Advanced Keyword Research and Competitor Analysis for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI Overview (AIO)

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The game is changing quickly in today’s dynamic SEO environment, necessitating that firms and marketers use strategies beyond conventional optimization. With advancements in artificial intelligence and the growing adoption of voice search, the emphasis has shifted toward new-age optimization approaches. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI Overview (AIO) have emerged as pivotal strategies for enhancing search visibility, particularly in light of the increasing significance of voice search, featured snippets, and AI-generated results.

This blog provides an in-depth walkthrough of advanced keyword research and competitor analysis tailored to GEO and AIO strategies. By focusing on the seed keywords “foot care,” “feet care,” and “pedicure at home,” we explore how to leverage modern tools and techniques to stay ahead in this dynamic environment.

The Scenario: High-Intent Keyword Research for GEO and AIO

The primary goal of this analysis was to identify high-intent, long-tail keywords that could be optimized for three distinct areas:

1. Voice Search: Conversational and natural Queries closely mimicking how people speak.
2. Featured Snippets: Precise, concise answers that directly address user questions.
3. Generative AI Results: Content that aligns with AI-driven search summaries, ensuring visibility in AI-generated SERPs.

Real-time SERP Analysis

To achieve this, a detailed Google search was conducted using sample questions like:

• “How do I care for my feet?”
• “How can I do a pedicure at home?”

The results were then categorized into three primary types:

1. Generative AI Results (GAI): AI-driven summaries are often accompanied by citations for reference.
2. Featured Snippets: Content snippets that provide immediate, focused answers to queries.
3. Traditional Organic Results: Standard search results appear below snippets and GAI summaries.

The challenge was identifying keywords that consistently appear in GAI results and analyzing the competitors dominating these positions. Two essential tools were used for this purpose:

• ChatGPT: This is for brainstorming and generating semantic keyword variations.
• Google AI Overview Impact Analysis Tool: This tool is for real-time keyword and competitor analysis.

Step-by-Step Keyword Research and Competitor Analysis

Step 1: Brainstorming with ChatGPT

The journey began with brainstorming long-tail keyword ideas using ChatGPT. This tool provided diverse query suggestions centered on the seed keywords. For example:

• Queries related to “foot care”:
  • “Best tips for healthy feet”
  • “How to prevent cracked heels”
  • “DIY remedies for foot pain”
• Queries related to “pedicure at home”:
  • “Step-by-step pedicure guide”
  • “Best tools for a home pedicure”
  • “Budget-friendly pedicure tips”

The primary goal was to generate keywords addressing various intents:

• Informational Intent: Keywords answering questions or providing guides, such as “How to soften feet overnight.”
• Transactional Intent: Keywords reflecting purchase interest, like “Best foot care products.”
• Problem-Solving Intent: Keywords solving specific issues, such as “How to fix calluses.”

Step 2: Sorting and Filtering Keywords

Once a broad list of keywords was generated, the next step was to sort and filter them based on their intent, relevance, and potential performance. This process involved:

• Prioritizing keywords with a higher likelihood of appearing in AI-driven search results.
• Focusing on long-tail variations that align with conversational queries and voice search patterns.
• Categorizing keywords by their intent to ensure comprehensive coverage of user needs.

For example, keywords like “How to prevent cracked heels” were flagged as high-priority due to their strong alignment with informational intent and featured snippet potential.

Step 3: Utilizing Google AI Overview Impact Analysis Tool

The Google AI Overview Impact Analysis Tool was critical in this research. Here’s how it was used effectively:

1. Installing the Chrome Extension: The tool was seamlessly integrated into the workflow via a Chrome extension.
2. Keyword Input: Seed keywords and their variations were inputted into the tool for analysis.
3. Real-Time Analysis: The tool identified keywords that triggered GAI results and provided insights into the associated citations and content patterns.

This tool identified specific keyword structures, such as conversational phrasing and question-based formats, which were more likely to generate AI summaries.

