Create and organize keyword lists for different campaigns, topics, or pages to manage large keyword portfolios effectively.
Effective keyword research generates hundreds or even thousands of potential keywords, but managing them all in one place quickly becomes overwhelming. Keyword lists help you create and organize keyword lists for different campaigns, topics, or pages to manage large keyword portfolios effectively. By grouping related keywords into focused lists, you can track performance more efficiently, generate targeted reports, and keep your SEO strategy organized as your projects scale.
Whether you're managing a single website with multiple content pillars or running an agency with dozens of client projects, keyword lists provide the structure needed to turn raw keyword data into actionable SEO campaigns.
NitroShock allows you to create multiple keyword lists within each project, giving you the flexibility to segment your keyword strategy however makes sense for your business.
Consider creating separate keyword lists for:
To create a new keyword list:
/project/{id}/The new list appears in your lists sidebar and becomes your active working list. You can switch between lists at any time by clicking on the list name in the sidebar.
Tip: Use clear, descriptive names that make the list's purpose immediately obvious. "Blog Posts - Beginner Tutorials" is more useful than "List 3" when you're managing dozens of lists six months from now.
When you create a new project, NitroShock automatically creates a default list called "Primary Keywords." This list serves as your main keyword collection until you create additional lists. You can rename this list at any time to better reflect its actual purpose.
All keywords added through the initial project setup are automatically placed in this default list. You can move these keywords to other lists later as your organizational strategy develops.
As your keyword portfolio grows, proper list organization becomes essential for maintaining an efficient workflow and generating meaningful reports.
NitroShock uses a flat list structure where all lists within a project exist at the same level. There are no nested lists or folders. This design keeps navigation simple while giving you complete flexibility in how you name and organize your lists.
To create logical groupings despite the flat structure, use naming conventions with prefixes:
CLIENT - Topic (e.g., "Acme Corp - Product Keywords," "Acme Corp - Brand Keywords")CATEGORY - Subcategory (e.g., "Blog - SEO Tutorials," "Blog - WordPress Guides")LOCATION - Type (e.g., "London - Local Service," "Manchester - Local Service")PRIORITY - Description (e.g., "High - Q1 Focus," "Medium - Future Opportunities")This prefix approach keeps related lists grouped alphabetically while maintaining clear distinctions between different campaign areas.
The lists sidebar displays all lists alphabetically by default. As you accumulate more lists, use the search function at the top of the lists sidebar to quickly find specific lists by name or description.
You can also star or favorite important lists to keep them pinned at the top of your sidebar for quick access. This feature is particularly useful for active campaigns that you check frequently.
While NitroShock doesn't currently support manual color assignment for lists, you can use emoji-style prefixes in list names to create visual distinction:
[P] for priority lists[A] for active campaigns[M] for monitoring-only lists[C] for completed campaignsThese visual markers help you scan your list sidebar more efficiently when working across multiple projects or campaigns.
When a campaign ends or a list becomes outdated, you have two options:
Archive: Preserves the list and all historical keyword data while removing it from your active sidebar view. Use archiving when you want to maintain historical records for reporting or reference purposes. Archived lists can be restored at any time.
Delete: Permanently removes the list and all associated keyword data. Use deletion only when you're certain you won't need the data again. Deleted lists cannot be recovered.
To archive a list:
To view archived lists, toggle the Show Archived option at the bottom of the lists sidebar.
Once you've created your organizational structure with keyword lists, you need to populate them with actual keywords. NitroShock offers multiple methods for adding keywords to accommodate different workflows.
For adding individual keywords or small groups:
Manual entry works best when you're adding highly specific keywords discovered through competitor analysis, customer conversations, or content ideation sessions.
For larger keyword sets from existing research:
The bulk import tool automatically removes duplicate keywords and validates that all entries are properly formatted. You'll see a summary of how many keywords were successfully imported and whether any were skipped due to duplicates or formatting issues.
Important: Bulk imports use credits based on the number of new keywords added. You'll see the exact credit cost before confirming the import.
