Strategy overview
How to find keyword gaps your competitors haven't locked down yet
Your competitors have already done the research. They've ranked for keywords, built content around topics, and validated what your audience searches for. Gap analysis is how you use that work to your advantage.
The most effective approach isn't hunting for keywords nobody has touched. It's finding keywords your competitors rank for, then taking a more specific angle they haven't covered. Two angles work consistently well: who you're serving (agencies, freelancers, startups) and where they are (Switzerland, Denver, the US market).
A competitor ranking for "Webflow SEO" can't also own "Webflow SEO for freelancers in Switzerland" — that's yours to take. And because it's more specific, it's also easier to rank for and more likely to attract exactly the right audience.
How to do it?
Step 1: Find the gaps with RankingGap
- Go to RankingGap and enter your domain plus up to 4 competitor URLs
- Switch to the Missing view — keywords all your competitors rank for, but you don't. These are your clearest gaps.
- Switch to the Gap view — keywords some competitors rank for but not all. Lower competition, still validated.
- Export the list and group keywords by topic
Step 2: Personalize the gaps by audience or location
Raw competitive keywords are a starting point, not the finish line. For each gap keyword you identify, ask: can I own a more specific version of this?
By audience: Add the specific segment you serve.
- "SEO checklist" → "SEO checklist for agencies" or "SEO checklist for freelancers"
- "Webflow SEO" → "Webflow SEO for startups"
By location: Add the geography where your audience works.
- "Webflow designer" → "Webflow designer in Switzerland" or "Webflow designer Denver"
- "SEO consultant" → "SEO consultant Zurich"
These personalized versions are less competitive, more targeted, and often convert better because the intent is clearer.
Step 3: Validate before committing
Run the personalized keywords through the Free Keyword Research tool to check search volume and difficulty. Some location or audience modifiers have real volume. Others have almost none — not worth building a page around. Validate before you write.
Do's
- ✅ Start with competitive keywords, then narrow down — don't look for gaps in obscure corners nobody visits. Look for gaps in traffic that already exists.
- ✅ Try both audience and location modifiers for each keyword. Sometimes one works, sometimes both do.
- ✅ Look at the Gap view in RankingGap, not just Missing — partial gaps are often easier to win than completely uncontested keywords.
- ✅ Repeat this every quarter. What's competitive today might have a new gap in six months as competitors shift their focus.
Don'ts
- ❌ Don't chase gaps with no search volume. A keyword nobody searches for isn't a gap — it's a dead end.
- ❌ Don't add location modifiers just for the sake of it. If your product or service isn't actually location-specific, forced geo-targeting feels hollow and rarely converts.
- ❌ Don't skip the audience angle. Most people jump straight to location, but "for agencies" or "for freelancers" often has stronger intent and less competition.
- ❌ Don't treat gap analysis as a one-time exercise. It's an ongoing process — your competitors are building new content too.
