Finding Low Competition Keywords: Steps, Tools, Strategies

Many teams chase the same obvious keywords and wonder why they stall on page 3. It’s not your product or writing—it’s the battlefield. Head terms are dominated by entrenched, high-authority sites. The quickest path to reliable organic growth is stacking consistent wins on low-competition queries: specific, intent-rich searches with attainable SERPs, enough demand to matter, and a clear line to your pages’ value.

You don’t need a giant budget—just a repeatable process. This guide shows how to uncover “easy wins” using your own data, Google’s SERP features, and a few tools (free and paid). We’ll validate difficulty by reading the results page, align keywords to search intent, and prioritize with a simple score so you publish what can rank now.

Here’s what you’ll get: define what “low competition” means for your site, set goals and topical boundaries, learn modifiers that lower difficulty, build seed lists, mine Autocomplete and People Also Ask, expand with tools, find competitor gaps, judge difficulty manually, map intent to content types, cluster topics, capture GSC quick wins, use AI safely, track results—and automate at the end.

Step 1. Define what "low competition" means for your site

“Low competition” isn’t universal—it’s relative to your domain’s current authority, content quality, and link profile. For a newer site, a low-competition keyword is one you can crack page one for without heavy link building. That typically means fewer strong pages fighting for the term and a tight relevance match to your offer.

Use tool difficulty as a starting filter: Semrush’s KD “Very easy” (≤14%) is a practical seed range; Ahrefs and KWFinder offer similar “easy-to-rank” signals. Start conservative, then widen as you gain traction.
Set a demand floor: Aim for 500+ monthly searches when possible; go lower for high-intent, conversion-friendly long-tails.
Check SERP strength signals: Top results show comparable site authority and fewer high-quality backlinks (versus industry leaders), indicating realistic entry.
Enforce fit and intent: The query should align with what you sell and the searcher’s stage (informational, commercial, transactional).

Calibrate this to your reality: pull keywords where you already rank positions 5–20 in Google Search Console, note their KD and volume ranges, and treat that as your initial “low-competition band.”

Example working rule: low_competition = (KD <= 14%) AND (volume >= 500) AND (high relevance & clear intent)

Step 2. Clarify goals, audience, and topical boundaries

Finding low competition keywords gets 10x easier when you know exactly what a “win” looks like and who you’re winning for. This step prevents chasing irrelevant volume, sharpens search intent, and builds topical authority by saying “yes” to the right ideas and “no” to distracting ones.

Business outcome: Define the primary goal (leads, trials, sales, email signups). Tie keywords to a measurable action.
Audience slices: List ICPs, jobs-to-be-done, pain terms, and buying triggers. Prioritize segments with shortest path to value.
Search intent × funnel: Map queries to informational, commercial, or transactional and to TOFU/MOFU/BOFU content types.
Geo/language constraints: Note locations and languages you can serve credibly; exclude regions you can’t fulfill.
Offer boundaries: Catalog products/services you actively sell; avoid topics you don’t offer or support.
No-go topics: Exclude off-niche tangents, thin “trend chasing,” and YMYL areas you can’t support with expertise.
E-E-A-T assets: Identify subject-matter experts, case studies, data, and reviews you can cite to build trust.

Use a simple scope brief to qualify every idea:

Topic: [niche]
Intent: [informational/commercial/transactional]
Audience: [ICP + pain]
Goal metric: [lead/trial/sale]
In-scope: [themes, modifiers, geos]
Out-of-scope: [disallowed topics]
Proof: [SME, case study, data]
CTA: [next action]

If a keyword can’t fill this brief, it’s not a fit—no matter how “easy” it looks.

Step 3. Know the low-competition patterns and modifiers that work

You don’t “discover” easy keywords as much as you engineer them. The fastest path to finding low competition keywords is to reshape broad ideas with specific modifiers that narrow intent, audience, or context. These patterns turn crowded head terms into attainable long-tails without losing buying potential.

