Keyword Gap Analysis

Keyword Gap Analysis reveals exactly which keywords your competitors rank for that you don't. This powerful competitive intelligence tool helps you identify content gaps, discover untapped opportunities, and prioritize content creation based on what's already working for competitors in your space.

What is Keyword Gap Analysis?

Research Mode Overview

Keyword Gap Analysis compares two domains to find keywords where your competitor ranks but you don't. This comparative approach helps you identify specific content gaps and missed opportunities, making it easier to prioritize which keywords to target next.

What You Get

• Keywords competitor ranks for (but you don't)
• Competitor ranking positions (1-100)
• Estimated monthly organic traffic per keyword
• Specific ranking URLs from competitor
• Search volume, CPC, and difficulty data
• Search intent classification

What You Don't Get

• Keywords both domains rank for
• Keywords only your domain ranks for
• SERP weakness detection
• Domain scores for ranking pages
• Individual SERP result analysis

Key Advantage: Unlike competitor research which shows all keywords a competitor ranks for, keyword gap analysis filters out keywords you already rank for, showing only true content gaps. This laser-focused approach saves time and reveals your most important missing opportunities.

How Keyword Gap Analysis Works

Analysis Process

Competitor Keyword Collection

The system analyzes your competitor's domain to identify all keywords they rank for, including position, traffic estimates, and ranking URLs.

Your Domain Analysis

Your domain is checked against each competitor keyword to determine if you also rank for it.

Gap Identification

Keywords where your competitor ranks but you don't are identified as content gaps and returned in the results.

Pro Tip: Results are automatically sorted by estimated traffic (highest first), helping you prioritize content gaps that could drive the most organic traffic to your site.

Domain Input Requirements

Required Inputs

Keyword Gap Analysis requires two domains: your domain and a competitor's domain. Both inputs accept clean domain names without protocols.

Your Domain (Domain 1):

example.com → Analyzes your entire domain
www.example.com → Same as above (www handled automatically)
https://example.com → Protocol automatically removed

Competitor Domain (Domain 2):

competitor.com → Analyzes competitor's entire domain
www.competitor.com → Same as above
https://competitor.com → Protocol automatically removed

Important: Keyword gap analysis currently only supports full domain comparisons. Unlike competitor research, you cannot analyze specific URLs or subdirectories. Both inputs must be root domains.

Keyword Gap Data Fields

Data Columns Explained

Keyword gap results include the same data fields as competitor research, since you're analyzing keywords where your competitor ranks (but you don't).

Rank Position

Your competitor's ranking position (1-100) for each keyword in the gap.

Use: Prioritize keywords where competitors rank well (positions 1-10) to target proven opportunities.

Est Traffic

Estimated monthly organic traffic your competitor receives from each gap keyword.

Use: Focus on high-traffic gaps to maximize potential SEO impact.

Ranking URL

The specific competitor URL/page that ranks for each gap keyword.

Use: Study competitor content types and formats to understand what works.

Standard Research Data Also Included:

• Keyword phrase
• Search volume
• Cost-per-click (CPC)

• Keyword difficulty
• Search intent

Result Limits and Credit Costs

Available Result Limits

100

results

1 Credit

500

results

5 Credits

1,000

results

10 Credits

5,000

results

50 Credits

10,000

results

100 Credits

Credit Refunds: If fewer keyword gaps are found than your limit, you'll automatically receive a proportional credit refund. The number of gaps found depends on the similarity of the two domains being compared.

Gap Size Expectations: Established competitors in different niches typically show 500-5000+ keyword gaps. Similar sites or direct competitors in the same niche may have 100-1000 gaps. Very similar sites might have under 100 gaps.

Sorting Options

Keyword Gap Sorting

Keyword gap analysis includes the same sorting options as competitor research, helping you prioritize which content gaps to address first.

Standard Sort Options:

• Search Volume: High to low or low to high
• Keyword Difficulty: Easy to hard or hard to easy
• Cost Per Click: High to low or low to high
• Alphabetical: A-Z or Z-A

Gap-Specific Sorts:

• Rank Position: Competitor's best ranks first (1,2,3...) or worst first
• Est Traffic: Highest traffic gaps first (default)

Default Sort: Results are sorted by estimated traffic (highest first) to immediately show which keyword gaps represent the biggest traffic opportunities you're missing.

Advanced Filtering Options

Keyword Gap Filters

Keyword gap analysis includes all standard filters plus competitor-specific filters to refine your gap analysis.

