Mastering Keyword Strategy for Better Results
In the decades I’ve been practicing advanced SEO techniques, one technique that made a difference in rankings and especially traffic from a broader array of related keyword searches was to optimize for multiple variations of a keyword phrase.
This involves using the related words, stemmed variations, and synonyms of the phrase searchers typed in — not just the exact match keywords. Any word that was thematically related might be used in the copy to craft the message to the search engine that “this content is the best experience on this topic.” Not only that, I crafted the copywriting, keywords, links so this diversity of keywords/topics actually boosted my client’s rankings for the core, high-volume keyword phrases everyone loves to be ranked high for. That traffic is also high quality for engagement and leads.
And I likened it to an “octopus” strategy” where it was impossible for consumers to do a Google search and not find my clients site listed — omnipresence. And it’s for brand visibility, leads and customer loyalty. Because they’re always online searching, and finding your competitor’s content. Let’s keep your company top of mind always!
This is important for SMB business owners, because previous big companies ranked high and wide, but mostly because of their high ranking power. You don’t have that, so we must be clever and optimize professionally to compete with them. Fortunately, ChatGPT and Gemini are downplaying backlinks that help big budget companies to obtain.
Now the content must answer the user’s quest to be visible. This is the battle for visibility in the AI era. Those who fail will suffer anonymity online.
Searchers Use Words to Represent a Quest, Vision or Problem
A query isn’t all that simple to Google or ChatGPT, because they’re not certain what the user is actually asking for. A broad, head keyword phrase such as “best travel destinations” could refer to many things depending on what they valued in a trip – beaches, culture, tours, history, cruises, etc.
So I built the best meanings of that phrase into my content pieces and throughout the site’s content strategy. Google saw my client’s pages/posts were relevant from a wider, deeper and more authoritative context — hitting on the most important signals of relevance. The result, for my hotel client for instance, was high rankings for local, regional and national level searches for hotels, and for variations of their hotel keyword search. More is better to the tune of millions per year!
And believe me, every important variation of meaning or relevance I would factor into the content. It impressed Google as my hotel client doubled their traffic to 2.5 million per year. The brand visibility alone was priceless.
Paying attention to this sophisticated positioning on the meaning of phrases then, creates big returns. That was old school SEO, not real technical, but which still works. And let’s remember that all queries pivot on keywords (nouns, verbs, subjects) that are essential to a sentence or a query.
And AI search engines are amenable to this fanning out technique as well. Turns out that AI search engines use a searching technique called the query fan out.
What Is Query Fan-Out?
Query fan-out is an AI search system process that splits a user query into multiple sub-queries, collects information for each sub-query, then merges relevant information into a single response. — Semrush.
A fan-out query occurs when an AI system takes your original prompt and automatically generates many different narrower or alternate prompts, sends them out concurrently to retrievers (search engines, vector databases, APIs, tools), and then merges the returned information into one high-quality answer.
Instead of multiple keyword queries, it is creating multiple new questions.
Travel Industry Example
User asks: “Why did European travel surge after 2024?”
The AI silently generates 5–25 sub-queries, such as:
- “European travel statistics 2024–2025”
- “reasons for tourism recovery in Europe 2024”
- “EU visa policy changes 2025”
- “US traveler preferences 2025 survey”
- “economic impact of European tourism 2023–2026”
These queries fan out to multiple retrieval sources, then feed back into a final synthesized answer.
Why do AI Search Engines Use Fan-Out Queries?
- To cover multiple dimensions of User intent
Users queries are ambiguous. Fan-out helps the AI explore:
- facts
- comparative
- historical
- opinion
- causal
- statistical
- local vs global scope
This keeps it real, provides deep awareness, and reduces AI hallucination.
- To gather more relevant evidence
Instead of relying on one retrieval path, the AI spreads retrieval across:
- search indexes
- vector stores
- structured databases
- APIs
- the web
- private knowledge bases
- tool plugins
This yields a broader evidence base to provide an answer.
- To solve harder tasks
Complex prompts (analysis, forecasting, summarization, multi-step reasoning) require multi-stage retrieval—fan-out is the foundation.
- To improve accuracy + reduce bias
With more sources, the AI can triangulate truth, reconcile contradictions, and avoid relying on a single document.
In a sense then, it fans out its own information quest to understand the question and the problem in a more
Why Fan-Out Queries Matter for SEO / Content
The fanout process directly affects how your content gets surfaced in AI-driven search.
The best performing content will:
- cover multiple intent angles
- be semantically rich
- contain long-tail variations
- include structured facts
- include opinion + insight
- include contextual cues (local signals, traveler type signals)
- include narrative or experiential content
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) satisfies:
- factual questions
- emotional/experiential queries
- comparison queries
- “for Americans,” “for Canadians,” “for families,” etc.
- pricing/cost optimization queries
- itinerary-style queries
The content that best satisfies multiple fan-out branches will be the content the generative engine uses in its synthesis. Similarly, content that covers the likely meaning of simple keyword searches will be ranked higher in traditional Google searches. At this point, we’re optimizing more for Google search, given it is used more for travel searches, or searches for a home or Realtor. AI search has minimal commercial intent users at this point and we shouldn’t be swayed by the hype.
Final Note on Multiplex SEO/GEO Techniques
GEO and SEO are slightly different optimization techniques, and using one to help optimize the other isn’t a bad practice. Keyword phrases are being translated into questions by Google and ChatGPT. We have to be more aware of the questions, needs, preferences of our customers, and which words, questions and topics can make the engines believe our content is a better user experience.
The travel business application is very appropriate. The diversity of customers, trips, benefits, features, and complex questions travelers have makes it difficult to be all things to all travelers.
Yet designing your content to be enjoyed and valued by multiple audiences with their many travel interests is worth it. One of the reasons most travel businesses fail in SEO is because the content doesn’t resonate to these modern search engines (Google, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Claude).
A clever, imaginative but strategic SEO pro can help you build engaging, satisfying, deep and wide coverage done with a smart focus makes them trust your content and brand, and then use it in their training system.
Don’t let the OTA’s and big aggregators win the online visibility wars in the travel sector.
Advanced SEO isn’t just SEO or GEO. It’s optimizing content experiences for users, but also with all the powerful signals that search engines need to be certain that your content the best reference material for users.
Looking for help with your travel agency marketing? I can put together a plan just for you, beginning with an improved travel content and travel SEO strategy. From there we can move onto improved email nurturing, social media engagement, and more fruitfull PPC advertising.
