Having great SEO is more than just ranking highly for the keywords you target. Often, it also means identifying and developing a strategy to target keywords that you’re not currently targeting — but that your top competitors are. This is what a “keyword gap analysis”, also known as a “competitive keyword analysis,” is designed to accomplish.
Here are a few reasons why, if you’ve never looked into how your SEO stacks up to your competition, it might be a good idea to get started with a keyword gap analysis with Kick Digital Media.
Be More Competitive
SEO can get a little confusing… even the concept of keyword rankings needs a little explanation if you’re new to it. But the first benefit of a keyword gap analysis is extremely straightforward. If your competitors are targeting and winning in the rankings for certain keywords that you’re not, they’re likely winning business for those keywords.
How much does keyword ranking matter? Well, according to 2022 data, the URL with the top ranking on the search results page gets almost 40% of clicks compared to less than 10% at position 3 and a fraction of that the further down the page you go. Essentially, if you’re behind in the rankings, you’re behind in your ability to generate interest in your business.
Learn About Your Audience
Understanding the keywords your competitors are ranking for does more than just level the playing field from a business standpoint, however. It can also help you learn more about your audience.
Let’s say, for example, you and your main competitor sell both shoes and socks. If you don’t think your audience is looking for socks, you’ll focus all your energy — and your keyword research — on search terms that show intent to find shoes.
But let’s say you run a keyword gap analysis and it shows that your only competitor is focusing on sock-related keywords and succeeding with it. This can show you that maybe your first instinct was flawed and you need to pivot to include socks in your SEO strategy.
Strengthen Domain Authority
A keyword gap analysis can also contribute to overall efforts to improve SEO value across your entire website. Here’s how:
- Using a gap analysis, you can detect new opportunities to create new content (or strengthen existing content) and rank for new keywords
- As a result, you start to rank for more keywords, showing search engines that your content is increasing in relevance for more searches
- As search engines trust your site more, the likelihood of increasing ALL of your rankings (not just the for the keywords identified by the keyword gap analysis) will increase
Businesses with a more reputable website in the eyes of search engines are shown more often for searches related to more queries because search engines can trust that they’ll show users relevant content.
Learn What a Keyword Gap Analysis Can Do for Your Business
Interested in learning more about how a keyword gap analysis can benefit your business and help you meet your goals? Contact Kick Digital and talk to an expert who can analyze your needs and help you strategize your next move.