Standard Filters

Content Filters:

• Contains/Doesn't contain specific terms
• Search volume ranges
• Cost-per-click ranges
• Keyword difficulty ranges

Intent Filters:

• Informational keywords
• Commercial keywords
• Transactional keywords
• Navigational keywords

Gap-Specific Filters

Rank Range Filter

Filter by competitor's ranking position (1-100) to focus on gaps where they perform well or poorly.

Strategy: Filter for ranks 1-10 to target keywords where competitors have proven success, or ranks 11-30 to find opportunities where competitors have partial visibility but room for improvement.

Est Traffic Range Filter

Filter by estimated monthly organic traffic to focus on high-impact content gaps.

Use case: Set minimum traffic filters (e.g., over 50 visits/month) to identify keyword gaps that could drive meaningful traffic if you ranked for them.

URL Filter

Filter gaps by competitor's ranking URL path to understand which content types you're missing.

Examples: Filter for URLs containing "/blog" to see content marketing gaps, or "/product" to identify missing commercial opportunities.

Understanding Your Keyword Gap Results

Interpreting Content Gaps

High-Traffic Gaps (100+ monthly visits):

These represent your most valuable content opportunities. Your competitor is capturing significant organic traffic for these keywords, and you're completely absent from the conversation.

Top 10 Ranking Gaps (positions 1-10):

Keywords where competitors rank in the top 10 show proven opportunities. These are keywords that are working well for them, making them strong candidates for your content strategy.

Lower Ranking Gaps (positions 11-50):

These gaps show keywords where your competitor has visibility but not dominance. Creating content for these terms might be easier, as the competition may be less established.

Content Strategy Tip: Click on competitor ranking URLs in the results to analyze their content. Understanding their approach helps you create competitive or superior content that can capture the same keywords.

Strategic Use Cases

Content Gap Prioritization

Use keyword gap analysis to build a data-driven content calendar focused on proven opportunities.

Prioritization Process:

1. Sort by estimated traffic to find highest-impact gaps
2. Filter by keyword difficulty to match your domain authority
3. Analyze competitor ranking URLs to understand content requirements
4. Create better, more comprehensive content targeting these gaps

Quick Win Identification

Find gaps where competitors rank in positions 11-30 with low-to-medium difficulty scores.

Target Criteria:

• Competitor ranks 11-30
• Moderate search volume (500-5000)
• Difficulty score under 40
• Relevant to your offerings

Why These Work:

• Easier to rank for than high-competition terms
• Competitor hasn't dominated yet
• Proven search demand exists
• Faster ROI on content investment

Competitor Weakness Analysis

Identify patterns in the keyword gaps to understand strategic opportunities your competitor is missing or undervaluing.

Analysis Approach: Look for clusters of gap keywords in specific topics or intents. Large clusters might indicate entire content categories where your competitor is weak, giving you opportunities to establish topical authority they lack.

Keyword Gap Analysis Best Practices

Effective Gap Analysis Strategy

Competitor Selection:

• Choose direct competitors in your niche
• Pick competitors slightly ahead of you in authority
• Avoid comparing to massive brands (unrealistic gaps)
• Consider multiple gap analyses with different competitors

Gap Analysis:

• Start with high-traffic, low-difficulty gaps
• Analyze competitor content quality and depth
• Look for patterns in gap topics
• Consider search intent when prioritizing

Common Gap Analysis Mistakes:

• Targeting too many gaps at once (focus on quality over quantity)
• Ignoring keyword difficulty (unrealistic expectations)
• Not analyzing competitor content before creating yours
• Choosing gaps that aren't relevant to your business
• Not following up with full SERP analysis on priority gaps

Research History & Data Preservation

Automatic Gap Analysis Preservation

Every keyword gap analysis is automatically saved to your Research History, allowing you to track content gaps over time and monitor how competitors evolve.

What's Automatically Saved:

• Complete gap analysis with all keywords
• Competitor ranking positions and traffic
• Specific ranking URLs for each gap
• Domain comparison parameters
• All filter and sort settings

Research History Features:

• Track gap evolution over time
• Compare gaps with different competitors
• Monitor which gaps you've addressed
• Re-run analyses to see changes
• Access complete gap data anytime

Strategic Advantage: Regular gap analyses (monthly or quarterly) help you track competitive changes, identify new opportunities as they emerge, and measure your progress in closing content gaps without repeated research costs.

Ready to Find Your Content Gaps?

Start analyzing keyword gaps to discover exactly which opportunities your competitors are capturing that you're missing. Build a data-driven content strategy based on proven results.

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