Essential to any marketing strategy, but especially in the aec (architecture engineering and construction) industries, are high intent, long-tail keywords. In this article we’ll explore the relevancy of keywords in an increasingly AI driven world, the different types of keywords and why the intent is important, and why this is an essential consideration for your marketing strategy.
Do Keywords Still Matter
Back in the day (okay, like two years ago) before the rise of AI, a solid lead generation strategy focused heavily on keywords. So do they still matter today in the age of AI? In short, yes.
AI understands natural language, meaning it can understand the intent or meaning behind a question and surface a relevant answer, rather than just trying to match keywords in searches with keywords in results. However, natural language doesn’t replace keywords. Keywords still signal relevance for ranking content, and while AI searches are more conversational they are still keyword-rich.
In plain speak: keywords still matter, but how we leverage them in a strategy is changing. In fact, long-tail, question-based and intent-driven keywords are even more valuable now.
The Intent of Keywords
People search for answers at different stages of their buying journey. Throughout this journey, they will have different intent for your service. Let’s say you’re a remodeling company: Someone searching for kitchen inspiration has a lower intent than someone searching for a kitchen renovation contractor. This table explains the different keywords types and what the user wants to accomplish:
| Keyword Type | User Goal | Example |
| Informational | Learn something | Best Kitchen Tile |
| Navigational | Find a specific site/product | Tim’s Remodeling website |
| Transactional | Ready to buy / take action | Hire San Diego Kitchen Contractor |
| Commercial | Comparing services | Best Kitchen Contractors in San Diego |
| Branded | Find a specific business/product | Tim’s Remodeling reviews |
| Local | Looking for nearby services | Kitchen Contractor near me |
Understanding the different types of keywords helps you know how your content will perform — and where to focus your effort.
For example, if you only create informational content (like blog posts answering questions) but never publish commercial content (like service pages), you’re educating people — but not showing Google or AI tools that you’re a service provider.
To get results, you need both:
- Informational content to attract and educate.
- Commercial content to convert. And importantly, your informational pages should link to your commercial pages to guide visitors (and search engines) to your services.
Long-Tail VS Short-Tail Keywords
In addition to keyword types, long-tail VS short-tail keywords are an important consideration. Due to large language models like ChatGPT, people are starting to search more conversationally.
Instead of typing in/saying “kitchen remodel” they now ask “how much does it cost to remodel a shotgun kitchen in san diego”.
These long-tail keywords have overall less volume, but they are low hanging fruit. Why? Because the competition is divided and search engines and LLMs want to provide specificity in their answers.
How to Build a Keyword Considerate Content Strategy
While we get more into the weeds with our clients, here’s a straightforward and no-nonsense approach to building a keyword strategy.
Write down your services
Example: kitchen remodel, home addition, bathroom remodel
Create your landing pages
Hint: these are going after transactional keywords
- Landing page one: kitchen remodel
- Landing page two: home addition
- Landing page three: bathroom remodel
Optimize your landing pages to be location specific
Hint: these loop in your local keywords
If your business serves a single market like San Diego, you may only need one set of landing pages. But if you serve multiple regions, it’s smart to create a separate page for each — for example, “San Diego Kitchen Remodels” and “Palm Springs Kitchen Remodels.”
Just make sure each page offers meaningful, location-specific content. You should only create separate market pages if you can speak to the unique context, needs, or style of each area — otherwise, it may dilute your SEO and confuse users.
- Landing page one: kitchen remodel, target term “San Diego Kitchen Remodels”
- Landing page two: home addition, target term “San Diego Home Additions”
- Landing page three: bathroom remodel, target term “San Diego Bathroom Remodels”
Create a Clustered, Long-Tail Content Plan
Hint: this is where commercial and informational keywords come in
Now that you’ve got the basics you can start to build out commercial and informational content that links back to your transactional and local content.
First, commit to a volume, like writing 3 articles per week. Second, commit to a cluster, like writing 6 articles before moving on to a different cluster. Content clustering, or writing about the same main topic but with different long-tail keyword variations, is becoming even more powerful with LLMs (ChatGPT, etc).
Example Content Cluster: Luxury Kitchen Remodels
Example Content Topics:
- How Much Does a Luxury Kitchen Remodel Cost in San Diego? (informational)
- 2025 Tile Choices for Luxury Kitchen Remodels (informational)
- Trending Additions for your Luxury Kitchen Remodel (informational)
- San Diego Luxury Kitchen Remodeling Contractor Comparison (commercial)
- Why San Diego Homeowners Choose [Your Company] for Luxury Kitchen Renovations (commercial)
Get a High-Intent, Long-Tail Keyword Plan
At Nover Marketing, we help architecture, engineering, and construction firms grow through lead generation strategies like content creation. For example, we helped launch an ADU business from scratch—generating over 23,000 website sessions and $1 million in revenue within a year. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
