search keywords for me. Please categorize them by intent and output using a table.
  

✅ Output of this stage: Structured "keyword cluster" lists. It's no longer scattered sand, but an action manual organized by "problem universe" and "user intent" that can directly guide content creation.

Conclusion

Thinking from a high level, the real meaning of "finding keywords" is to complete a comprehensive market research and strategic positioning.

When you follow this three-layer framework, starting from the vast "problem universe," navigating through the "user intent map," and finally mining specific "keyword clusters" with tools, what you get is far more than an Excel spreadsheet.

You get deep insights into a market slice, a clear battle plan, and a solid foundation that allows you to continuously create value and income in the future.

Now, forget that "seed keyword" in your hand. Ask yourself the first question: Which "problem universe" are you ready to explore?