How to find and validate low competition keywords for SEO

Executive overview

Most SEOs chase competitive keywords they can't realistically rank for yet. Low competition keywords offer consistent traffic with few or no backlinks required. Keyword difficulty scores are a starting point, not a verdict — every SERP needs manual assessment.

A five-step process filters millions of keyword ideas down to genuinely winnable targets: brainstorm seeds, expand with a tool, filter by difficulty, check search intent, then manually assess the SERP.

The five-step process

1. Brainstorm 5–10 broad seed keywords relevant to your niche (e.g. parenting, stroller, pregnancy)
2. Enter seeds into a keyword research tool and run the Phrase Match Report
3. Filter by Keyword Difficulty (KD) — set max to 20 to surface low-difficulty candidates
4. Check search intent by Googling the query and reviewing top results
5. Manually assess the SERP to confirm the keyword is genuinely low competition

Matching search intent: the three Cs

• Content type — are top results blog posts, product pages, or category pages?
• Content format — listicles, how-tos, tutorials, or opinion pieces?
• Content angle — the dominant selling proposition (e.g. freshness, best-for-X)
• If you can't match the dominant intent, you won't rank regardless of difficulty score

Manually assessing the SERP

• Low KD confirms top pages lack many linking domains — a useful signal, not a guarantee
• Brand equity matters more than domain rating for commercial queries (e.g. Amazon, Best Buy rank on trust)
• Look for a mix of low and high DR sites — presence of low-authority sites signals the query is winnable
• Check topical authority of ranking domains — do they cover your niche?
• Examine referring domains of the top page; low count and low-authority links = genuine opportunity
• Exact-match specificity (e.g. "best convertible car seat for small cars") can let low-authority pages outrank bigger sites

Finding new keyword clusters via Content Explorer

• Search a broad topic in Content Explorer (5B+ page database)
• Filter: referring domains ≤ 10, organic traffic ≥ 500 visits/month
• Browse titles for topic ideas that suit your site
• Use any promising topic as a new seed keyword back in Keywords Explorer
• Repeat the five-step process to uncover entire clusters of low competition keywords

Balancing low and high competition targets

• Low competition keywords are valuable when a site is new or has low authority
• Higher competition topics generate more traffic and links over time
• Competitive keywords carry higher commercial value — pursue them with a realistic time horizon