When discovering new keywords using NitroShock's keyword research features:
This workflow integrates discovery and organization in a single step, making it easy to segment keywords as you find them rather than organizing them later.
Keywords you're actively tracking in the Rank Tracker tab can be added to keyword lists for better organization:
This is particularly useful when you want to create lists based on performance (e.g., "Top Performers," "Declining Rankings," "New Opportunities").
When adding keywords to lists, you can include additional data to enhance your research:
Not all fields are required, but providing more data gives you better filtering and analysis capabilities later. If you're importing keywords from external tools like Google Keyword Planner or competitor research tools, you can map these data points during the import process.
NitroShock automatically prevents duplicate keywords within the same list. If you attempt to add a keyword that already exists in the target list, you'll see a warning and the option to:
For bulk imports, you can set a global duplicate handling preference that applies to all duplicates found during that import session.
After creating and populating your keyword lists, ongoing management ensures they remain useful as your SEO strategy evolves.
As campaigns change or your understanding of keyword intent improves, you may need to reorganize keywords:
Moving keywords preserves all associated data including historical metrics, notes, and targeting information. The keywords are removed from the source list and appear in the destination list.
Sometimes the same keyword is relevant to multiple campaigns or content areas:
Copying creates duplicates across different lists. Changes to a keyword in one list don't affect the copy in other lists - they're treated as independent entries. This is useful for tracking the same keyword with different target URLs or in different geographic locations.
To modify a list's name, description, or settings:
List settings include:
Export keyword lists for external analysis or reporting:
Exports include all visible columns based on your current view settings. If you've applied filters to show only certain keywords, the export includes only those filtered results.
When lists become redundant or you want to consolidate campaigns:
The source list is deleted after merging, and all its keywords are moved to the destination list. Duplicate keywords are handled according to your preference setting.
For team and agency accounts, control list access at a granular level:
Team members with access see the shared list in their project view. Administrators always have access to all lists within projects they can access.
Note: List sharing is only available on Team and Agency plans. Individual plans don't have access to team collaboration features.
Remove irrelevant or outdated keywords:
Deleted keywords are permanently removed from the list. If you're also tracking these keywords in the Rank Tracker, deleting them from a list doesn't stop rank tracking - those are managed separately.
Each list includes summary statistics at the top of the list view:
These metrics help you quickly assess which lists represent your strongest opportunities or highest-priority campaigns.
Generate regular reports based on specific keyword lists:
List-based reports help you deliver focused updates to clients or stakeholders about specific campaign areas without overwhelming them with your entire keyword portfolio.
Yes, you can copy keywords to multiple lists. This is useful when a keyword is relevant to different campaigns or content areas. Each instance is tracked independently, allowing you to set different target URLs or notes for the same keyword across different strategic contexts.
There's no hard limit on list size, but for practical performance reasons, we recommend keeping individual lists under 5,000 keywords. If you need to manage more keywords, create multiple lists organized by subtopic, intent, or campaign phase. Large lists can become difficult to navigate and may slow down certain operations.
No, keyword lists and rank tracking are separate features. Adding a keyword to a list doesn't automatically start position tracking. To track rankings, you need to add keywords to your Rank Tracker separately. However, you can quickly add keywords from any list to Rank Tracker by selecting them and using the Add to Rank Tracker bulk action.
When you delete a project, all associated keyword lists and their data are permanently deleted. Before deleting a project, export any lists you want to preserve for future reference or use in other projects. There's a 30-day grace period before final deletion during which you can restore deleted projects.
Yes, use the bulk import feature with CSV files exported from other tools. During import, you'll map columns from your CSV to NitroShock fields (keyword, volume, difficulty, etc.). The import process validates data and shows you a preview before committing the import. This makes it easy to migrate existing keyword research into NitroShock's organizational structure.
Now that you understand how to organize keywords with lists, explore these related features to build a complete keyword strategy:
Effective list organization is the foundation of scalable keyword management. As your SEO strategy matures, your list structure will evolve - regularly review and refine your organization to ensure it continues serving your strategic goals.