June 24, 2022

Scratching your head in frustration because you have no idea how to find low competition keywords for your blog?

Don’t worry. 

You’re not alone.

There are tons of beginner bloggers in the digital space who don’t even know they have to find such keywords. 

The good news?

It’s not hard to learn how to find low competition keywords.

In this blog, I’ll show you the step-by-step method I use to dig out these gold nuggets so I can use them to gain visibility on the SERPs (and make more affiliate sales).

Plus, I’ll get into the (kind of controversial) nature of low competition keywords, and factors you should consider when deciding whether or not to target one.

Ready?

Let’s go! 

What Are Low Competition Keywords? 

Ok, so first things first.

What exactly are low competition keywords? 

And more importantly, why should you care?

To start, let’s look at a few definitions. 

Here’s how SEMRush talks about it.

And here’s what Ahrefs has to say. 

Clear as mud?

Ok, let’s put it this way.

Low competition keywords are keywords that not many people are trying to rank for.

Which means, it’s faster and easier to rank for them.

And if you’re a beginner blogger, these types of keywords are the ones that will give you your first taste of traffic. 

But they’re not only great for beginners.

Simply put, they’re easier to rank for, meaning they’re great for everyone. 

Is there a catch?

Well, yes.

But we’ll deal with that later.

For now, let’s dive into the step-by-step on how to find low competition keywords.   

How to Find Low Competition Keywords: A Simple, Step-by-Step Guide 

Thinking finding low competition keywords is hard? 

The work of SEO experts alone? 

Think again.

Honestly, all you have to do is follow this simple, step-by-step guide. 

And you’ll get excellent results every time. 

Let’s go to…

Finding Low Competition Keywords Step #1: Brainstorm Topics

Ok, so the perfect low competition keywords for your blog won’t magically fall into your lap.

To find them, you’ll need a brainstorming sesh.

Don’t worry, though. 

You don’t need to pound your brain for this part of the process. 

All you need to do is step into your audience’s shoes. Imagine yourself as them, fingers hovering over your keyword, ready to type something into Google. 

What do you type?

For instance, let’s say your audience wants to learn how to raise backyard chickens. 

Imagine yourself as them.

Here’s what you’ll probably type into Google:

  • Chicken coop
  • Chicken breeds
  • Backyard chickens 
  • Raising chickens for eggs
  • How many chickens should I get

Remember, the goal here isn’t to get too technical.

Just feel the moment.

Become deeply concerned with what your audience is thinking, feeling, and searching for.

Once you have 10-15 ideas, it’s time to move on to…

Finding Low Competition Keywords Step #2: Refine Your Ideas with a Keyword Research Tool 

Here’s a harsh truth.

You’ll probably fail as an affiliate marketer without a keyword research tool. 

But there’s good news too.

Getting a reliable tool won’t reduce all your savings to ash and force you to get a second mortgage on your home.

Nope!

In fact, it’ll cost you less than what you spend on coffee each month.

Take KWFinder, for example.

                                                       Source: kwfinder.com

You can subscribe to their basic plan for only $29.90 per month. 

Plus, they offer a 7-day free trial, allowing you to try them out with no regrets.

Ok!

Signed up for an account?

Let’s get started on using KWFinder to search for low competition keywords. 

First, type one of your keyword ideas (from your brainstorming session) into the search field on your dashboard.

                                                             Source: kwfinder.com

As you can see, the keyword difficulty (KD) score of this keyword is 41. 

That’s a little hard, especially if your blog is new. 

So to refine it, you’ll want to filter out the harder keywords. 

To do this, click the “Filter” option on the upper lefthand corner of the dashboard.

When you do, you’ll get options for filtering your keywords based on KD score, search volume, and more. 

Like this:

                                                              Source: kwfinder.com

Set your minimum keyword difficulty score to zero, and your maximum to 20 or 30, depending on how new your blog is.

Click enter, and you’ll filter out all keywords with a KD score that’s too high for you.

Check it out:

                                                        Source: kwfinder.com

Now you have a list of keywords with low KD scores, which you can easily rank for. 

(“Chicken house” is awesome, with over 77,000 searches per month and an ultra-low KD score of 16. Seriously, if you’ve started a blog on backyard chickens, you should start with this keyword.)

Now, repeat this step for all the keywords you gathered on your brainstorming sesh, and voila!

