What Is Keyword Gap Analysis and How to Use It

Keyword gap analysis is a powerful tool that helps you identify the keywords your competitors are ranking for, but you're not. This analysis is essential for SEO strategy and can be performed using various tools, including Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz.

By conducting a keyword gap analysis, you can discover new keywords to target and improve your search engine rankings. This is particularly useful for businesses looking to expand their online presence.

To get started with keyword gap analysis, you first need to identify your competitors and their target keywords. This can be done by analyzing their website content, social media, and online reviews.

Keyword gap analysis is a powerful SEO strategy that compares your website's keywords to those of your competitors.

This analysis is typically done via competitor research tools, which helps you find high-value competitor keywords to use strategically for content creation.

The goal of this process is to close the gap between you and your competitors in search rankings, resulting in higher rankings and greater visibility in search.

For another approach, see: Semrush Competitive Analysis

By uncovering areas where competitors have an edge over you, you can create content that targets keywords your audience is searching for but not yet covered on your website.

This process also helps you identify potential opportunities to attract more organic traffic by targeting keywords that your competitors rank for but you don't.

To perform a keyword gap analysis, start by clicking on the "Missing" tab in the Keyword Gap tool to see a list of keywords that all of your competitors rank for but you don't.

Use filters to narrow down your results, such as the "Position" filter to focus on keywords where your competitors rank in the top 10 results. This can reveal high-impact opportunities.

Consider filtering for only keywords with a relatively low keyword difficulty score, especially if your domain isn't well-known and hasn't built much authority yet. You can do this by clicking the "KD" drop-down menu and setting a manual range from 0 to 49.

Next, explore the list to evaluate more specific keywords, considering each keyword's search intent and monthly search volume to determine which keywords you want to focus on.

Look for gaps in your website's keyword performance by analyzing the list of keywords, using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to understand how audience finds your site and which pages are the most popular.

Analyze the keywords that your competitors rank for but are missing from your site's keyword list, as these gaps represent potential opportunities to attract more organic traffic.

Expand your knowledge: Fill Gaps

You can also use SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush to find competitors based on keyword overlap. It's essential to choose competitors vs. large publications to identify unique and more valuable keywords for better ranking opportunities.

To find relevant competitors, list all organic competitors that rank for core keywords when analyzing the SERPs. Avoid paid search results. For example, while Forbes may have an article on how to budget, you'd be better suited to choosing a competitor budgeting app as one of your competitors.

Here are some ways to find your competitors:

Enter your competitor's URL and find keywords they rank for. This will help you identify your competitors and prepare for the next step in your keyword gap analysis.

To find keyword gaps, start by selecting your competitors and using tools like the Keyword Gap tool or Google Keyword Planner to compare your website's keywords to theirs.

You can enter your domain and up to four competitors' domains into the Keyword Gap tool, select your location, and click "Compare" to see a report showing how your keywords overlap with your competitors' keywords.

This report will highlight your top opportunities, and you can scroll down to view a table listing all the competitors and how their keyword profiles intersect with yours.

To analyze your keyword gaps, click on the "Missing" tab and start going through the list to find keyword opportunities.

Here's an interesting read: Google Keyword Research Free

Use filters like the "Position" filter to focus on keywords where your competitors rank in the top 10 results, which can reveal high-impact opportunities.

You can also filter for keywords with a relatively low keyword difficulty score, such as 49 or lower, to make it easier to target those keywords.

Each missing term comes with essential metrics, including search volume, difficulty score, SERP features triggered by these keywords, and estimated cost per click.

By analyzing these metrics, you can decide whether those keywords are worth targeting to attract more organic traffic to your site.

If this caught your attention, see: Semrush Keyword Difficulty

To start analyzing your keyword gaps, head over to the Competitor Comparison tab, where you'll find a detailed breakdown of SEO metrics for every keyword.

Click on the "Missing" tab to see a list of keywords that all of your analyzed competitors rank for but you don't.

You can further narrow your results by using the "Position" filter to focus on keywords where your competitors rank in the top 10 results.

This can reveal high-impact opportunities that are worth targeting.

You can also filter for only keywords with a relatively low keyword difficulty score by clicking the "KD" drop-down menu and setting a manual range from 0 to 49.

Next, explore this list to evaluate each keyword's search intent and monthly search volume to determine which keywords to focus on and how to use them throughout your site.

Each missing term comes with essential metrics, including search volume, difficulty score, SERP features triggered by these keywords, and estimated cost per click.

You'll need these metrics to decide whether they're worth targeting.

To create a list of potential keyword opportunities, repeat these steps with other websites to collect a comprehensive list of keywords you're missing.

Additional reading: Keyword Difficulty Analysis