On this page
- What makes a keyword low competition?
- 1. Start with problems your customers actually have
- 2. Build a shortlist without confusing the metrics
- 3. Inspect the search results and the likely reader
- 4. Check whether you already have the right page
- 5. Turn the opportunity into a RankWell brief
- How to tell whether the choice worked
To find low-competition keywords, start with a specific customer problem, collect related searches, and inspect the results for each promising query. Look for a useful answer your business can provide better than the current pages. A blank difficulty score is missing data, not proof that a keyword has no competition.
This guide shows how to build a shortlist, check traffic potential, and turn the best opportunity into a content brief. There is no universal list of easy keywords: the right choice depends on your market, website, and ability to satisfy the search.
What makes a keyword low competition?
A low-competition keyword is a query for which the current search results leave a realistic opening for your page. That opening might be an unanswered practical question, outdated instructions, or results written for a different audience. It does not mean nobody else uses the phrase.
Longer, more specific searches can expose useful opportunities, but word count alone does not establish difficulty. A five-word branded shopping query can be hard to compete for because searchers want one particular business.
1. Start with problems your customers actually have
Collect questions from sales calls, support conversations, product onboarding, and existing Search Console queries. Describe the task, audience, and constraint rather than starting with the broadest category.
| Broad subject | Candidate query | Useful content to investigate |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | Payroll checklist for a first employee | A practical checklist with jurisdiction-specific sources |
| IT support | Employee laptop return checklist | A device-return process and editable checklist |
| Marketing | How to measure a campaign with few conversions | A worked measurement example and its limitations |
Swipe the table to see all columns.
These are illustrative research ideas, not a measured low-competition keyword list. Check current results and demand before choosing one.
2. Build a shortlist without confusing the metrics
In BrandWell, open Visibility > Keywords > Research, choose the relevant market, and research your starting topic. Review the available signals, then save promising ideas for planning. Keep the market, collection date, and source with each estimate.
- Search volume: an estimate of searches, not a forecast of visits to your page.
- SEO difficulty: a tool-specific estimate that needs a manual results check.
- Advertising competition: describes advertiser activity, not how hard organic rankings will be.
- Blank or zero values: may indicate limited data. Investigate rather than labeling the query “no competition.”
Google’s Keyword Planner documentation explains its advertising research context. Do not substitute its competition column for an organic-results review.
3. Inspect the search results and the likely reader
Search each candidate in the intended market. Record whether the results are guides, product pages, local listings, videos, or another format. A how-to article will struggle to satisfy a query that primarily asks for a nearby provider.
- Read the strongest relevant results and note what they actually answer.
- Identify a specific missing step, example, decision aid, or piece of original evidence.
- Check whether your business has the expertise and sources to fill that gap.
- Look at the results format: ads, local results, and answer features can affect the clicks available to websites.
- Reject opportunities that require pretending to have experience or data you do not have.
A third-party authority score is a comparison aid, not a Google score or a ranking guarantee. Likewise, the absence of an exact phrase in other page titles does not establish that a query is easy.
4. Check whether you already have the right page
Filter Search Console by the query, then inspect the Pages tab. If an existing article already answers that intent, improve it before creating another. Keep distinct pages when they solve genuinely different problems.
Use a worksheet with columns for query, intent, current page, impressions, clicks, average position, evidence gap, proposed action, and owner. For an example with zero reported volume but recurring customer questions, a small useful guide may still be worthwhile. Treat that as a business judgment, not a promise of hidden traffic.
5. Turn the opportunity into a RankWell brief
Open RankWell > Articles > Plan before you write > Check opportunity. Enter the buyer question and review the existing-content evidence. Save a content brief or draft with AIMEE after choosing the right action.
The brief should state who needs the answer, what they should be able to do afterward, which sources support it, and what original example you will contribute. Review the draft before publishing. More pages and repeated keyword variants are not substitutes for a useful answer.
How to tell whether the choice worked
Record the publication or revision date. After Google has had time to recrawl, compare the same page and query groups over comparable periods. Check impressions, clicks, position, and qualified actions together. A position change can reflect query mix; a click increase does not by itself prove more customers.
For a reusable worksheet, see our keyword research report guide. Explore Visibility for research and tracking, and RankWell for turning a researched opportunity into reviewed content.
Reviewed and updated October 2, 2026.
Written by
Julia McCoy has contributed articles to BrandWell on content marketing, writing, and search engine optimization. This archive retains her original bylines; individual articles may be updated by the BrandWell editorial team.
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