Long-tail specificity: Add purpose or scenario. Templates: best [core] for [use case], [core] for [problem], how to [task] with [constraint].
Audience/condition: Niche the searcher. Examples: [for beginners](https://rankyak.com/blog/keyword-research-for-beginners), for seniors, for flat feet, for rosacea.
Geo modifiers: Localize to win easier SERPs. in [city/state], near [landmark], open late [city].
Question-based: Capture answer-seeking queries. how to…, what is…, can you…, why does….
Product specs: Bake in attributes. lightweight, portable, waterproof, compact, with long battery life.
Comparison/alternatives: Bottom-funnel intent with less competition. [brand] vs [brand], alternatives to [tool], X vs Y vs Z.
Constraints/pricing: Reveal buying intent. under $50, on a budget, DIY, quick, no-code.
Platform compatibility: Tie to ecosystems. for Shopify, for WordPress, with Google Sheets.
Recency/lifecycle: Fresh angles that rank. 2025, checklist, template, starter kit, advanced guide.

Bake these into your seed phrases: low_competition_candidate = [core topic] + [modifier] + [intent]. Next, you’ll mine your own data to assemble a high-signal seed list.

Step 4. Build a seed keyword list from your own data

Before any tool expansion, pull language straight from your audience. Your existing touchpoints already reveal how buyers describe problems, constraints, and outcomes—gold for finding low competition keywords once you reshape them with the modifiers you learned above. Aim to capture exact phrases, context, and the page or offer they naturally map to; this becomes your high-signal seed list you’ll validate and expand later.

Google Search Console (Performance → Queries): Export 3–6 months. Filter for average positions 5–20 with high impressions to spot “almost there” terms; note the associated pages and intent. Prioritize non‑brand queries and question phrasing.
On-site search logs/Analytics: Mine internal search and “no results” terms. These reveal long-tail pain language and product attributes users expect.
Support, sales, and CRM notes: Lift recurring objections, outcomes, and “for [audience]” variants from tickets, call notes, and chat transcripts.
Paid search search-terms reports: Collect queries with strong CTR or conversions; these often translate to organic long-tails with purchase intent.
Docs/Knowledge base and FAQ submissions: Troubleshooting phrases and task verbs (“how to…”, “fix…”, “setup…”) make reliable informational seeds.
Social DMs, comments, and community threads (e.g., Reddit/Quora): Capture verbatim questions and comparison language users actually type.

Normalize each idea into a seed entry with: Keyword, Intent, Source, Mapped Page, Notes (pain/use case/modifier). Deduplicate, then keep only in-scope items. A simple working filter: seed = GSC.queries.filter(impressions >= 100 & position >= 5 & position <= 20). You now have a credible seed list ready for SERP mining.

Step 5. Mine Google’s SERP features for long-tail ideas

Google’s results page is a live map of what people actually type, making it the best free source for discovering long-tail variations and question-led angles. When you use SERP features systematically, you’ll turn broad seeds into specific phrases that lower difficulty without losing intent.

Autocomplete (top of SERP): Type your seed and watch suggestions expand in real time. Add prepositions and constraints—for, with, near, under, best, how to—to surface purpose- and spec-based variants. query = [seed] + " " + [modifier].
Alphabet expansion: After your seed, add a space and letters A–Z to trigger additional Autocomplete ideas. Capture standouts with clear audience, spec, or price intent.
People Also Ask (PAA): Click open several questions; each click expands the list. Extract “how/what/why/can” questions and reframe them into article titles or FAQs.
Related searches (bottom of SERP): Collect recurring modifiers, brands, and use cases that keep appearing—these often become cluster subtopics.
SERP snippets: Note verbs and entities in titles/descriptions (e.g., “template,” “checklist,” “near me,” product specs). They reveal winning angles to mirror.
Refine by geo: Append city/region to your seed to expose local Autocomplete and Related searches for easier, location-tied wins.

Document each idea with: Keyword, Source (Autocomplete/PAA/Related), Modifier type, Intent, Notes. Prioritize items that match your step‑2 scope and step‑1 difficulty guardrails for finding low competition keywords.

Step 6. Expand with keyword tools (Semrush, Ahrefs, KWFinder, Keyword Planner)

With your seeds ready, now scale idea discovery and validate difficulty at speed. Use each tool for what it’s best at, then normalize results to your Step‑1 guardrails. This keeps you focused on finding low competition keywords that can rank soon—not just generating lists.

