When a website is new or relatively unknown, it can be difficult to rank well for competitive keywords. If you're wondering how to improve SEO strategy for such sites, consider this: writing content and developing a strong online reputation can take time that you don't have. So why not consider including low-competition keywords in your SEO strategy? In this article, we get into what you need to consider when building a low-competition keyword list and how to search for potential high search volume, low competition keywords. By targeting a given keyword with less competition, you can improve your chances of ranking faster.
What are Low Competition Keywords?
Low-competition keywords are an integral part of an SEO growth strategy to increase traffic. These are
keywords you can rank for with little effort, as they have not been competitively used. With these keywords, you don’t have to build many links or have a high website authority to get organic traffic to your website. They are a good starting point for a new SEO strategy.
Why are Low Competition Keywords Important?
Using low-competition keywords allows businesses to generate organic traffic without competing against established websites. These keywords help build topical authority, improve on-page SEO, and provide better opportunities to rank in Google search results. Businesses can gain visibility faster and drive targeted traffic by strategically incorporating them.
Examples of Low Competition Keywords
Long-tail Keywords
Long tail keywords are highly specific and typically consist of three or more words. Because they address precise user queries, they are often associated with lower search volume but higher conversion rates.
Examples include "best screen reader for Windows users" or "affordable SEO tools for small businesses".
Geo-specific Keywords
These keywords for SEO focus on local search optimization and target users searching for products or services in specific locations.
Examples include "best digital marketing agency in Toronto" or "affordable web design in Chicago".
Niche-specific Keywords
These keywords cater to a specialized audience within a broader industry.
Examples include "low-vision accessibility tools" or "SEO for health and wellness blogs".
Question-based Keywords
These keywords take the form of common questions users search for.
Examples include "How to find low-competition keywords" or "Why are long-tail keywords important for SEO".
Product-specific Keywords
These keywords focus on specific products, brands, or features.
Examples include "best text-to-speech software for visually impaired users" or "affordable keyword research tools".
Ways to Find Low Competition Keywords
Build your Keyword List with Keyword Suggestions
One of the steps to a successful SEO strategy is building a keyword list. This can be done by looking at keywords your competitors rank for and filtering and selecting those with a low keyword difficulty (KD). You need to source keywords from at least five domains to find long-tail keywords and more keywords with low-difficulty ratings.
Use this list of keywords to find phrase matches and related keywords and to understand how to find low-competition keywords with high traffic. Once again, source those keywords that have a low keyword difficulty rating. And we get it—this seems labor-intensive, but at the end of the day, it will give you a comprehensive low-competition keyword list you can use.
Find High-Volume but Low Competition Keywords
A business owner will start getting impatient when their digital marketing investment does not show quick results. One effective solution is to compile a "low competition keywords list." Using high-volume, low-competition keywords on their site can offer immediate benefits. It will also serve as a basis for going after more challenging, volume-rich keywords in the future. But how do we find high-volume, low-competition keywords to use in an SEO strategy?
Use Google SERPs to Reverse-Engineer Results
When you want to use Google's search engine result pages (SERPs) to reverse engineer results, start by identifying the keyword phrases you, as a potential user, would type in. Find keywords that consider the purchase intent and keywords that include complementary aspects of your offerings. Then analyze the title tag, URL, and meta description that appear in the SERPs.
Use Keyword Software to Target Specific Topics
There are multiple keyword software tools on the market that will provide you with valuable data, including volume, difficulty, cost-per-click (CPC), and other critical insights for optimizing your content strategy. This data empowers you to make informed decisions and enhance your keyword targeting strategies, ultimately improving your online visibility and driving more traffic to your website.
Explore Competitor's Keywords
Your competition is a good source for potential keywords. Look at businesses with a similar target audience and offerings, then find the keywords they use to rank in their SERPs. From these keywords, you can research more potential high-volume, low-competition keywords.
Explore Gaps in Your Content
A keyword gap occurs when competitors rank for keywords that your website does not. Using SEO tools, identify missing search queries that can help you rank for underserved topics.
Tools and Resources for Finding Low Competition Keywords
- Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that offers keyword ideas based on your industry, product, or service. It also provides information about search volume, keyword competition level, and related keyword ideas. This tool is a great starting point for building a keyword list.
- Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO tool that allows you to analyze your competitors’ keywords, discover new keyword opportunities, and assess keyword difficulty. It also offers a keyword explorer that lets you filter results based on keyword difficulty and search volume.
- Semrush is another robust tool for SEO research. It provides insights into keyword difficulty, search volume, CPC, and more. SEMrush’s “Keyword Magic Tool” is especially useful for finding long-tail, low-competition keywords.
- Moz Keyword Explorer gives you access to a wealth of keyword data, including search volume, keyword difficulty, and organic CTR. Its keyword suggestions and SERP analysis can guide you in finding low-competition keywords that are a good fit for your website.
- Ubersuggest, a free tool from Neil Patel, provides valuable data on keyword volume, competition, and trends. You can enter any keyword to find long-tail variations and uncover potential low-competition opportunities.
How to Leverage Low Competition Keywords
Consider Search Intent and CPC
Besides considering keyword difficulty (KD) and the pay-per-click competition level, to help improve local SEO strategy, you also need to look at research search intent and cost-per-click (CPC) to shape your low-competition keyword SEO strategy. Search intent is the purpose of the user’s search and is sometimes called the audience, user, or keyword intent. Cost-per-click is the amount an advertiser pays when a user clicks on their advertisement, and the keyword influences the cost.
