Your Competitors Did the Hard Work. Now Exploit It.
Here's a beautiful thing about keyword research.
You don't have to start from scratch.
Your competitors have already spent years (and millions) figuring out which keywords drive traffic in your industry.
They've also missed some. And those gaps? Those are your opportunities.
What Is a Keyword Gap?
A keyword gap is a keyword that one or more of your competitors rank for — but you don't.
It's also keywords that NONE of your competitors rank for, but your audience is searching.
Both types are gold. This is closely related to content gap analysis for SEO, which looks at the same problem from a content angle.
How to Find Competitor Keyword Gaps
Method 1: Tool-Based Gap Analysis
Ahrefs, SEMrush, and similar tools have "Content Gap" or "Keyword Gap" features. Ahrefs' keyword research guide walks through their specific gap analysis workflow.
Input your domain and 2-3 competitor domains. The tool shows you keywords they rank for that you don't.
Sort by volume. Filter by difficulty. Focus on keywords where competitors rank on page 1 but you're nowhere to be found.
Method 2: Manual SERP Stalking
Pick your top 10 target keywords. Search each one. Note who ranks.
Now go to those competitors' sites. Browse their blog categories. Read their navigation. Check their sitemap.
What topics are they covering that you haven't touched?
Method 3: Competitor Blog Audit
Use a tool to pull all the pages on a competitor's blog. Sort by estimated traffic.
Their top 20 traffic-driving posts are a roadmap of proven keywords. If they can rank for it, you probably can too.
Prioritise the Right Gaps
Not all gaps are worth filling. Prioritise based on:
The Unfair Advantage
After 500+ campaigns, we can tell you: gap analysis cuts keyword research time in half.
Why brainstorm from scratch when your competitors already validated the keywords for you?
Find the gaps. Fill them with better content. Win.
Systematise It
SEO Checkup includes competitor analysis tasks in its 113-point checklist. Free. No credit card. 30 seconds to set up.