Step 4: Competitor Analysis via Citation Reports

Understanding the competition was crucial for designing a winning content strategy. Competitor analysis was conducted through citation reports, which revealed:

• Top-Cited Websites: Pages most frequently referenced in GAI summaries.
• Content Structure Insights: A detailed evaluation of high-ranking content to uncover patterns in headings, subheadings, word count, and keyword placement.
• Visual Content Use: The integration of images, videos, and other visuals to enhance engagement and relevance.

For example, websites that ranked well for “Best tools for a home pedicure” included detailed product lists, step-by-step guides, and rich multimedia content.

Step 5: Word Count Analysis for Long-Tail Keywords

Another key feature of the Google AI Overview Impact Analysis Tool was its Word Count Analysis, which helped determine:

• Optimal Word Counts: Content lengths that performed well for specific keywords in GAI results.
• Keyword Phrasing Patterns: The importance of conversational style and question-based formats in improving search visibility.

For instance, content targeting the keyword “How to prevent cracked heels” performed best when structured as a concise, step-by-step guide with a word count of approximately 800–1200 words.

Step 6: Downloading Comprehensive Reports

Finally, all insights were consolidated into a comprehensive report, which included:

1. Keywords triggering GAI results: Highlighting those with the highest potential for visibility.
2. Citation Patterns: Detailed competitor data, including frequently cited websites and their content strategies.
3. Content Structure Recommendations: Actionable advice on headings, word count, and multimedia use to optimize content for GEO and AIO.

Key Insights and Implementation Strategies

1. Identifying GAI-Optimized Keywords

Effective keyword research is the core of successful content strategies in AI-driven search environments. Using advanced tools and methodologies, we identified several high-potential keywords that align with user intent and GAI (Generative AI Insights) optimization standards. These keywords fall into three main categories:

Informational Keywords:

• “How to care for feet in winter”: This keyword addresses seasonal concerns and provides actionable advice for a common issue. Users searching for this term are likely looking for preventive measures and daily care routines.
• “Top remedies for tired feet”: This phrase targets individuals seeking quick relief and DIY solutions, making it ideal for informative blogs and video tutorials.

Transactional Keywords:

• “Best foot soaks for relaxation”: This keyword focuses on product-oriented content that appeals to users ready to purchase. Featuring product reviews or comparisons can drive conversions.
• “Affordable pedicure kits online”: With an emphasis on affordability and convenience, this term caters to budget-conscious shoppers and aligns well with e-commerce platforms.

Problem-Solving Keywords:

• “How to fix foot odor naturally”: A practical keyword addressing a specific concern, perfect for content that highlights natural remedies and lifestyle changes.
• “What to do for cracked heels”: This search term offers an opportunity to create detailed guides, incorporating product recommendations and step-by-step solutions.

2. Competitor Benchmarking

Analyzing top-performing competitors is an invaluable step in refining content strategies. By studying their approaches, we identified several key tactics that contribute to their success:

Content Depth:

Competitors dominating GAI results consistently produce comprehensive guides exceeding 1,000 words. These long-form articles provide detailed answers to user queries and establish authority on the topic.

Visual Enhancements:

Including multimedia elements such as videos, infographics, and step-by-step images significantly enhances user engagement. For example, a tutorial on “How to do a pedicure at home” is far more engaging with visuals.

Structured Content:

Organized content with clearly defined headings, bullet points, and numbered lists improves readability. This structure also aligns with GAI’s preference for easily digestible information, increasing the likelihood of being featured in snippets.

3. Content Optimization

To maximize your content’s impact, aligning it with GAI requirements is essential. Here are three proven optimization techniques:

Conversational Language:

Content written in a natural, question-based format performs better in AI-driven search results. Phrases like “What are the best foot creams?” or “How can I prevent foot pain?” resonate with conversational search patterns.

Enhanced Topical Authority:

Covering related subtopics not only improves user experience but also establishes your expertise. For instance, in addition to discussing “cracked heels,” addressing subtopics like “Choosing the right socks for foot health” or “DIY exfoliation techniques” creates a well-rounded resource.

Incorporating FAQs:

Including frequently asked questions addresses user intent directly and boosts the chances of your content being featured in snippets. Examples include “What causes foot odor?” and “How often should I get a pedicure?”