You’ll have a long list of low competition keywords to start with.    

Is Targeting Low Competition Keywords a Win ALL THE TIME? 

Let me guess.

You’re rolling your eyes right now.

“That was too easy!” 

But then you sit up and think for a moment.

If it’s that easy, why are so few blogs successful?

Well, first of all, tons and tons of bloggers know nothing about SEO and targeting low competition keywords. 

However, there’s another reason, and this is where it gets scary.

Choosing a keyword based on keyword difficulty score alone won’t always work.

That’s because there are other metrics to factor in.

Here are two to keep in mind.

1. Search Intent 

Imagine this. 

You jump on Google to learn about the best chicken breeds for your new backyard farm.

Naturally, you click the first article that’s ranking on the SERPs.

But when you browse through it, you find that it’s not about how to pick the best breeds for your farm.

Instead, it’s this:

What do you do? 

Click back, of course!

You really don’t care whether or not your new backyard chickens are friendly. 

The point?

You can rank high for a low competition keyword, but if your search intent is off and people are clicking that back button by the bucketload…

…Google will eventually notice and rank you lower. 

So while targeting low competition keywords makes it easier for you to rank on top, make sure you’re also targeting the right search intent. 

For backyard chickens, it’s this:

Source: countrylife.co.uk  

How do you determine search intent? 

We won’t go into the details in this blog, but a quick tip is to read the blogs ranking in the top 10 of Google for the keyword you’re targeting. 

Don’t be surprised when you find out their content is similar. 

That’s because Google rewards blog posts that directly hit at search intent.

So if people are clicking, reading, and staying on blog posts about finding the best chicken breeds for a backyard farm…

…other blogs that satisfy that search intent will have a higher chance of ranking.

For a complete guide on search intent, read this blog.

2. Competition 

Imagine you’re using your keyword research tool one day, and you find what you think of as the perfect keyword. 

Its KD score is mouthwatering.

Its search volume is through the roof. 

You know, a keyword like this.

                                                          Source: kwfinder.com

So, you dive right in and write a blog post around this keyword. 

You do everything right, using your keyword in all the correct places and perfectly targeting search intent.

You wait, tapping your fingers, confident that your blog will soon be ranking on the top of the SERPs.

Except it doesn’t.

What went wrong?

Well, my friend, one of the biggest possibilities is that you’re going against players that are much stronger than you (a.k.a. tough competitors).

When blogs competing for your keyword have a higher DA, have been around longer, and have more quality backlinks than you do…

…chances are it’ll be hard to kick them out from Google’s top spots. 

So, how do you discover who you’re up against?

It’s simple.

All you need to do is study the SERP overview on your dashboard.

Here’s what it looks like for “pawhut chicken coop.”

                                                       Source: kwfinder.com

What you’ll notice: each of the sites ranking on the top 5 for this keyword have high DA scores (95, 51, 92, 88, and 74).

If your DA score is lower than that, it’ll be tough kicking them out and stealing their spot on that SERP.

So, what can you do?

Look for keywords with unicorns. 

That is, blogs that are ranking on the top spots of the SERPs that have similar or lower DA scores than yours.  

Check out this SERP overview for the keyword “chicken house.”

                                                        Source: kwfinder.com

This keyword:

  • Has high search volume (1,200)
  • Has a low KD score (16)
  • Has two blogs ranking in the top 5 SERp spots with low DA scores (17 and 15)

Should you go for this keyword?

BIG YES! 

How to Find Low Competition Keywords (And Why Ranking Well on Google Isn’t Magic or Happenstance)

Maybe you’re new to blogging.

Maybe you’re thinking you’ll need a fairy to give you a chance of ranking on the top spots of Google. 

Well, do you?

Nope.

Because the truth is, ranking well on Google is all about strategy.

And one great strategy that’ll serve you well is targeting low competition keywords.

The good news is, finding these keywords is simpler than you think.

So, go on.

Bookmark this blog and return to it every time you do keyword research. 

Read and reread it.

Memorize the steps on how to find low competition keywords. 

In no time, you’ll be doing this like a pro, slashing your competitors down, ranking highly on Google, and getting all that coveted traffic and affiliate marketing sales.

You got this!

Image credits: All screenshots taken by the author, June 2022.

 

 

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