How to Find Low-Competition Keywords That Drive High Organic Traffic

Boosting your website’s organic traffic doesn’t have to take months or require a massive budget. A smart and often underutilized strategy is focusing on low-competition keywords—terms that don’t have dozens of well-established websites fighting over them.

These keywords allow you to rank faster, appear on the first page of search results with less effort, and draw meaningful traffic that’s easier to convert. Especially for small businesses, new websites, or marketers working in highly competitive niches, this approach can create a significant edge.

In this blog, we’ll break down everything you need to know about low-competition keywords: what they are, why they matter, and—most importantly—how to find and use them effectively. From analyzing your competitors’ keyword gaps to using question-based research, we’ll walk you through four powerful strategies to build a traffic-driving keyword list.

What Are Low-Competition Keywords?

Low-competition keywords are search terms that have relatively few websites targeting them. This means it’s easier for your content to rank on Google and other search engines when you optimize for these terms.

Unlike highly competitive keywords, which require large numbers of backlinks and high domain authority to rank, low-competition keywords provide a more attainable route to organic visibility—especially if your website is new or still growing.

These keywords often fall into the category of long-tail keywords, which are longer, more specific phrases (like “easy vegan meal prep for beginners”) rather than broad terms (“meal prep”). Long-tail keywords tend to have lower search volume, but they bring in highly targeted traffic with clear intent.

In SEO, this kind of opportunity is sometimes referred to as “low-hanging fruit.” These are the keywords that don’t require a ton of resources to compete for—but still offer enough search volume to justify targeting.

By identifying and creating content around these keywords, you can consistently generate relevant traffic without competing against SEO-heavy giants in your space.

Why Target Low-Competition Keywords?

Focusing on low-competition keywords provides several powerful advantages:

Faster rankings: Since there are fewer strong pages competing for these keywords, your content has a better chance of showing up on the first page sooner.
Fewer backlinks required: High-competition keywords often demand dozens or even hundreds of backlinks. In contrast, low-competition keywords allow smaller or newer websites to compete with minimal link-building efforts.
Better topical authority: Publishing well-targeted content around specific, niche topics helps you build credibility in that space—and over time, search engines begin recognizing your site as an authority.
Perfect for emerging trends: Low-competition doesn’t always mean low value. Sometimes, newer search trends or less-covered niches offer valuable traffic sources that big competitors haven’t noticed yet.

Overall, low-competition keywords offer the best ROI when you’re looking to build momentum in your organic strategy.

How to Identify Low-Competition Keywords

A. Method 1: Use Competitor Analysis to Spot Gaps

One of the most efficient ways to find low-competition keywords is to analyze your competitors’ websites. Chances are, your competitors already rank for keywords that are relevant to your industry—but not all of them are highly competitive.

Start by identifying your top competitors in search. Tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or Ubersuggest can help you compare keyword rankings between sites.

Here’s how to do it:

Enter your competitor’s domain into a keyword research tool.
View the keywords they currently rank for.
Apply filters to focus on keywords with moderate to high volume and low difficulty scores.
Make note of opportunities where your site isn’t ranking but your competitors are.

Some platforms even allow you to compare multiple competitor sites side by side to reveal keyword gaps. You can use this to pinpoint terms that multiple competitors are benefiting from—but you’re missing out on.

This technique uncovers “proven keywords”—search terms with existing demand that still leave room for new players to rank.

B. Method 2: Expand Ideas Using Keyword Tools

Once you’ve gathered a few ideas from competitor research, the next step is to expand your keyword list using keyword suggestion tools.

Start with a seed keyword—a broad term that relates to your business or niche. For example, if you’re in the health space, you might begin with “real food diet” or “weight loss tips.”

Use a tool like Ubersuggest, KeywordTool.io, or Google’s Keyword Planner to:

Discover related keyword phrases
Filter by keyword difficulty or SEO competition
Focus on long-tail variations with clearer search intent
Use the “Questions” filter to find queries that begin with words like “how,” “what,” “why,” and “when”

These question-based keywords are especially valuable. Not only are they often less competitive, but they also match informational search intent, which is perfect for blog content.

As you generate more keyword options, keep filtering based on difficulty scores and search volume to ensure you’re only working with viable opportunities.

C. Method 3: Find Emerging or Hidden Keywords

Some of the most valuable low-competition keywords are hidden in plain sight—in forums, comments, and social platforms where your audience actively engages.

Try exploring:

Reddit threads and niche subreddits
Quora questions related to your industry
YouTube comment sections under popular topic videos
Facebook Groups, Discord channels, or other community forums

These platforms often highlight how your audience phrases real-world problems, which can help you capture keywords you won’t find in traditional databases.

After collecting potential terms from these discussions, evaluate them using free keyword tools like Google Trends or bulk analysis features in Ubersuggest. You want to check:

Search volume
Competition or SEO difficulty
Trend data to see if interest is increasing

These “rising star” keywords may not show massive search numbers yet, but they could become valuable if you get in early—before your competitors catch on.