Benefits of Advanced GEO and AIO Research

Advanced keyword research and content optimization provide a range of benefits, mainly when targeting GAI-powered search environments. Key advantages include:

Improved Visibility in GAI Results:

By targeting GAI-optimized keywords, your content is more likely to appear in AI-generated summaries and recommendations, driving increased organic traffic.

Enhanced Topical Authority:

Comprehensive content that addresses a variety of related subtopics signals expertise and credibility to both users and search engines, improving overall rankings.

Actionable Competitor Insights:

Analyzing competitor content reveals practical strategies for structuring, formatting, and enhancing your material. For example, incorporating similar elements can yield significant results if a competitor’s page ranks highly due to a detailed infographic.

Optimized Content Structure:

Adapting successful patterns from top-ranking pages enhances user engagement. Clear headings, bullet points, and concise summaries improve readability and help GAI algorithms extract key insights.

Voice Search Optimization:

The growing popularity of voice search emphasizes the importance of natural, long-tail keywords. Questions like “What’s the best way to soothe tired feet?” align perfectly with this trend, making your content more accessible to users relying on voice assistants.

Implementation Example: Foot Care and Pedicure Content

Applying these strategies to niches like foot care and at-home pedicures demonstrates their effectiveness:

• Keyword Targeting: Craft blog posts around informational keywords like “How to care for feet in winter” and “Top remedies for tired feet,” ensuring the content is detailed and solution-focused.
• Visual Integration: Use infographics to show steps for a DIY pedicure, enhancing user understanding and engagement.
• Structured Layout: Divide the content into sections with clear headings such as “Step-by-Step Guide” or “Common Mistakes to Avoid.”
• Competitor Adaptation: Incorporate unique value by addressing gaps in competitor content, such as providing video tutorials or including niche FAQs.

How We Did It At ThatWare?

Scenario:

I was researching high-intent keywords that can be implemented for voice search optimizations, feature snippets, and generative AI results to help drive traffic to the website. So, I focused on the natural longtail phrases containing the main subject.

Here, my target seed keywords are “foot care,” “feet care,” and “pedicure at home.”

So, I searched on Google with one common question: “How do I care for my feet?” and  “How can I get a pedicure at home?” here are the results I got.

Realtime SERP Analysis:

I have seen that we are getting three types of results:

1. Generative AI result

2. Featured Snippets

3. Traditional Organic Results

However, the challenge is to get the set of keywords that have GAI results and find out the competitors who are ranking on GAI results so that we can have the analyzed set of keywords that can be implemented to the target page to increase the chance of having GAI results.

Here I have found one solution for this challenge,

I have used two tools to accomplish the goal,

1. ChatGPT

2. Google AI Overview Impact Analysis Tool

Here are the steps I have taken to research keywords that can help generate GAI results:

Step 1:

I have used chat GPT to find semantic long-term keywords. Here is an example:

Here, I have got suggestions for taking all the relevant queries for analysis of the AI overview impact,

Step 2:

I have sorted out the keywords from the suggestions and kept those with informational, transactional, and problem-solving intent.

Step 3: Utilizing the tool Google AI Overview Impact Analysis Tool ,

I have installed the Chrome extension:

Here is the extension link:
https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/google-ai-overview-impact/bfaijiabgmdblmhbnangkgiboefomdfj?hl=en-US

Step 4: Goto to search page and click on the “>” mark on the left side of the screen,
Placed the sorted keywords in the search bar of the tool by separating them with comma,
And click on the search icon,

Right after clicking on the search icon, it will start analyzing the keywords; you need to wait sometime to complete the analyzing process of all the keywords.

Step 5: After completing the Analyzing keywords, click on the “Report” section. Then, we will get the data of the keywords that have AI overview results and those don’t have., as we can see below

    > >     

Step 6: Now we have the keyword list which is having GAI results, which we can take and incorporate into our target page content to make the content more informatic and sound structure for increasing the chance of having GAI results, but we need to see more insight to finalize the keywords set.

