Wondering why your site isn’t racking up clicks like it should? Sometimes, when things don’t match up, it’s like puzzles with pieces not connecting; some of those pieces might be your web content. This article will familiarize you with content gap analysis, the process of assessing what’s seemingly missing and how to fill in those gaps for improved SEO efforts.
Content Gap Analysis is assessing your site to determine what relevant content still needs to be created. In other words, what articles and keywords are your competitors writing that you aren’t? Once you find the holes, you can create new content and plugins that don’t exist on your site yet to increase your site’s value for both users and search engines. For example, if no one else has a piece titled “Content Gap Analysis for SEO” and you do, you’re going to miss out on some traffic.

Search engines Google will bump your site down from a worthy position if there’s not enough relevant information or if it hasn’t been sufficiently explored to merit higher rankings. Search engines—and Google and your audience—want specificity and depth. A content gap analysis does just that; it enables you to identify the pieces of the puzzle that are missing and subsequently create future pieces that are researched enough, long enough, and valuable enough to be good pieces of your puzzle. Not only does it help with ranking, but it ensures that a user will get to your site in the first place and find exactly what they need. When someone searches for “boost your SEO strategy with content gap analysis,” they find you through long-tail keywords.

 

1. Research Your Competition: To research your competition, you need to know who your direct competitors are. Figure out which sites are ranking against you vis-à-vis Google for your keyword search intents. Then, use SEMrush or Ahrefs to find out which keywords are bringing the most traffic to such sites, so you have an idea of what’s lacking in the field.
2. Analyze Your Own Content Inventory: Keep track of what you currently have on your site to see what topics you’ve previously covered and compare that to your competitors. Look for the gaps that have not yet been filled.
3. Discover the Gaps That Haven’t Been Filled Yet That Your Users Are Searching For.
   Get your audience engaged or research what’s missing online with Google Trends and Answer the Public. You can find out what people are searching for and what they’re interested in. This creates new content ideas in the first place to ensure what you want to create doesn’t already exist. Use long-tail keywords like “content gap analysis for better SEO results” to create more specific, niche inquiries.
4. Create New Content and Schedule: Once you’ve established the content gaps that exist, create new post/page ideas from scratch that need to be created to fill those gaps. The new content generated needs to be of high quality, easily digestible, and needs to address audience needs. Appropriate headings, short paragraphs, and bullet lists for a sixth grade reading level are all accessible.
   After your content goes live and is updated, assess performance via analytics. For example, with Google Analytics, you can monitor traffic, dwell time, conversion, and more; you’ll know what’s successful or what’s needed for tactical adjustments.

Benefits of a Content Gap Analysis
There are many benefits to conducting a content gap analysis. For one, it boosts SEO. The more robust a site with all subcategory topics covered and relevant keywords, the better the ranking and achievement of organic searches and traffic. For two, it’s consumer focused. When you’re giving people what they search for and what’s not previously available to them, you’re more likely to get additional engagement and conversion. For three, it keeps you aware of the competition. When you know what your competitors are doing and what’s trending in your niche, you’re more situationally aware of what’s absent and what’s needed and can pivot quickly.

• Use SEO Tools: Don’t guess. Use SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, etc. to figure out specifics about your competition and your keywords. These avenues of research can save you time in your efforts and give results that you never would have stumbled upon doing independent research.
• Always Consider the End User: Put yourself in your end user’s shoes at all times. From feedback, surveys, social media, etc. Make sure you know what questions they pose or what pain points they experience.
• Make a Content Calendar: Once you identify and fill the gaps, make a content calendar for future creation to keep everything straight and ensure new content is created regularly—SEO is all about consistency.
• Always Be Ready to Shift.
  The key in a constantly changing digital world is to be flexible and make changes when needed. Updating the content as time goes on will make it as up to date as possible. Therefore, content gap analysis is an excellent strategy to bolster your SEO efforts and generate more traffic. When you plug the holes of missing content, you’ll have better rankings, more traffic, better user engagement, and conversion rates. For instance, someone searching for “boost your SEO strategy with content gap analysis” is more likely to become a client of yours if you have that long-tail keyword situated somewhere within your content. Realize that this content gap exists—and is easily found everywhere—and determine your limitations to access it, and you’ll know you’ll be addressing every potential topic your readers want to see—and more—before your competition gets the chance.

I loved putting together this comprehensive modern link building guide for websites, and hopefully, these techniques were useful to you! Now get out there and fill those content gaps!