An Effective Guide to Finding Low-Competition Keywords

Ranking on the first pages of search engines can be challenging, especially when you’re just starting. But here’s some excellent news. You can improve your chances of ranking by focusing on low-competition keywords.

How do you find these keywords? Read on to find out. This article discusses low competition keywords, highlighting some expert tips for finding such keywords and improving your rankings.

What Are Low-Competition Keywords?

Low-competition keywords are those you can rank for without much effort. The key here is ‘competition.’ A keyword with low competition implies that few websites are pursuing it. This leaves you a higher chance of ranking at the top and getting massive traffic to your page!

Why You Need Low-Competition Keywords

Some businesses have the reach they need, while others struggle to build a meaningful audience. So they compete with dozens of others. When there’s significant competition on a particular keyword, users typically go for popular pages rather than new ones. This is why new startups should prioritize low-competition keywords in the short term.

Low competition keywords are those that fewer websites are pursuing. These keywords are easier for you to rank for because your content will be among the few on search pages.

For some sites, low competition keywords are just enough for marketing plans. For others, they’re the beginning and can provide the foundation for a more competitive aspect.

Here’s why you need low competition keywords.

• Low competition keywords are easier to rank.
• Ranking on low-competition keywords can get you traffic and conversions.
• Ranking on low-competition keywords can improve long-tail rankings.
• Keywords with low competition are starting points for moving into more competitive keywords.
• Some low competition keywords are high volume enough that they can lead to profitable conversions.

How to Find Low Competition Keywords

Here are some expert tips for finding thousands of low-competition keywords quickly.

Brainstorm Topics

Brainstorm topics by focusing on your target audience, their interests, and the pain points that your audience has. Jot down and categorize your ideas. The categories should be broad; don’t try to force the topic to fit into one specific category. The aim is to find keywords with low competition that can effectively be used for keyword research. Once done, move to the second step.

Expand Ideas With a Keyword Research Tool

There are several highly-efficient keyword research tools online. Enter your topic ideas into one such tool, and you’ll see keyword ideas related to the words or phrases you entered. You’ll also see monthly search volumes and other SEO metrics.

Filter for Low ‘difficulty’ Keywords

Many keyword research tools display a difficulty score for each keyword. It is a numerical measure of how hard it is to rank in Google’s top 10 for a search query. Filter for keywords with difficulty scores between 0-10 to find “low competition” keywords.

Other Factors to Consider

You cannot term a keyword ‘low competition’ just because its difficulty score falls between 0-10. Other factors like search intent, website authority, and high-quality backlinks are also important.

1. Search Intent

It doesn’t matter if a keyword is low-difficulty. If you don’t create the content your audience wants, you’ll struggle to rank for that keyword. When carrying out keyword research, it’s best to look for relevant keywords that offer value to the reader. Your keyword should fall under any of these categories based on your goals.

• Informational – the searcher is seeking information on a topic.
• Navigational – the searcher is looking for a particular website.
• Commercial Investigation – the searcher wants to purchase a product or service but hasn’t decided which to buy.
• Transactional – the searcher is looking to purchase something.

2. High-Quality Backlinks

Pages with many backlinks typically have high organic search engine rankings. Before you use backlinks, you’ll need to assess the quality by considering the following:

• Relevance of the linking website and page
• Authority of the linking website and page
• Link placement on the page
• Anchor text of the link
• Follow vs. no follow status

To Wrap Up

SEO can be a painful process if you’re not careful. Never underestimate the value of a low-competition keyword. With a low competition keyword, you’ll stand out among your competition, improving your marketing strategy and search engine rankings.

As a new startup, low competition keywords can provide the foundation you need to make your way into a more competitive field.