Keyword Gap Analysis: Your Quick-Start Guide

Think you’re not getting the traffic you deserve? See your competitors getting more traffic share than you?

There’s a strong likelihood that you’ve got a keyword gap that needs filling – if you want to stop losing out to your competitors and maximize your revenue as a business, that is (which you do, don’t you).

In other words:

Your target keywords                   Your full potential 

But that can change. By running a keyword gap analysis, you can see where your competitors are gaining traffic on search and optimize your strategy to win that traffic back (and more traffic on top).

Here’s our guide on how to find a keyword gap and what to do about it.

What is keyword gap analysis?

Keyword gap analysis is a comparison process used to find keywords opportunities, and evaluate the potential of those keywords for your business. Will they gain your website attention, traffic and visitors via search engines?

Running a keyword gap analysis is a significant part of keyword research, and incredibly important within a competitive SEO strategy and content plan.

The benefits of running a keyword gap analysis

There are a number of benefits to a keyword gap analysis, including:

1. Closing the gaps between your and your competitors
2. More visibility on search for relevant search terms
3. Covering more search intent within your content
4. Increasing your trust and authority within your niche
5. Boosting your traffic and hopefully, your conversion rate

How to do a keyword gap analysis

1) Identify your top 5 keyword competitors

Step one of finding keyword gaps is to identify your main competitors – because you kinda need at least one other website to find a keyword gap between two sites, don’t you?

You’ll almost definitely have some competitor names in your head as you read this, but if you want a fuller and more accurate view of who your biggest competitors are on search, you need data.

Using Similarweb’s ‘Organic Competitors’ report, taking Sephora as an example, you can see companies that rival the brand on organic search specifically. This takes into account the numbers and data, like:

• Organic traffic
• Search overlap score
• Shared keywords
• Total traffic
• Industry

2) Check your competitors’ traffic share

By assessing your competitors’ traffic share, you get an idea of just how much of a competitor they are, and have a clear view of opportunities and your losses within your SEO strategy.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Opportunity: Where your competitors are getting traffic
• Loss: Where your site is getting less traffic than your competitors

The best way to check your competitors’ traffic share is to use a keyword analysis tool. Select non-branded keywords to narrow down your research, leaving only the keywords, topics or categories that could be relevant to your business.

But you can take this one step further, saving yourself time on sifting through endless keywords that might not be super relevant to your business.

…Say hello to the Keyword Gap tool, ready to deliver you quick and easy insights to close the keyword gap between you and your competitors.

Choose your main competitors, and the Keyword Gap tool will create you a fun and colorful venn diagram and provide you with lists of:

• All keywords: Any keywords that send traffic to any of the sites
• Core keywords: Keywords shared by all competitors
• Wins: Keywords where you’re winning the biggest share of traffic
• Opportunities: Where your competitors are getting traffic, but you’re not
• Losses: Where you are getting less traffic than your competitors

Here you can see the total number of search traffic between you and your competitors, the keywords that get users there, and the competitive traffic share. On top of this, you’ve got useful data that will inform your strategy and your next moves. This includes:

• Traffic per keyword
• Keyword difficulty
• Search volume per keyword
• Cost-per-click (CPC)
• Position on the SERP (organic only)
• SERP features linked to keywords
• Top URL

All these insights point you in the right direction of what keywords you could go after as a business based on your competitors traffic share, what content to take as inspiration for your own, and how to work with your paid search team for some quick wins with PPC.

3) Map out the topics you want to focus on

From your research into competitive traffic share, you can map out the topics you want to focus on.

This will take into account the traffic, search volume, search intent, keyword difficulty and SERP features as we just mentioned, but it’s got to be relevant to both your business and your target audience.

If you’re Sephora, there’s not much point in creating a blog or a product description for a makeup brand you don’t sell. If you’re a shipping and logistics company and don’t ship to the Netherlands, don’t write about shipping and logistics in the Netherlands.

☝️You get the idea.

The trick is to hone in on topics and keywords that are competitive… but not too competitive. They need to have a good search volume… without the keyword difficulty being too high. Going hard on the keywords that have been around since ‘forever’ will run down your resources fast.

Micro opportunities in a macro environment is what gets you places; a big reason why considering long-tail keywords, keyword seasonality, and trending search terms is so important to a winning and impactful marketing strategy.

And don’t forget the impact of winning SERP features has on your website traffic and online visibility. Use the SERP features section within our insights to spot your opportunities, and adapt your content strategy to include things like lists, definitions, and images to win them, and win from them.

You found your gaps, now what?

Now you’ve got your keyword gaps, it’s time to action this analysis and use it to build out your strategy. Hint hint: Similarweb can really help you out here too.

1) Create a keyword list

You’ve spotted your topics, you’ve highlighted your missing keywords. It’s time to create your keyword list.

Now, you could get out your pen and paper, you could go manual on Excel, or you could use Similarweb. Our suggestion? Similarweb’s Keyword Analysis tools – we might be biased, but we also like saving time, getting immediate insights, and automatic downloads to Excel in a click of a button.