Step 7: I have seen that there are more options that can be utilized for analysis the following:

1. How many and which websites are having citations on GAI

2. AIO(AI overview) Answers for the respective keyword

3. Number word counts of the long tail keywords which are more tend to appear in AIO

1. To find out the citations for every keywords we need click on the “Citation Report”

And now to get the complete overview, which displays total no. of citations on AOI, total no. of citations on SERP, of every websites for all the keywords, we need download the data in to the sheet,

By applying the conditional formatting to the sheet we can get the brand placement and ranked URLs to analyze the content structure.

We can get the pattern of the content structure of the top-ranked pages in AIO for particular keywords to optimize the target page accordingly.

Step 8: To get the number of word count combinations for a long tail keywords which have more potential to have AIO result, we need to click on the “Word Count”

Step 9:

To get the complete overview report in a sheet, we need to click on the “Download Full Report.”

Here is the sheet I have got:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wAqGI5U4C9ytFqDQa3iL7IUbCmPYn5Dy5m2MEy0MuuE/edit?gid=677076909#gid=677076909

Benefits we can get:
1. Advanced keyword research for GEO and AIO results
2. Realtime AIO Results Analysis
3. Top pages that have results 
4. Page content structure suggestions basedon  advanced competitor analysis
5. Enhance topical authority

Schema Markup: Structuring Your Content for Semantic Precision

Search engines today do not just crawl content—they try to understand it. One of the most powerful ways to help AI-based algorithms comprehend your content more effectively is through schema markup. Structured data, when applied correctly, acts like a roadmap for AI to interpret the different components of your web page. For instance, if you’re creating a guide about “How to do a pedicure at home,” applying the HowTo schema allows Google to break down the steps logically and possibly feature it in both voice search and generative search overviews. Likewise, using FAQ schema for question-based content or Product schema for commercial pages focused on foot care kits boosts your chances of appearing in AI-generated summaries.

This semantic markup allows your pages to be considered authoritative and structured in a way that aligns perfectly with the needs of artificial intelligence systems. While traditional SEO focuses on keyword placement and backlinks, schema speaks the language of machines. In the context of GEO and AIO, structured data becomes indispensable because it turns your content into something that AI tools can use as a data source, increasing the likelihood of your pages being selected for featured snippets and AI Overview citations.

Understanding Zero-Click Behavior and Its Impact on Content Strategy

As AI-generated summaries and answer boxes become more sophisticated, a growing percentage of search traffic is resulting in zero-click searches. This means that users are finding the answers they need directly on the search results page without ever clicking through to the source website. While this may appear discouraging at first, it presents a hidden opportunity. Understanding this behavior enables you to craft content that earns visibility even in zero-click environments, and strategically encourages users to click when deeper engagement is needed.

One effective way to counterbalance the zero-click trend is by crafting introductory content that is concise enough to be featured in AI summaries but incomplete enough to warrant a visit to the full page. For example, an AI summary might feature your answer on how to fix cracked heels, but your full article could include exclusive product recommendations, downloadable checklists, or embedded video tutorials. These added layers offer value that cannot be fully conveyed in a brief AI summary, incentivizing the user to visit your site. Therefore, understanding the limitations and behaviors of zero-click users allows you to reverse-engineer content that achieves visibility while still driving engagement.

Optimizing for Device-Specific Search Behavior: Desktop vs Mobile Dynamics

The display of search results is not uniform across all devices. Mobile users, particularly those using voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant, receive results that are heavily curated by AI and often limited to what fits on a small screen or can be spoken aloud. This makes it vital to segment keyword performance and user behavior by device. A phrase such as “How do I care for my feet in summer?” might be shown differently to a mobile user via a conversational AI response than to a desktop user who sees a broader range of SERP features.

By tailoring your content for device-specific consumption, you not only cater to the technical requirements of each platform but also align with user expectations. For mobile-first content, simplicity, speed, and scannability are crucial. On the other hand, desktop-oriented content can afford to be more detailed, include comprehensive tables, longer-form paragraphs, or high-resolution visuals. The key here is to monitor how each type of content performs across devices and use that insight to produce tailored user experiences that encourage engagement regardless of how the information is accessed.

