Low Competition Keywords: How to Spot the Ones Worth Writing
SearchBlueprint · · 8 min read · scored 90/100
Low competition keywords are search terms where the pages currently ranking are weak enough - thin content, outdated pages, low authority, or a poor match to what the searcher wants - that a newer or smaller site can genuinely outrank them. A low difficulty score alone never proves that. You have to look at the actual search results page.
What Actually Makes a Keyword "Low Competition"?
A keyword becomes low competition when the current top results are beatable, not when a tool assigns it a low score. Four things drive that: who is ranking (their domain strength and backlink profile), what they published (how deep, how current, how well it answers the query), whether the page matches search intent, and how many strong competitors are actively fighting for the term.
Miss any one of those and a "low difficulty" keyword can still be a trap. A term might show KD 12 because the top pages have few backlinks, while every single one of them is a fresh, well-structured page from a site Google already trusts. That is not a low competition keyword in practice, whatever the score says.
Keyword Difficulty Scores Don't Tell the Whole Story
Most keyword difficulty (KD) scores are built almost entirely from backlink data: how many links point to the ranking pages, and from how many unique domains. That is useful, but it says nothing about content quality, freshness, or how well a page actually answers the query. A page can carry a strong backlink profile and still be five years old, thin, or aimed at the wrong search intent - which is exactly the gap you can exploit. For a fuller breakdown of what these scores measure and where they mislead, see our guide on picking winnable keywords by understanding keyword difficulty.
The Metrics That Actually Matter When You Evaluate a Term
Difficulty is one input, not the whole picture. Before you commit a page to a keyword, weigh it against volume, intent, and what the SERP is already showing searchers.
| Metric | What It Measures | Why It Matters | Red Flag to Watch For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search volume | How many people search the term monthly | Zero-traffic wins don't move the business | Volume so low the term isn't worth a dedicated page |
| Keyword difficulty (KD) | Backlink strength of the current top 10 | A rough filter, not a verdict | Low KD but every top result is a strong, recent domain |
| SERP composition | What kinds of pages currently rank | Reveals whether the field is actually weak | Top 10 dominated by established, well-optimized competitors |
| Search intent match | Whether ranking pages answer what the searcher wants | A mismatch is your opening | Your planned page doesn't fit the intent the SERP shows |
| SERP features | Featured snippets, People Also Ask, ads present | Crowds out organic clicks even at position 1 | Heavy SERP features eating most of the click share |
How to Know a SERP Is Actually Beatable
Open the search results for your target term in an incognito window and read the top 10 like a competitor would. You're looking for cracks: pages that are old, thin, off-intent, or simply outranking on domain strength alone rather than content quality.
Signs the Top Results Are Weak
- Several ranking pages are two or more years old with no visible updates.
- Word count is thin relative to what the query actually requires to be answered well.
- At least one or two results are forum threads, Q&A sites, or aggregator pages rather than dedicated content.
- The page structure doesn't match what a searcher would want (a product page ranking for an informational query, for example).
- Ranking domains have no obvious topical authority in your niche.
Signs You Should Walk Away
- Every result in the top 10 comes from an established, high-authority site with fresh, comprehensive content.
- The SERP is dominated by ads, a featured snippet, and a People Also Ask box, leaving little organic click share regardless of rank.
- The intent clearly does not match the page you'd want to build.
A Quick Checklist to Pre-Filter Your Keyword Ideas
Before you research a term in depth, run it through this filter. It takes under a minute per keyword and cuts your shortlist fast.
- Does the term have enough monthly search volume to justify a page?
- Does the search intent match something your site can genuinely deliver?
- Is at least one weak page (thin, outdated, off-intent) sitting in the current top 10?
- Are SERP features (ads, snippets, PAA) leaving enough organic click share to be worth it?
- Does the keyword fit your existing site's topic, or would it be an isolated, unsupported page?
- Could you write something meaningfully better or more specific than what's currently ranking?
A term that fails two or more of these is rarely worth the effort, whatever its difficulty score says.
How to Prioritize Low Competition Opportunities
Once you have a shortlist of low competition keywords, not all of them deserve a page on the same timeline. Weigh them against each other before you start writing.
| Factor | Question to Ask | High Priority Looks Like | Lower Priority Looks Like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business fit | Does this term connect to something you actually sell or offer? | Directly tied to a product, service, or core topic | Tangential traffic with no path to conversion |
| Ranking difficulty | How weak is the current top 10? | Multiple thin or outdated pages ranking | A handful of strong competitors already present |
| Search volume | Is there a real audience searching this? | Meaningful, consistent monthly volume | Very low or highly seasonal volume |
| Content effort required | How much work does a genuinely better page take? | You already have the expertise and source material | Requires research or data you don't have yet |
Long-tail variations of your core terms are usually where the easiest wins sit, because they're specific enough that fewer sites bother competing for them, and specific enough to convert well when they do bring traffic. Our guide on using long-tail keywords for more traffic and sales walks through how to build those into a content plan.
How Long Does It Take a Low Competition Keyword to Rank?
There's no fixed timeline, but low competition terms typically move faster than competitive head terms because there's less established authority to out-rank. Long-tail, specific phrases often start showing movement within weeks of a page being indexed and improving in quality signals, rather than the months a competitive head term can take. Newer sites with little existing authority should expect the slower end of that range; established sites publishing into a topic they already rank for tend to see faster movement.
Ranking is rarely a single event either. A page typically settles somewhere in the middle of the results first, then climbs as it earns engagement, internal links, and occasionally external links, which is one more reason to prioritize terms that fit your site's existing topic rather than chasing isolated wins.
Free and Low-Cost Ways to Find Them
You don't need an expensive tool to surface a first batch of low competition keywords. Google's autocomplete and "People also ask" boxes surface real phrasing searchers use. Google Search Console is one of the best free sources available, because it shows queries your site already gets impressions for at a low average position - those are often the fastest wins available, since you're already partially ranking. Community sites like forums and Q&A platforms in your niche reveal the exact questions people ask, in their own words, which frequently translate into workable long-tail terms.
Rather than chasing single keywords in isolation, it's worth thinking in topics: covering a subject thoroughly across a cluster of pages tends to outperform one-off keyword targeting, because it signals topical depth to search engines. Our explainer on why topics beat individual keywords in semantic SEO covers how that shift changes keyword selection. If you'd rather skip the manual filtering entirely, our step-by-step guide on finding low competition keywords you can actually rank for walks through the full process end to end.
According to Google's own SEO documentation, content that genuinely matches what a searcher is looking for, rather than content built around a keyword in isolation, is what the ranking systems are designed to reward - which is exactly why intent match matters more than difficulty score when you're filtering low competition keywords.
FAQs
What is a low competition keyword?
A low competition keyword is a search term where the currently ranking pages are weak enough - thin, outdated, off-intent, or from low-authority domains - that a well-built new page has a realistic chance of outranking them. It's a judgment about the SERP, not just a score from a tool.
Is a low search volume keyword the same as a low competition keyword?
No. Volume measures how many people search a term; competition measures how hard it is to rank for. A keyword can have low volume and still be highly competitive, or reasonable volume and be genuinely easy to win. Check both separately.
How do I check if a keyword is low competition for free?
Search the term in an incognito window and read the top 10 results. Look for pages that are old, thin, or off-intent, and note whether ads or SERP features are eating most of the organic click share. Google Search Console can also show you terms your site is already getting impressions for at a low position.
Do low competition keywords still bring in meaningful traffic?
Individually, often not much. Their value comes from volume: a well-chosen cluster of long-tail, low competition terms adds up to substantial traffic, and it tends to convert better because the searches are more specific about what the person wants.
How many keywords should one page target?
One primary keyword per page, with closely related variants worked in naturally. Splitting one topic across multiple pages chasing the same term means they compete with each other instead of one page ranking well.
Start With Three Terms and a Real SERP Check
Pick three low competition keywords from your own niche, open each search result in an incognito window, and note what's actually ranking. That check alone tells you more than any difficulty score will. If you want a second opinion on which opportunities your site is already positioned to win, see a sample SEO report to find out how SearchBlueprint scores them.
Resources / References
About the author
SearchBlueprint researched, wrote and scored this article with the content pipeline our customers run on their own sites. The score in the byline is what our content engine gave this page before it published. Nothing here is reviewed by hand, which is the point: it is the product's output, published where anyone can check it.