How to create a keyword list with Similarweb

To create your keyword list using Similarweb, go through the shared keywords between your competitors and select them, before clicking Create new list or Add to list. ✅

Typically, the higher the search volume, the bigger the topic. Consider these non-branded keywords with high MSV (monthly search volume) to be core keywords. But don’t forget the ‘underdogs’ we mentioned earlier; the long-tail keywords with the lower search volume. These are your way IN in the ultra competitive world of search we live in.

By clicking through to your Keyword List, you can analyze the performance of the keywords to spot top performers and any trends over time.

Your keyword list can – and should – be added to over time, whether you discover new topics to focus on through the Keyword Gap tool, or other tools.

Using the Keyword Generator, for example, you can quickly adopt more niche, long-tail, and trending keywords, as well as question queries. It builds you a list of keywords that you can download straight to your computer, alongside the metrics that matter. Make the most of our filters to keep your keyword lists as relevant as possible.

2) Plan how to close the gap using SEO and content

Okay, so now the question is: Where can all those keywords go?

SEO content can look like a whole bunch of things – we’ve got blog posts, product descriptions, videos, infographics, images, and they can be used for new content or optimized content. Either way, it’s about using this keyword list to fuel these, and get them ranking well on search engines.

Ask yourself questions like:

• Do I already have content for this keyword?
• Could this be optimized using SEO best practices?
• Is there enough to say about this keyword to make it a blog?
• Could I add this to the FAQ section?
• What have my competitors’ top ranking pages got that my pages don’t?

See how your competitors make the most of these keywords by analyzing their top-ranking pages on organic search.

Use the Organic Pages report to pinpoint pages that both Google and your target audience love, then give them a little stalk. You might be quickly inspired by the use of a video, infographic, bullet point list, or an interactive tool for example.

All this right here? This will help you execute a flawless SEO and content strategy to close the keyword gaps you’ve discovered. This might be for brand new content, this might be to optimize existing pages, or this might be a mix of both.

Whether you’re creating new or updating existing content, use the insights provided to understand:

• How to prioritize keywords and topics using your competitor research, including KD
• When to schedule the content if it’s a seasonal trend, judging by Yearly Trend
• How long it will take to close the gap depending on your resources, strategy and KPIs

3) Track the keywords in your list

These days, nothing stays the same for long and the SERP is no different. With constant algorithm updates, and somehow-even-more changes in buyer behavior and trends, it’s crucial to monitor your keywords and your performance.

Why? Because this will – and should – impact your content strategy, encouraging you to create new content and optimize old content.

1 in 6 Google searches are new searches – some will trend, some will just be a consequence of a thought you had in the shower and will never add up to much search volume at all. Keeping up with trending keywords and creating content to support these searches will boost your visibility and your authority as a business. It shows you know your audience, and the field you work in.

Monitoring the performance of your content, plus your competitors’ content shows where optimizations can be made. Perhaps you see your top-performing blog post tank from #1 down to the second page on Google, and see your main competitors crawling up the rankings. This is a clear sign something needs to change on the page.

With Rank Tracker, you can easily monitor the organic SERPs to make sure you’re not missing anything – or, if you do, you can act quickly to avoid any negative repercussions on your rankings.

Fill your keyword gaps with Similarweb

With a number of easy-to-use tools and the most accurate and up-to-date data on the market, Similarweb is an unmissable platform for SEO marketers like you.

With Similarweb, you can tick all the boxes for extensive:

• Competitor analysis
• Keyword analysis
• Benchmarking
• Keyword and rank monitoring

Try it for free today and find the keywords your business is losing out on.

FAQs

What is a keyword gap analysis?

A keyword gap analysis is a strategic process in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) where you identify the keywords that your competitors are ranking for but you are not. By analyzing the gaps in keyword rankings, you can discover new opportunities to optimize your content and improve your search engine visibility.

Why is keyword gap analysis important?

Keyword gap analysis helps you understand where your website stands in comparison to competitors in terms of keyword rankings. This insight allows you to uncover untapped opportunities, optimize your content strategy, and enhance your overall SEO performance.

What steps are involved in performing a keyword gap analysis?

To perform a Keyword Gap Analysis, start by identifying your main competitors, use a reliable SEO tool to gather keyword data, compare your keyword rankings with competitors, and identify gaps. Finally, prioritize the identified gaps based on relevance and search volume.

How frequently should I conduct a keyword gap analysis?

The frequency of keyword gap analysis depends on the competitive landscape of your industry. Performing the analysis quarterly is a good starting point, but you may adjust the frequency based on changes in the market, your business goals, and shifts in competitors’ strategies.

Can keyword gap analysis help improve my content strategy?

Absolutely. Keyword gap analysis not only helps you discover new keywords but also provides insights into the type of content your competitors are creating. This information can guide your content strategy, ensuring you address the same topics and meet the needs of your target audience.

How can I use the insights from keyword gap analysis to improve my SEO?

Once you identify keyword gaps, integrate those keywords strategically into your content. Create high-quality, relevant content that addresses the identified gaps, and optimize your on-page SEO elements. This can lead to improved rankings and increased visibility in search engine results.

Are there any common mistakes to avoid in keyword gap analysis?

One common mistake is solely focusing on high-volume keywords without considering relevance. Ensure that the keywords you target align with your business goals and are contextually relevant. Additionally, keep your analysis up-to-date and adapt your strategy based on evolving market trends.