D. Method 4: Group Keywords by Topic for Content Creation

Once you’ve built a healthy list of low-competition keywords, the next step is to organize them into clusters based on related themes or topics.

Keyword clustering is the process of grouping similar keywords together so you can create comprehensive content that addresses multiple search queries in one post.

For example:

Cluster: Healthy meal prep for weight loss
- easy meal prep for weight loss
- 7-day healthy meal plan
- best foods for fat loss
- meal prep tips for beginners

Once grouped, assign each cluster to a content type:

Blog post
FAQ page
Pillar page with subtopics

When prioritizing clusters, consider:

Keyword difficulty
Search intent (informational vs. transactional)
Relevance to your product or service

Finally, use your clusters to create a content calendar. This ensures you’re publishing regularly while covering a wide range of search queries related to your business.

Content built around keyword clusters performs better in search engines because it shows depth of expertise, increases time on page, and can even help you win featured snippets.

Two Bonus Keyword Metrics to Consider

A. Search Intent

Search volume and difficulty are important, but they don’t tell the full story. To make your keyword research more effective, pay close attention to search intent.

Search intent refers to the purpose behind a user’s search. There are four primary types:

Informational: The user wants to learn (e.g., “how to meal prep”)
Navigational: They’re looking for a specific site (e.g., “Pinterest login”)
Transactional: They want to buy (e.g., “buy resistance bands online”)
Commercial: They’re researching before a purchase (e.g., “best fitness watches 2025”)

Even if a keyword has low difficulty, it won’t help if it doesn’t match what your content offers.

For example, ranking for “myfitnesspal login” isn’t useful if you run a blog on nutrition tips. But ranking for “healthy recipes to track in MyFitnessPal” is far more aligned with your content and audience.

Match your content to the right intent to turn traffic into conversions.

B. Cost Per Click (CPC)

Another valuable metric to consider is CPC (Cost Per Click)—the average price advertisers are willing to pay for a click on a keyword.

A high CPC indicates commercial intent and often aligns with high-converting keywords. This is especially helpful when:

Search volume is low, but CPC is high
You want to prioritize terms that drive business results, not just traffic

For example, a keyword like “best email marketing software” may have moderate volume and low competition, but if it has a high CPC, it shows that advertisers believe the traffic is valuable.

Pro tip: Combine CPC and intent filters to find golden keywords—those that are easy to rank for, highly relevant, and capable of generating revenue.

Final Thoughts & Action Plan

Finding and targeting low-competition keywords is one of the most efficient ways to grow your organic traffic—especially if you’re working with a limited SEO budget or launching a new site.

The key is to go beyond surface-level keyword metrics. Use multiple methods:

Study your competitors
Generate long-tail variations
Listen to your audience in real conversations
Organize keywords around topics for focused content

And don’t forget to factor in search intent and CPC for smarter prioritization.

With a bit of research and planning, you can uncover hundreds of untapped opportunities that bring in traffic, leads, and conversions—without the uphill battle of targeting saturated terms.

FAQs About Low-Competition Keywords

1. What is considered a low keyword difficulty score?

While keyword difficulty scoring can vary by tool, a general benchmark is:

0–29: Easy (low competition)
30–49: Moderate
50+: Hard (high competition)

For most small to mid-sized websites, targeting keywords with a difficulty score under 40 is a smart starting point—especially if your domain authority is still growing.

2. Are low-competition keywords always long-tail?

Not necessarily. While long-tail keywords (3+ words) tend to be less competitive and more specific, not all long-tail keywords are low competition. Likewise, some shorter keywords may have low difficulty if they’re part of emerging trends, niche markets, or underserved topics. It’s best to analyze each keyword individually using tools that report on difficulty and volume.

3. How often should I update my keyword research?

In the world of digital marketing, understanding your competition is just as important as knowing your own business. SEO competitor analysis is the process of identifying and evaluating your top-ranking rivals in search engines to uncover the strategies behind their visibility and success. By studying their keyword usage, backlink profiles, content formats, and technical SEO, you gain powerful insights to improve your own SEO performance.

Why is this so crucial? Because competitors ranking higher than you are already capturing the traffic, clicks, and potential customers you’re targeting. If you want to grow your organic visibility, outperforming those sites is key. Analyzing your competitors reveals what’s working in your niche—so you can replicate their successes and avoid their mistakes.

This guide is tailored for marketers, business owners, bloggers, and content creators who want to boost their website traffic using proven strategies. Best of all, it focuses on using free or low-cost tools—no need for expensive subscriptions or advanced platforms like Semrush. Whether you’re launching a new product, recovering from a ranking drop, or just looking to stay ahead, this step-by-step approach will equip you with everything you need to outsmart your SEO competitors.