Tips for content gap analysis in Ahrefs

Nowadays it is of great importance for an SEO specialist to know what the competitors are doing. A useful technique to find out is to perform a content gap analysis.

In this article, I explain how to effectively conduct a content gap analysis using SEO tool Ahrefs.

Content gap analysis?

A content gap analysis can find out which the topics or keywords competitors rank on, as opposed to a company’s own website. Understanding these “gaps” help develop strategies to improve and optimize content.

Start by identifying direct competitors. This includes websites that offer similar products or services and target the same audience. Ahrefs has tools such as “Organic competitors. This shows which websites overlap the most with their own website’s organic keywords. This works as follows:

Overlap in search terms is used at to identify competitors. It is always important to double check this, as the tool is not always accurate. In some cases, many target customers come to websites that are not relevant (think Wikipedia). This is not a competitor.

Step 2: Content gap tool in Ahrefs

Use the “Content Gap” tool in Ahrefs after identifying competitors. A company must enter its domain and add its competitors’ domains. Ahrefs then shows the keywords for which competitors rank, but a company’s own website does not. This example starts from Consumers Union.

Go to the content gap analysis in Ahrefs.

Enter competitors to view their search terms

Indicate the following aspects:

• The number of competitors.
• At least 1 of the specified websites must be in the top 10.
• The company’s own website should not come up for these search terms.

Step 3: Analyze results

The results are a list of keywords and relevant data, including keyword difficulty and search volume Also shown are the current ranking pages of competitors. Analyze this data. It is important to understand why these topics rank well with competitors.

Enter the competitors to get the result.

Some examples of filters:

• The number of intersections. Personally, I use filters from 2 intersections up. This allows me to filter out the branded terms of the specific competitors.
• The volume of search terms (a range).
• KD (1 to 100 – degree of competition).
• CPC (the cost per click in case a Google Ads campaign was running).
• Word count.

Step 4: Develop content strategy

The insights from the analysis help develop a content strategy. It may be necessary to create new content that targets the identified keywords. It is also possible in many cases to optimize existing content. The goal is to create better content than competitors.

Filter to the most appropriate search terms for a campaign. This helps determine relevant search terms. Often, a website still does not rank higher in Google. This usually fails with a website that is not in the top 100.

Continue reading about Ahrefs?

Continue reading about Ahrefs? Check out all my articles below about how I use Ahrefs on a daily basis for my clients.

• Determine competitive pressure through SEO/Ahrefs
• What is Domain Rank/Domain Rating?
• Creating a new project in Ahrefs
• What is Ahrefs?
• Creating an account in Ahrefs
• Using the site explorer from Ahrefs
• The Ahrefs for SEO guide of 2024
• The Keywords Explorer from Ahrefs
• Traffic potential is more important than volume

Summary

A content gap analysis in Ahrefs is a valuable exercise for any SEO strategy. Not only does this allow an SEO expert to understand the position of competitors, the insights also allow him or her to improve their own content. Using the above steps, perform an effective analysis to strengthen online presence.