Increasing your organic traffic doesn’t have to take forever.
A good way to get visitors to your site is by targeting key words with low competition.
Let’s go over what these are. And go through how to find these valuable keywords using Semrush’s tools.
What is keywords with low competition?
Keywords with low competition are expressions with less competition.
In other words, these are phrases that you may be able to rank well – which turns out to be high in search results – without having to fight many established competitors.
Creating useful content around these keywords can increase your site’s organic traffic (unpaid traffic). And that means you can increase visibility without relying on paid ads.
One of the fastest ways to identify these key words is to look at the key word difficulty (KD %) metric in Semrush. This metric reveals how challenging it is to rank for a given period on a scale of 100.
The lower the number, the better your chances of ranking.
You can see this metric in several places in Semrush. Including in the key word magic tool.
Examining these expressions is a great way to see low hanging fruit.
To find the low hanging fruit in SEO
In SEO, “low hanging fruit” refers to keywords that many people search for, but not many sites try to rank.
What does it mean to you?
These are easy gains – not too competitive, yet still popular enough to drive traffic to your site.
Focus on these expressions provides a good opportunity to attract visitors organically. Especially if you are launching a new site or going into a new market.
Take it from Alizée Baudez, SEO consultant and Digital Marketing Specialist:
With the magical tool of the keyword, I like to start by filtering difficulty results that are too high. That way, I know that my client will not focus on unattainable keywords … This is a simple way to grab low hanging fruit and make sure that the content plan we follow will actually be useful to customers.
How to find keywords with low competition with high traffic
It is easier to find expressions with low competition that is still valuable than you think. Check this tutorial for some initial tips:
Use it now in practice with four methods using Semrush tools:
Step 1. Build a list using competitor keyword
By targeting keywords that your competitors are already ranking, you can use proven markets where there is an existing demand but potentially less competition.
This approach can quickly track your visibility in search results.
Start using organic research to clarify expressions your competitors use. Focus on keywords with both high search volume and low difficulty.
How to do it:
Go to “Organic research“Enter a competitor’s domain name and click”Search. “
Click “Positions“Loss.
Under “Organic Search Positions” you will see the keywords that competitor ranks in Google’s Top 100 Organic search results.
Be aware of the “KD %” column to identify keywords with low competition.
Note: Remember that difficulties vary in relation to your site’s authority and niche. Consider your specific situation when deciding what difficulties to target.
You can then apply filters to narrow your search. To get a list of keywords with low competition with at least 100 monthly searches:
- Set “Bind“Filter to at least“ 100 ”(Adjust based on your niche)
- Add a filter to “Kd %“To target what you consider to be“ light ”keywords
Now you look at some low competition options that one of your close competitors is likely to benefit from.
To compare yourself to multiple competitors at once, use Semrush’s keyword gap tool.
With this tool you can easily find unanswered key words that your competition ranks for, but you are not.
Here’s how:
1. Enter your site, enter up to four of your competitors and click “Compare“
2. Set your “Kd %“To your desired competition level
3. Use “Missing“Filter to find keywords that all your competitors rank for but you don’t
4. Select desired keywords and click “+ Add to the key word list“To add them to a list for later if desired
Step 2 .. Make additional keyword surveys
Once you have keywords from your competitors, expand your list using the keyword’s magic tool. This tool helps you discover new keyword ideas based on a single seed period.
To get started, enter a broad expression related to your niche (called a seed key word).
Click “Search. “
You get a list of keywords related to your original period.
Set now ”Kd %“For your preferred keyword interval to adjust your search. So you can only focus on expressions you can rank for.
To find expressions that seekers use to ask questions (“what is”, “how to” etc), you need to apply “Question“Filter.
These tools are excellent for finding established keywords.
Step 3. Discover emerging or lesser -known keywords
Emerging and lesser -known keywords are expressions that people are talking about, but it’s not necessarily on your or your competitors’ radars.
Targeting these expressions can put you in front of the curve, but they can be challenging to discover as they are not always widely used.
To find them you need to start by going to the place where your audience is talking to each other:
- Join industry forums and social media groups
- Read Comments to Relevant YouTube Videos
- Visit Q&A -Webotes like Quora and Reddit
Be aware of how people put their questions and problems.
Once you’ve assembled potential keywords, you can use the Seyword Overview Tool’s Bulkanalysis Function to evaluate them. This tool allows you to compare up to 100 keywords simultaneously.
The report contains immediate search volume data, difficulties, SERP features and more to help you quickly determine which keywords are worth investigating further.
You can identify expressions with an upward trend and wipe out less promising opportunities to prioritize.
Step 4. Organize Keywords in Content Topics
The keyword strategy builder allows you to perform keyword surveys, group these expressions into what is called clusters, and then prioritize them based on expressions that have low competition.
How to use it:
Open the tool, enter your seed key words (up to five), and click “Create list. “
The result is a visual layout of your recommended topics and pages in the “Current Overview” section. Hold the cursor over any topic to see related measurements.
Scroll down to the “Page Information” section. Here you can use filters to display recommended items depending on your goals.
Use ”Easy start“Filter to automatically find page ideas based on low competition keywords.
Click the corresponding arrow to see the keywords for each suggested page.
This approach allows you to skip the manual steps to keyword research to immediately identify options for low -competition keywords that are relevant to your business.
To translate your research into action, send your desired topics directly to SEO Writing Assistant or Contentshake AI. Simply click “Create maps or content“To start.
Other factors in addition to keyword problems and search volume to be considered
While key words and search volume are useful, some other factors may reveal hidden options or potential pitfalls.
These additional measurements help explain why:
- Some “light” keywords with low difficulty results are actually difficult to rank for
- Some apparently competitive keywords may be within your reach
Let’s go over both of these measurements:
Search intention
Search intention refers to the reason or purpose behind a user’s search request – what they are actually trying to achieve when writing something in Google.
Even when a key word relates directly to your products or services and has an attainable difficulty score, the searcher may be looking for something completely different from what your page offers.
There are four main types of search intention:
- Informative: Searchers looking for information (how to, what is etc
- Navigation: Segemers are looking for a specific site or page
- Transaction: Searchers are ready to intervene (eg, purchase)
- Commercial: Seekers examine before making a purchase decision
For example, a key word like “MyFitnessPal Login” may have low keyword problems, but even if you rank for it, these siblings specifically try to log in to the MyFitnessPal app. Don’t discover your nutrition service.
On the flip side, a search like “Easy Meal Prep for weight loss” with low competition could be perfect if that is exactly what you have a page on.
Matching your content to the correct intention can be the difference between traffic leaving and traffic that converts.
Cost per Click (CPC)
Sometimes expressions that have low competition and low search volume can still be quite valuable.
In this case, check the average cost per day. Click (CPC). A high CPC may indicate that the key word has a strong commercial value.
This is because a high CPC shows that advertisers are willing to pay more for a period of time. And advertisers are unlikely to pay more for terms that do not run results.
To put it all together
Finding key words with low competition is critical of SEO success, especially for new or smaller sites.
Fortunately, semrush tools make it easy to find these expressions.
For more tips for keyword surveys with semrush, check: