In other words:<\/p>\n
Your target keywords<\/strong> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Your full potential\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n But that can change. By running a keyword gap analysis, you can see where your competitors are gaining traffic on search and<\/em> optimize your strategy to win that traffic back (and more traffic on top).<\/p>\n Summarize with ChatGPT<\/a> |\u00a0Google AI<\/a> | Perplexity<\/a> | Grok<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s our guide on how to find a keyword gap and what to do about it.<\/p>\n Keyword gap analysis is a comparison process used to find keyword opportunities and evaluate the potential of those keywords for your business.\u00a0Running a keyword gap analysis is a significant part of keyword research<\/a>, and incredibly important within a competitive SEO strategy<\/a> and content plan.<\/p>\n There are a number of benefits to a keyword gap analysis, including:<\/p>\n 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\u2019t you?<\/p>\n You\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n Using Similarweb\u2019s \u2018Organic Competitors\u2019 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:<\/p>\n By assessing your competitors\u2019 traffic share<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Here are a couple of examples:<\/p>\n The best way to check your competitors\u2019 traffic share is to use a keyword analysis tool<\/a>. Select non-branded keywords to narrow down your research, leaving only the keywords, topics or categories that could be relevant to your business.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u2026Say hello to the Keyword Gap tool<\/a>, ready to deliver you quick and easy insights to close the keyword gap between you and your competitors.<\/p>\n Choose your main competitors, and the Keyword Gap tool will create a fun and colorful Venn diagram and provide you with lists of:<\/p>\n 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\u2019ve got useful data that will inform your strategy and your next moves. This includes:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n From your research into competitive traffic share, you can map out the topics you want to focus on.<\/p>\n This will take into account the traffic, search volume, search intent<\/a>, keyword difficulty, and SERP features as we just mentioned, but it\u2019s got to be relevant to both your business and your target audience<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re Sephora, there\u2019s not much point in creating a blog or a product description for a makeup brand you don\u2019t sell. If you\u2019re a shipping and logistics company and don\u2019t ship to the Netherlands, don\u2019t write about shipping and logistics in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n ☝️You get the idea.<\/p>\n The trick is to hone in on topics and keywords that are competitive\u2026 but not too<\/em> competitive. They need to have a good search volume, without the keyword difficulty being too <\/em>high. Going hard on the keywords that have been around since \u2018forever\u2019 will run down your resources fast.<\/p>\n Micro opportunities in a macro environment are what get you places. It is also a big reason why considering long-tail keywords<\/a>, keyword seasonality, and trending search terms is so important to a winning and impactful marketing strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n And don\u2019t forget the impact of winning SERP features has on your website traffic<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Now you\u2019ve got your keyword gaps, it\u2019s time to act on this analysis and use it to build out your strategy. Hint hint: Similarweb can really <\/em>help you out here, too.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve spotted your topics, you\u2019ve highlighted your missing keywords. It\u2019s time to create your keyword list.<\/p>\n Now, you could get out your pen and paper, you could go manual on Excel, or <\/em>you could use Similarweb. Our suggestion? Similarweb\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n To create your keyword list using Similarweb, go through the shared keywords between your competitors and select them, before clicking Create new list<\/em> or Add to list<\/em>. ✅<\/p>\n 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\u2019t forget the \u2018underdogs\u2019 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.<\/p>\n By clicking through to your Keyword List, you can analyze the performance of the keywords to spot top performers and any trends over time.<\/p>\n Your keyword list can \u2013 and should \u2013 be added to over time, whether you discover new topics to focus on through the Keyword Gap tool or other tools.<\/p>\n Using the Keyword Generator<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Okay, so now the question is: Where can all those keywords go?<\/p>\n SEO content<\/a> can look like a whole bunch of things – we\u2019ve got blog posts, product descriptions, videos, infographics, images, and they can be used for new content or optimized content. Either way, it\u2019s about using this keyword list to fuel these and get them ranking well on search engines.<\/p>\n Ask yourself questions like:<\/p>\n See how your competitors make the most of these keywords by analyzing their top-ranking pages on organic search.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n All this right here? This will help you execute a flawless SEO and content strategy to close the keyword gaps you\u2019ve discovered. This might be for brand new content, this might be to optimize existing pages, or this might be a mix of both.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re creating new or updating existing content, use the insights provided to understand:<\/p>\n These days, nothing stays the same for long and the SERP is no different. With constant algorithm updates<\/a>, and somehow-even-more changes in buyer behavior and trends, it\u2019s crucial to monitor your keywords and your performance.<\/p>\n Why? Because this will \u2013 and should \u2013 impact your content strategy<\/a>, encouraging you to create new content and optimize old content<\/a>.<\/p>\n 1 in 6<\/a> 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<\/a> and creating content to support these searches will boost your visibility and <\/em>your authority as a business. It shows you know your audience, and the field you work in.<\/p>\n Monitoring the performance of your content, plus your competitors\u2019 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 that something needs to change on the page.<\/p>\n With Rank Tracker<\/a>, you can easily monitor the organic SERPs to make sure you\u2019re not missing anything – or, if you do, you can act quickly to avoid any negative repercussions on your rankings.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> marketers like you.<\/p>\n With Similarweb, you can tick all the boxes for extensive:<\/p>\nWhat is keyword gap analysis?<\/h2>\n
The benefits of running a keyword gap analysis<\/h2>\n
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How to do a keyword gap analysis<\/h2>\n
1) Identify your top 5 keyword competitors<\/h3>\n
![\"keyword-gap-analysis-sephora](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/keyword-gap-analysis-sephora-organic-competitors.png\")
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2) Check your competitors\u2019 traffic share<\/h3>\n
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![\"keyword-gap-analysis-sephora](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/keyword-gap-analysis-sephora-keyword-gap.png\")
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3) Map out the topics you want to focus on<\/h3>\n
![\"keyword-gap-analysis-keyword](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/keyword-gap-analysis-keyword-gap-serp-features.png\")
<\/p>\nYou found your gaps, now what?<\/h2>\n
1) Create a keyword list<\/h3>\n
How to create a keyword list with Similarweb<\/h4>\n
![\"keyword-gap-analysis:](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/keyword-gap-analysis-create-new-list.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"keyword-gap-analysis:](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/keyword-gap-analysis-keyword-list.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"keyword-gap-analysis:](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/keyword-gap-analysis-olaplex.png\")
<\/p>\n2) Plan how to close the gap using SEO and content<\/h3>\n
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![\"keyword-gap-analysis:](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/keyword-gap-analysis-sephora-organic-pages.png\")
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3) Track the keywords in your list<\/h3>\n
![\"rank](\"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/rank-tracker.png\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\nFill your keyword gaps with Similarweb<\/h2>\n