Most SEO guides tell beginners to chase keywords with search volumes in the thousands. That advice sends them straight into battles they can’t win. The smart play? Finding those rare keywords with decent search volume that nobody’s really fighting for yet. Think of it like fishing – while everyone crowds the popular spots, the clever angler finds the quiet bend in the river where the fish are plentiful and the competition is nowhere to be seen.
What Is a Low-Competition Keyword?
A low-competition keyword is your golden ticket into search rankings without needing a massive budget or years of authority. These are search terms where the top-ranking pages aren’t particularly strong – maybe they’re thin on content, lack proper optimization, or come from sites without much domain authority. You’re looking for keywords with a difficulty score under 30 (on most tools) where you can realistically compete within 3-6 months.
The sweet spot? Keywords pulling 500-5,000 searches monthly with weak competition. Sounds simple, right?
Why Are Low-Competition Keywords Important?
Here’s what drives me crazy: watching new sites burn through budgets targeting keywords they’ll never rank for. Low-competition keywords let you build momentum fast. You start ranking, traffic flows in, and Google begins to trust your site. It’s basically compound interest for SEO.
These keywords deliver three critical advantages that high-competition terms can’t match for newer sites:
- Faster rankings – You’ll see results in weeks, not years
- Higher conversion rates – Less competitive terms often signal more specific intent
- Building blocks for authority – Each ranking page strengthens your ability to target harder keywords later
Top Methods to Find High Volume Low Competition Keywords
1. Use Competitor Analysis Through Organic Research
Forget starting from scratch. Your competitors have already done the heavy lifting. Find sites ranking for topics in your niche that have similar or slightly higher domain authority than yours. Export their top keywords and filter for those bringing them 100+ monthly visits with difficulty scores under 30.
The real goldmine? Look for competitors who started 12-18 months ago and grew fast. Their keyword portfolio shows exactly which terms are achievable for newer sites.
2. Filter Keywords by Difficulty Score and Search Volume
Most people set their filters wrong and wonder why they find nothing good. Here’s the exact formula that works: Set difficulty between 0-25, minimum volume at 200, and maximum volume at 10,000. Why cap the volume? Because anything above 10K usually has hidden competition the tools miss.
| Filter Setting | Recommended Value | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword Difficulty | 0-25 | Achievable within 3-6 months |
| Min Search Volume | 200 | Worth the effort to create content |
| Max Search Volume | 10,000 | Avoids hidden competition |
| SERP Features | Exclude videos | Video dominance means different intent |
3. Target Long-Tail and Question-Based Keywords
Long-tail keywords are where beginners should live and breathe. Instead of “email marketing,” you target “email marketing for yoga studios” or “how to write welcome emails for saas trials.” The search volume drops but so does the competition – dramatically.
Question keywords starting with “how,” “what,” “when,” or “why” often have shockingly low competition because established sites ignore them. They’d rather chase the big terms. Their loss is your gain.
4. Apply the Keyword Gap Analysis Method
This method reveals keywords your competitors rank for that you don’t. But here’s the twist – don’t look at your direct competitors. Find sites one level above you in authority and analyze gaps between them and sites at your level. Those gaps show exactly which keywords are within reach.
Run the analysis quarterly. Markets shift fast.
5. Leverage Local SEO Keyword Opportunities
Local keywords are criminally underutilized for non-local businesses. Add city modifiers to your service keywords and watch the competition vanish. “Project management software” might be impossible, but “project management software for Boston startups” could rank in weeks. Even if you’re not local, you can create location-specific landing pages that convert.
Essential Tools and Techniques for Keyword Discovery
Keyword Magic Tool for Topic Expansion
Start with one seed keyword and let the tool spider out into hundreds of related terms. The magic happens when you sort by questions and filter by difficulty. Suddenly you’re looking at 50 content ideas nobody else has touched. Export everything under 20 difficulty – you’ll thank yourself later when you need quick wins.
Google Autocomplete and Related Searches
Free and stupidly effective. Type your main keyword into Google and add each letter of the alphabet after it. “Email marketing a,” “email marketing b,” and so on. You’re seeing exactly what people search for most. Screenshot everything.
The “People also ask” boxes? Pure gold for finding how to find low competition keywords that convert.
Reddit and Forum Mining Strategy
Here’s something most SEO guides won’t tell you: Reddit threads ranking on page one usually means weak competition. Search your topic + “reddit” and check what ranks. If forum posts dominate the first page, you’ve found keywords Google is desperate to fill with better content.
Spend an hour weekly browsing niche subreddits. The questions people ask repeatedly are keywords tools haven’t discovered yet.
SERP Analysis for Competition Assessment
Never trust difficulty scores alone. Manually check the top 10 results for your target keyword. What should worry you away? Sites like Wikipedia, major publications, or government domains. What’s a green light? Forums, Quora, small blogs, and pages with under 500 words. If you see three or more weak pages in the top 10, that keyword is yours for the taking.
Mastering Low Competition Keyword Research
The brutal truth about how to find high volume low competition keywords? Most people give up too early. They run one search, find nothing perfect, and quit. The pros know it’s about volume – generate hundreds of keyword ideas and filter ruthlessly and test constantly and track what actually ranks.
Start with 10 low-competition keywords this week. Create content for the top three. In six months, you’ll have traffic, data, and momentum that your competitors spending fortunes on impossible keywords will envy. But what matters more than the keywords you choose? Actually creating the content. The best keyword research in the world means nothing if it stays in a spreadsheet.
FAQs
What keyword difficulty score should beginners target for low competition keywords?
Beginners should target keywords with difficulty scores between 0-20 on most SEO tools. Once you have 20-30 ranking pages, you can push into the 20-35 range. Anything above 35 requires either serious domain authority or exceptional content that most beginners can’t produce yet.
How many low competition keywords should I target per piece of content?
Focus on one primary low-competition keyword per piece, but naturally include 3-5 related variations. Don’t force it – if you’re writing about “email automation for photographers,” you’ll naturally hit “photographer email templates” and “automated emails for photography business” without trying.
Can I find high volume low competition keywords without paid tools?
Absolutely. Google Autocomplete, Answer the Public’s free tier, and Google Keyword Planner give you plenty to start. The paid tools just make it faster. I found my first 50 ranking keywords using nothing but Google searches and a spreadsheet.
How do I verify if a keyword is truly low competition?
Check three things manually: domain authority of ranking sites (aim for sites under DA 40), content quality of top results (thin content means opportunity), and SERP features (lots of forums or Q&A sites signal weak competition).
Should I prioritize search volume or competition level when choosing keywords?
Competition level, always. A keyword with 200 searches that you rank #1 for beats a 10,000-search keyword where you’re stuck on page five. Build authority with easy wins first. The high-volume keywords become achievable later
Ridam Khare is an SEO strategist with 7+ years of experience specializing in AI-driven content creation. He helps businesses scale high-quality blogs that rank, engage, and convert.
