Content Gap Analysis: A Beginner’s Guide to Steal Traffic From Your Competition

What’s the #1 tactic that helps the most to improve search rankings? 

If you said “creating more content,” you’re right.

According to Semrush, 55% of marketers generated better results by creating more content and posting more frequently. 

Undoubtedly, content marketing is a powerful strategy to generate more search traffic and sales.

But, there’s ONE challenge: with so much content being created every day, it’s hard to know if your content is reaching the RIGHT people. That’s where content gap analysis comes in.

What Is Content Gap Analysis?

Content gap analysis is a process of identifying the topics that your target audience is interested in but that you are not yet covering on your blog. 

It can be done by analyzing your own blog’s content, as well as the content of your competitors.

Let’s take an example of the topic “Question Keyword Optimization,” which is a topic our target audiences are interested in, but we haven’t covered the topic yet on our blog.

Our competitors are already ranking for that topic.

Have a look;

Basically, content gap analysis helps you;

• Understand what topics are in demand in your niche and 
• Identify opportunities to create new content 

To stay ahead of your competitors, you must find gaps in your content and fill them regularly. 

Why You Need to Conduct a Content Gap Analysis? Its Benefits

Why should you care about content gap analysis? Is it worth your time and money?

Yes, it is. Here are some of the BIGGEST benefits of conducting a content gap analysis:

• It can help you find new blog post ideas that are proven to work
• It helps you identify topics that your target audience is interested in 
• It can give a boost to your content marketing efforts
• It improves your website’s SEO and content quality, and the list goes on

Let’s talk about how to use content gap analysis like a pro.

How to Do Content Gap Analysis In 2024: 4 Simple Ways

Step 1: Audit your existing content

The first step is to audit your existing blog’s content.

Review all the pages and landing pages on your website (along with their keyword performance).

A quick tip: Use a Google Spreadsheet to pull together all your content in one place.

Here are a few things you can add;

• Page title
• Content type (such as blog post, infographic, video, etc)
• Word count
• Date last modified

Here’s what it should look like;

You can also add more things like URLs, primary keywords, their current keyword rankings, etc. 

The key here is to have a content audit template that can help you quickly pull together all your existing content in one place so you can audit your content whenever you want. 

Once you’ve gathered your content, evaluate it. 

For each piece of content, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the content still relevant and up-to-date?
• Is the content well-written and informative?
• Is the content optimized for search engines?
• Is the content engaging and shareable?
• Are there any new topics that are missing?

The whole point of a content audit is to find the MISSING content opportunities in your existing content. You can use tools like Surfer SEO to optimize your content properly.

Step 2: Analyze your competitors’ content

One of the most effective ways to identify content gaps in your niche is to analyze your competitors’ content.

Here are a few things that you should remember;

• Identify the types of content your competitors are creating
• The topics they are covering on their blogs
• The keywords they are targeting

Here are some specific things you can implement to analyze your competitors’ content.

Identify your competitors: The first step is to create a list of your competitors. They can be any website or business that sells similar products or services to your target audience.

You can search for relevant keywords on Google to see who’s ranking at the top of Google search results. You can also keep an eye on the PPC ads that appear for your main keywords. Once you have this list, you can visit every single website to find the content gaps. 

If you want to save more time on this process, you can use tools like Semrush, which gives you a list of competitors in your niche.

Here’s what it looks like;

As you can see above, Semrush’s domain overview will show you a list of main organic competitors with a competitive positioning map based on common keywords.

Similarly, you can enter any of your competitors’ URLs in the domain overview tool to find their competitors. You can read our Semrush unbiased review to find more details.

Audit your competitors’ websites: Once you have a list of competitors, visit their websites and take note of the type of content they are creating. This includes ALL types of content, including blog posts, infographics, videos, etc.

Identify the topics: The key here is to list ALL the topics your competitors are writing about. This is how you’ll identify any gaps in your own content.

Also, make sure to analyze your competitors’ keywords. You can use tools like Semrush to analyze the keywords that your competitors are targeting in their content.  