Tool	Best move for expansion	Practical filters to try
Semrush (Keyword Magic Tool)	Explode seeds into thousands of variants; see intent and KD	Set KD to “Very easy” (≤14%); apply Intent (Informational/Commercial); use “Questions” to surface PAA-style ideas
Ahrefs (Keyword Generator)	Quick 100+ idea bursts from a seed, including Questions	Pull ideas, then validate KD/volume in your primary tool; prioritize question variants and spec modifiers
KWFinder	Surface “easy‑to‑rank” phrases with clean UI	Filter by low difficulty and a minimum volume; sort by lowest KD first to spot attainable terms
Google Keyword Planner	Free discovery and volume ranges by geo/language	Use “Discover new keywords”; set locations; capture long-tail variants and prune off-niche terms

Workflow:

Feed each tool your seeds and top modifiers from Step 3.
Export, deduplicate, and tag by intent and source.
Apply a simple keep rule: keep_if = (KD <= 14%) & (volume >= 500) & (in_scope == true).
Flag sub‑500 volume items only if they show clear buying intent (e.g., “best [core] under $50 in [city]”).

Close the loop by spot‑checking a few winners on the live SERP before moving on—you’re curating, not hoarding.

Step 7. Reverse-engineer competitors to find gaps you can win

Your competitors have already done expensive discovery for you. By mining their rankings, you’ll uncover topics they proved have demand—then filter for your “easy-win” band to start finding low competition keywords you can realistically take. Focus on topical peers (not mega-sites) so the SERP strength you inherit matches your stage.

Pick the right rivals: List 3–5 sites that publish on your topics and sell similar offers. Prioritize those whose pages resemble yours in depth and authority.
Pull their ranking keywords: In an organic research tool, open the Positions report for each domain and export keywords where they rank in the top 20. Tag intent and landing page type.
Filter to your band: Use the KD column to keep terms within your Step‑1 difficulty guardrails and a sensible volume floor. Note queries where their position is 5–15—often winnable with better on-page coverage.
Run a Keyword Gap: Compare your domain vs. rivals. In “Missing/Untapped,” filter by low KD and meaningful volume to surface gaps you don’t rank for. In “Weak,” flag shared terms they outrank you on for quick upgrades.
Qualify by value: Keep keywords that map cleanly to your offers, have clear search intent, and fit your topical boundaries.

Add finalists to your shortlist, then validate true difficulty on the live SERP in Step 8 before committing content resources.

Step 8. Analyze the SERP manually to judge true ranking difficulty

Tools shortlist ideas; the live SERP tells you what it takes to win. Spend a few focused minutes reading page one to validate whether a term is truly “low competition” for you. You’re checking who ranks, what format Google prefers, how strong those pages are, and where gaps exist you can exploit.

Quick process:
1. Open an incognito window, set the right location, and search your keyword.
2. Scan the top 10, Featured Snippet, People Also Ask, videos, images, and any local pack.
3. Open 3–5 ranking pages; skim structure, freshness, and depth. Decide “go,” “edge case,” or “no-go.”
Green flags (go now):
- Mixed or weak domains: Forums, small blogs, or niche sites dominate; few entrenched authorities.
- Thin/misaligned pages: Top results miss subtopics, lack depth, or don’t match intent.
- Outdated content: Old timestamps where recency matters; you can beat with fresher, complete coverage.
- Feature gaps: No FAQ/schema, no step-by-step, missing comparisons/templates you can add.
Red flags (rethink or reframe):
- Giant incumbents wall: Most results are top-tier brands with comprehensive guides.
- Rigid result type: Video carousel or local pack dominates when you plan a text article.
- Unified, deep coverage: Every top result nails intent, depth, and UX; little room to add value.
What to note before committing:
- Intent and format: Is Google favoring guides, product pages, comparisons, or local results—and can you match it?
- Depth signals: Headers cover the full topic; presence of FAQs, tables, checklists, specs.
- Freshness: Recent updates on page one if the topic changes quickly.
- Authority cues: Relative strength of ranking sites; presence of many high-quality backlinks suggests harder entry.
- Click-stealers: Snippets/PAA/local pack that reduce clicks; consider a format change (e.g., video, local page).

Simple rule of thumb: go_now if intent match is clear, several results are weak or outdated, and you can add distinct value (depth, format, freshness). Otherwise, reframe with modifiers from Step 3 and keep finding low competition keywords you can actually win.

Step 9. Map search intent and choose the right content type

Picking the right keyword is only half the win; matching the searcher’s intent with the right format is what unlocks rankings and conversions. Google broadly sorts intent into informational, commercial, transactional, and navigational. Most tools will label intent, but always confirm it on the live SERP (Step 8). When you’re finding low competition keywords, choosing a content type that mirrors what Google is rewarding makes the “easy” truly attainable.

Informational (learn): Publish guides, tutorials, checklists, FAQs. Optimize for Featured Snippets and PAA with clear H2/H3s, definitions, steps, and an FAQ section.
Commercial (compare): Create comparisons, “best” lists, use-case roundups, and buying guides. Include criteria, pros/cons tables, and CTAs to product/demo pages.
Transactional (act): Use product/service pages, category pages, location pages. Add pricing, specs, testimonials, FAQs, and structured data (Product/LocalBusiness).
Navigational (go to): Ship brand pages, login/support/docs hubs, or feature pages. Keep them fast, branded, and unmistakably the destination.

Quick intent signals: “how/what/why” → informational; “best/top/alternatives/versus” → commercial; “buy/price/near me” → transactional; brand/feature names → navigational. If the SERP shows mixed intent, choose a hybrid layout (e.g., comparison + mini buyer’s guide) or split into a pillar plus focused subpages. This alignment keeps clicks, satisfies users, and shortens the path from query to action.

Step 10. Prioritize with a simple scoring model (difficulty × demand × value)

A shortlist isn’t a plan until you decide publishing order. Give every candidate a single score so you can sort, pick, and ship. Use a lightweight model that rewards easy SERPs, meaningful search volume, and business impact. Keep it multiplicative so any weak dimension pulls the total down—this prevents “high volume, bad fit” traps when you’re finding low competition keywords.

ease = (100 - KD) / 100
demand = min(1, log10(volume + 1) / 4)
value = value_score / 5 (0–5 scale)
priority = round(100 * ease * demand * value)

Ease (invert difficulty): Use KD from your tool. KD 12% → ease = 0.88. Favor your “Very easy” band (≤14%) first.
Demand (log-scaled volume): Log scaling stops head terms from dominating. Set a soft floor at 500/month; keep lower if intent is bottom‑funnel.
Value (business fit): Score 0–5 based on intent and revenue proximity: transactional (5), commercial (4), informational with clear CTA (3), weak/brand-irrelevant (≤2). Boost if it maps to a core offer or sales play.
Ties and sanity checks: Prefer keywords that complete clusters, have snippet potential (definitions/steps/FAQs), or where SERPs show obvious gaps (Step 8).

Sort by priority descending and bucket into sprints: Now (top 10%), Next (next 30%), Later (the rest). This turns research into a publishing runway you can execute immediately.

Step 11. Align your plan with Google’s helpful content and E-E-A-T

Easy keywords only pay off if your pages are genuinely helpful. Google’s helpful content guidance rewards people-first content backed by experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trust (E-E-A-T). As you’re finding low competition keywords, bake trust signals into every draft so readers leave satisfied—and so you’re building durable rankings rather than thin listicles that get filtered out.

State the Who: Add bylines and author bios with relevant expertise; link to an About or author page.
Show the How: Explain methods, cite sources, include evidence (screenshots, examples), and note last updated dates with meaningful changes.
Clarify the Why: Write to help users accomplish a goal—not to hit a word count or chase trends.
Match intent fully: Ensure the page answers the query completely so users don’t need to search again.
Demonstrate experience: Include first-hand use, tested steps, or SME review; avoid merely summarizing others.
Provide a great page experience: Clear structure, accurate facts, clean writing, and fast, stable pages.
Avoid search-engine-first traps: Don’t mass-produce thin pages, change dates without updates, or rely on automation to manipulate rankings.
Raise the bar for YMYL: If a topic affects health/finance/safety, emphasize expert review and trustworthy sourcing.