Search intent: There are four types of search intent—informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial. Informational search intent is the user trying to learn more about something (“What is a good software package?”), and navigational search intent is the user trying to find something (“Microsoft website”). Transactional search intent is the user trying to complete a specific action (“Buy the new Microsoft software”), and commercial search intent is the user trying to learn more before making a purchase decision (“Microsoft 10 vs 11”).
Cost-per-click (CPC): When a keyword is very relevant to your site and has a low search volume but a high CPC, you might consider using that search term, despite the cost. Particularly when you want to build interest around a niche product or service.
Build Topical Authority
Using low-competition keywords across multiple related articles helps establish topical authority. This signals to search engines that your site is a credible source for specific SEO-related topics.
Keyword Clusters and Internal Linking
Grouping low-competition keywords into keyword clusters improves content depth and interconnectivity. Internal linking can guide users through related articles and enhance SEO rankings.
Estimating Keyword Difficulty
Keyword difficulty (KD) assesses how challenging it would be to take your competition’s positions in the Google Top 100 with a specific keyword. If you're looking to improve your Google rankings, understanding KD is crucial. There are multiple search engine optimization (SEO) tools, and each uses a specific formula for its keyword difficulty score. Because Google employs hundreds of ranking signals, it is challenging for a third-party SEO tool to compute an absolutely accurate keyword difficulty metric.
The following difficulty score from the Semrush SEO tool describes their assessment values, rated in percentages from 1% to 100%. A higher percentage shows the effort it will take to outrank the competition for targeted keywords.
- Above 69% - You will have to use extensive link-building efforts, time, and search engine optimization (SEO) to enter the Google top 20. These are highly competitive keywords and not a sensible target for a new website.
- From 50% – 69% - It is challenging to get in the Google top 20 with these keywords, but with high-quality content and relevant backlinks, you might take your competitor’s position in time.
- From 30% – 49% - When you start using keywords in an SEO strategy, these keywords are possible to rank for.
- Below 30% - The easiest keywords to rank for. They probably have a low search volume or very specific search intent.
If you find a list of relevant high-volume, low-competition keywords and use them throughout your site, there is an opportunity to rank high in the SERPs.
Estimating PPC Competition Level
To find a balance between a keyword’s search volume and competition level, you need to look at the keyword difficulty and the pay-per-click (PPC) competition level. The PPC competition level shows the number of paid advertisers using a specific search phrase for their advertisements, which can significantly affect your SEO and search engine rankings. Although it refers to competition in paid search and not organic, it is a good indication of favored keywords from which one can build a low-competition keyword list.
Using the same SEO tool as a reference, let’s look at how one can estimate the PPC competition level by using their decimal metric between 0 and 1, with 1 showing the highest number of advertisers bidding on a keyword.
- Above 0.80 - Very competitive keywords between advertisers and will send traffic to your website page, potentially improving your search engine rankings. With this density level, the user's search intent is to make a complete purchase or make a final decision.
- From 0.60 – 0.80 - Keywords with a standard number of advertisers competing for them. One could consider advertising on these keywords if the organic process does not work, but it will not be a swift win.
- Below 0.60 - Very few advertisers are bidding for this keyword, either because it is not profitable, or a word not previously considered.
Refining Your Keyword Strategy Over Time
While targeting low-competition keywords is an excellent strategy for quick wins, remember that SEO is a long-term game. Once you've gained some momentum, it’s important to regularly refine your keyword strategy to remain competitive and continue growing your traffic. This can be done through:
- Monitoring Keyword Performance: Track the performance of your targeted low-competition keywords over time using Google Search Console and other SEO tools. This will help you identify which keywords are driving traffic to your site and which need to be adjusted or replaced.
- Expanding Your Keyword List: As your website’s authority grows, you can begin targeting slightly more competitive keywords. This will help you stay competitive within your industry and continue to expand your reach.
- Updating and Optimizing Existing Content: Regularly revisit your content to ensure that it remains relevant and up-to-date. Integrate new low-competition keywords into older posts and optimize them with fresh insights and data. This helps maintain and improve rankings over time.
- Diversifying Content Formats: Diversify your content strategy to include video, infographics, case studies, or podcasts. These content formats often attract different types of searches and can help you rank for both high- and low-competition keywords.
By incorporating these ongoing strategies, you can continue to build a solid SEO foundation and improve your overall online presence.
Should I Avoid High Competition Keywords Completely?
While high-competition keywords can drive significant traffic, they require extensive link-building and high domain authority to rank. Instead of avoiding them entirely, balance them with low-competition keywords to gain initial traction before targeting competitive keywords.
Businesses can build a strong SEO foundation by focusing on high-volume, low-competition keywords and gradually expanding into more competitive search terms.
How to Find Low-Competition Keyword Ideas for Better SEO Results
WSI has developed in-depth knowledge of digital marketing over 30 years. We published three versions of our Amazon best-selling book, “Digital Minds,” and have an extensive network of industry thought leaders. We also managed more than $150 million in advertising spend over the last five years. Are you interested in working with our network of digital marketing consultants and learning how to improve your SEO strategy? Then talk to us at WSI today. Focus on low competition keywords today!