Sentiment-Based Keyword Mapping: Aligning Tone with User Emotion

The nuances of search behavior extend beyond queries and keywords. Increasingly, AI-driven search tools are factoring in the emotional intent behind queries, leading to a shift from simple keyword matching to sentiment-based relevance. For example, someone searching “relaxing foot soaks after a long day” is not only seeking a product or a guide—they’re expressing a desire for stress relief and self-care. This emotional layer, if identified correctly, allows content creators to strike the right tone in their messaging, making the content more relatable and aligned with the user’s underlying emotional state.

By conducting sentiment-based keyword mapping, you can cluster your content not just around topics, but around emotional intent. Positive, reassuring language performs better in wellness and self-care content. Meanwhile, solution-oriented and empathetic tones are essential when addressing pain points like foot odor, calluses, or cracked heels. Adjusting your tone, language, and even imagery to resonate with the emotional nuance of the searcher’s intent helps your content connect on a deeper level and increases the chances of it being surfaced by emotion-sensitive AI algorithms.

Trend Forecasting and Predictive Content: Planning Ahead for Visibility

One of the most overlooked yet critical components of GEO and AIO strategies is the ability to plan content based on predictive insights. While traditional keyword tools offer a snapshot of current search behavior, platforms like Google Trends, Exploding Topics, and predictive AI models provide foresight into what topics are likely to gain traction in the coming weeks or months. When you integrate these tools into your content planning strategy, you position your brand to rank for rising queries before they become saturated with competition.

For instance, searches for “foot peeling masks” or “home spa treatments for feet” often spike during seasonal changes or festive periods. By preparing this content ahead of time, optimizing it for both traditional SEO and AIO relevance, and ensuring it is structured for voice queries, you give it the best possible chance of being indexed and featured early. Predictive content planning, therefore, becomes a proactive layer in your SEO toolkit. Rather than reacting to changes in search trends, you are now forecasting them—putting you one step ahead of the competition.

Strengthening the Original Framework through Integration

The five additional strategies outlined above are not standalone tactics but are designed to work synergistically with your core GEO and AIO methodology. For example, your keyword research through ChatGPT can be enhanced by immediately tagging emotional sentiment and mapping schema types that would suit each keyword cluster. Similarly, your competitor analysis through the Google AI Overview Impact Tool can be enriched by filtering results based on device type and exploring sentiment tone in top-ranking content.

When this integrated approach is applied to niches like foot care and at-home pedicures, it opens up a comprehensive SEO playbook that goes far beyond surface-level optimization. You begin to see content not just as text on a page, but as structured, sentiment-aware, device-tailored, and trend-aligned assets. This shift in perspective aligns perfectly with how AI is shaping the search ecosystem—by prioritizing relevance, structure, and user satisfaction in entirely new ways.

Conclusion

Advanced keyword research and competitor analysis for GEO and AIO are transformative strategies for SEO success in AI-driven search environments. By leveraging tools like ChatGPT and the Google AI Overview Impact Analysis Tool, marketers can:

• Identify and target high-potential keywords that align with user intent.
• Analyze and adapt successful competitor strategies to outperform them.
• Optimize content structure and language to suit AI and user preferences.

These methods are effective for niches like “foot care” and “pedicure at home” and broadly applicable across industries. By implementing these strategies, businesses can achieve sustainable growth and visibility in an increasingly competitive digital landscape. As the role of AI continues to evolve, staying ahead with tailored SEO practices will be a key driver of success.

By following these insights, the website owner can retain more users, increase engagement, and ultimately grow their business.

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Tuhin Banik

Thatware | Founder & CEO

Tuhin is recognized across the globe for his vision to revolutionize digital transformation industry with the help of cutting-edge technology. He won bronze for India at the Stevie Awards USA as well as winning the India Business Awards, India Technology Award, Top 100 influential tech leaders from Analytics Insights, Clutch Global Front runner in digital marketing, founder of the fastest growing company in Asia by The CEO Magazine and is a TEDx speaker and BrightonSEO speaker..

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