Keyword gap analysis: the terms you are missing

A keyword gap analysis surfaces the search terms your competitors rank for and you do not. It is where a lot of SEO strategies start — and it points straight at the content and links you need next.

What a keyword gap is

A keyword gap is the set of terms your competitors rank for and you do not. Where a content gap thinks in topics and pages, a keyword gap thinks in individual queries — the granular version of the same question. It is often the first thing an SEO runs on a new account, because it turns "what should we target" from an opinion into a list drawn from what is already working for the sites around you.

How to run one

• Choose three to five real competitors. The domains ranking for your terms.
• Compare their ranking keywords with yours. The terms two or more of them share, and you are absent from, are the gap.
• Filter for terms you can serve. Ignore queries where the intent has nothing to do with what you offer, however tempting the volume.

Reading the results

Do not sort by volume and start at the top. Weigh three things together: intent (can you genuinely answer it), difficulty (how entrenched the ranking pages are), and how many competitors already rank (more means the term is winnable in your market). A mid-volume term two competitors share beats a high-volume one only a single outlier ranks for.

From keywords to rankings

A keyword gap tells you what to target; it does not get you there on its own. Each term needs a page that matches its intent — that is your content gap — and each page needs enough authority to compete, which is your backlink gap. The three run in sequence: find the terms, build the pages, earn the links. Skip the last step and strong pages stall on page two.

Keep reading

• Content gap analysis
• How to find your competitors' backlinks