Do this consistently and your upcoming clusters will compound topical authority—making each “easy” keyword even easier to win.

Ranking gets easier when you stop publishing one-off posts and start building topic clusters. Clusters let you own a subject by covering its subtopics, linking them together, and signaling depth. This is where many “easy” queries you found turn into durable traffic: a pillar targets the broader term, while supporting pages target the low-competition variations you’ve been collecting.

Define the topic: Group keywords that share the same parent concept/entity and user goal.
Pick a pillar: Target the broader, higher-value term with comprehensive coverage and clear sections.
Assign supports: Map low-competition modifiers (questions, specs, geo, use cases) to focused subpages.
Match intent by page type: Guides for informational; comparisons/buying guides for commercial; product/location pages for transactional.
Design internal links: Pillar links to all supports; every support links back to the pillar and 2–3 siblings with descriptive anchors.
Prevent cannibalization: One primary keyword per URL; consolidate overlaps; add canonicals if needed.
Structure for snippets: Use clear H2/H3s, definitions, steps, FAQs, and concise summaries to win PAA/snippets.
Ship in sprints: Publish pillar + 3–6 supports together to accelerate topical authority.

Use simple, scalable paths and anchors:

/pillars/[topic]
/guides/[topic]-[modifier]
Anchor examples: “best [topic] for [use case]”, “how to [task] with [constraint]”

Clusters turn finding low competition keywords into a strategic content system that compounds rankings and revenue.

Step 13. Use Google Search Console to capture low-hanging quick wins

Your fastest wins are already half‑ranked. Google Search Console (GSC) shows which queries you almost own and where a small tweak boosts clicks fast. Work from your live data, not guesses, and focus on improving CTR and intent match before creating anything new.

Find “almost there” terms: Performance → Search results → add “Average position,” set last 28–90 days, sort by position, and scan rows in positions 5–20 with high impressions (non‑brand). Export if needed for easier filtering.
Fix low CTR vs. rank: For keywords sitting P5–12 with weak CTR, refresh titles/meta to mirror query intent and add a strong benefit/modifier (year, price, use case). Align H1 with title.
Match intent and depth: If the ranking URL only partially answers the query, expand sections to cover PAA subtopics, add steps/templates/comparison tables, and update stale info.
Win rich results (when appropriate): Add clear definitions, steps, and an FAQ block; implement relevant structured data (FAQ, HowTo, Product, LocalBusiness) to improve snippet eligibility.
Create a dedicated page: For queries driving impressions to a misaligned page, spin out a focused URL and internally link from the original.
Boost internal links: Add descriptive anchors from related pages and navigation hubs to the target URL to concentrate relevance.

Track changes weekly; annotate updates and watch for lift within 14–28 days. Then recycle the playbook on the next batch.

Step 14. Use AI to brainstorm variants and entities, then validate

AI is great for widening your canvas—fast. Use it to generate long‑tail angles, question-led ideas, and entity lists you might miss, then run those candidates through your guardrails so you’re still finding low competition keywords you can win. Treat AI as a brainstorming partner; your judgment and validation do the ranking.

Try focused prompts that force intent, audience, and modifiers:

Prompt 1 — Long-tail variants Act as an SEO specialist. Generate 30 long‑tail keywords for [TOPIC] targeting [AUDIENCE] with [INTENT: informational/commercial/transactional]. Include modifiers (use case, spec, price, geo, year). Return: keyword, intent, suggested content type.
Prompt 2 — Entities to cover List entities and attributes related to [TOPIC]: audiences, problems, specs, brands, comparisons, locations, verbs (setup, fix, buy), constraints (under $X, no-code, quick).
Prompt 3 — Question mining Generate 25 “how/what/why/can” questions people ask about [TOPIC] with clear subtopics for an FAQ.

Then validate—don’t publish AI output raw:

Fit first: In-scope topic, clear intent, maps to an offer or cluster.
Metrics: Keep if KD ≤ 14% and volume meets your floor (e.g., ≥500/month or strong BOFU intent).
SERP check (Step 8): Confirm weak/outdated results and the right format.
De‑dupe/cannibalization: One primary keyword per URL; fold overlaps.
Helpful content/E‑E‑A‑T: Add author expertise, methods, citations, and real examples before shipping.