Here’s ONE thing to remember: once you’ve analyzed the competitor’s content, identify areas where you can improve your content. 

For example, if the competitor’s content is NOT informative or engaging, you can focus on improving the quality of your content. If the competitor is not publishing new content regularly, you can increase your content publishing frequency. 

Step 3: Identify the gaps in your content

Once you compare your content with your competitors, what are the gaps in  your content?

What topics are you not covering yet on your website?

What keywords are your competitors ranking for that you are not? What keywords are your competitors ranking for on the first page that you are for on 2-10?

Once you have identified your content gaps, you can create a content marketing plan to fill these gaps. 

Make sure to create a plan that;

• Includes a timeline for creating new content (or improving existing content)
• A strategy for promoting your existing content

Check out this free guide to create 10x better content for your audience. 

Here are some specific examples of gaps in your website’s content:

• Your content may not be providing accurate information or 10x VALUE to your audience
• Your content not be able to provide comprehensive answers to your target audiences questions 
• Your content is NOT providing unbiased opinion on products or services you recommend 

The key here is to find ISSUES in your content and improve in these areas. Remember, it’s an ongoing process.

Always study the top 10 ranking results for your important keywords. Find out what the top ranking pages have in common and reciprocate the same in your content.

Step 4: Fill the gaps

Once you have identified your content gaps, you can create a plan to fill them. 

There are THREE major ways to fill the gaps in your content;

• Creating new blog posts
• Updating existing content
• Adding new content types, such as infographics, videos, or podcasts.

Let’s briefly talk about these three things so you can understand better.

#1. Creating new blog posts

If you’ve identified a topic (or keyword) that’s NOT yet covered on your blog, do a thorough keyword research and start creating new content around it.

Make sure to evaluate the search intent behind each keyword. Are users seeking information, comparing products, or looking for specific products to buy?

Also, analyze the top-ranking content for your target keywords. See why the top 3 ranking pages rank on top of Google for those keywords. Then, create your content accordingly.

Here’s a free guide on how to write amazing blog posts that go viral in 2024.

#2. Updating existing content

If you already have a post (or page) ranking on the second or third page, updating it for even more relevant keywords is better.

Regularly reviewing and revising existing content can improve its quality and user experience. That is exactly what we do at BloggersPassion to provide helpful content to the users i.e. YOU.

Here are some of the benefits of updating existing content;

• Improved search rankings, as Google likes to reward fresh content
• Better quality of content, as you’ll update with the latest and accurate information
• Better user experience in terms of links, images, better copy, and more

The key here is to conduct in-depth keyword research to include relevant keywords and phrases in the content while maintaining content quality.

Also, replace outdated or low-quality images with fresh, high-resolution visuals that add MORE value to the content. You can use free graphic design tools like Canva to create appealing visuals for your blog’s content.

Here’s a complete guide on reoptimizing existing blog posts for better search rankings.

#3. Adding new content types

Few bloggers stick to only one content type (or format), such as text or videos. 

If you want to reach a wider audience, you need to be everywhere. For that reason, you should try as many types of content as possible.

Using a variety of content formats, such as videos, infographics, or blog posts, can attract many new users with different preferences and keep them hooked to your content.

Here are a few major content types to consider:

• Videos: Video marketing is on the rise. If you’ve never tried video SEO, you should create engaging and informative videos, as they can effectively convey information.
• Infographics: Visually appealing infographics can summarize complex data. You can use tools like Canva to create illustrations and infographics easily.
• Interactive content: Interactive content allows your website users to participate. Few examples include quizzes, polls, or calculators.  
• Case studies: Real-life examples and success stories can help you build trust with potential customers.

FAQs on how to do content gap analysis

Here are some commonly asked questions about content gap analysis in SEO.

Final thoughts on content gap analysis template

With content gap analysis, you can easily identify areas where your content is lacking, generate better results and improve your SEO.

So, if you’re looking to improve your content marketing results, then content gap analysis is a must-do.

Did you find this free guide helpful? Have any questions? Let us know in the comments.