AI accelerates ideas; your validation makes them rankable.

Step 15. Track results, refresh, and scale what works

You don’t need dozens of dashboards—just a tight feedback loop. The goal is to learn which low-competition bets actually move, refresh laggards before they decay, and pour fuel on winners. Keep it simple: measure weekly, decide monthly, and update quarterly so momentum compounds instead of stalling.

Build a lightweight tracker: From Google Search Console, monitor impressions, clicks, CTR, and average position by keyword/URL. Add columns for publishing date, last updated, and target intent. Annotate every change.
Define success thresholds: Promote a keyword when position improves and CTR rises; graduate it when it drives conversions/leads. If position stagnates 28–45 days, queue a refresh.
Run a refresh playbook: Align to current SERP intent, cover missed PAA subtopics, add definitions/steps/FAQs, update stats/examples, strengthen author bios/citations (E‑E‑A‑T), improve internal links and schema, tighten titles/meta to match the query.
Fix structural issues: Consolidate cannibalized URLs (301 to the stronger page), retarget with a clearer modifier, or change format (e.g., guide → comparison) if the SERP favors it.
Scale winners: Spin adjacent variants (geo, audience, price/spec), create “alternatives” and “vs” pages, link them into the cluster, and support with internal links and selective outreach for links.
Cull true underperformers: If a page stays off‑intent or non‑converting after a refresh, redirect or repurpose.

This cadence keeps your portfolio current, amplifies what works, and limits waste.

Step 16. Automate keyword discovery and content execution with RankYak

Research is only half the battle—the bottleneck is turning your shortlist into publish-ready pages every day. RankYak automates the end‑to‑end pipeline you’ve built in this guide: smart keyword discovery, a daily content plan, SEO‑optimized drafting, internal linking and topic clusters, one‑click publishing to your CMS, and even backlink building—so “finding low competition keywords” turns into consistent rankings and traffic.

Connect and calibrate: Link your site and Google Search Console, set topics, geos, languages (40+ supported), and brand voice. RankYak ingests your pages to avoid cannibalization.
Discover and plan: Its smart discovery surfaces low‑competition, high‑fit keywords for your niche and assembles a daily content roadmap with clusters and pillars aligned to search intent.
Approve and target: You review the queue, lock primary keywords and target URLs, and let RankYak map internal links across the cluster.
Draft high‑quality articles: Generate up to 5,000‑word, SEO‑structured drafts built for snippets/PAA, with facts, citations, and E‑E‑A‑T‑friendly framing adapted to your brand voice.
Auto‑publish everywhere: Push directly to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix, and more via integrations, complete with featured image and internal links.
Build authority: Opt into the backlink exchange to form high‑quality connections with relevant niche sites.
Measure and iterate: Using GSC integration, RankYak tracks performance and feeds wins back into the plan to scale what works.

Designed to be 10x faster than manual SEO, cut time spent by up to 90%, and drive more pages to rank, RankYak also supports multi‑site management (separate subscriptions per site). Pricing is simple: $99/month with a 3‑day free trial, cancel anytime.

Bringing it together

You now have a complete playbook: define “low competition” for your site, set goals and topical boundaries, reshape seeds with winning modifiers, mine SERP features, expand with tools, raid competitors, sanity‑check difficulty on the live SERP, map intent to the right format, score by difficulty × demand × value, align to helpful content and E‑E‑A‑T, cluster topics, harvest GSC quick wins, use AI for breadth (then validate), and keep a tight refresh loop.

Turn this into momentum. Block two focused hours, shortlist 15 candidates that fit your guardrails, run the SERP check, score them, and commit to shipping one pillar plus three supports in the next 14 days. Measure weekly, refresh what stalls, and clone the winners into adjacent variants (geo, audience, specs).

If you want the execution engine handled for you, put your process on autopilot with RankYak. It discovers low‑competition keywords, builds a daily plan, drafts SEO‑ready articles, publishes to your CMS, links clusters, tracks results, and even helps with backlinks—so your team ships more pages that rank, faster.