Content gap analysis: finding keywords your competitors rank for that you don't

Content gap analysis is the process of identifying keywords and topics that your competitors rank for in organic search but your Wix website does not. It is widely regarded as the highest-ROI activity in SEO because it eliminates the guesswork from content planning. Instead of brainstorming topics and hoping they have search demand, you work from a data-driven list of keywords that are already proven to drive traffic for competitors in your niche. Every keyword in a content gap represents a page you could create or optimise to capture traffic that currently goes to your competitors. This lesson teaches you the complete content gap analysis methodology, from running the analysis using industry tools to prioritising results, creating a content roadmap and implementing the strategy on your Wix site.

What Content Gap Analysis Is and Why It Matters

Content gap analysis compares the keyword profiles of two or more websites to find the terms where your competitors rank but you do not. Think of it as competitive intelligence distilled into an actionable keyword list. If three of your competitors all rank for "how to choose a wedding photographer" but you have no page targeting that keyword, you have a content gap. That gap represents lost traffic, lost leads and lost revenue that flows to competitors instead of your Wix site.

The beauty of content gap analysis is its efficiency. Traditional keyword research starts from scratch, brainstorming topics and then validating them with search volume data. Content gap analysis reverses the process: it starts with proven, traffic-driving keywords and gives you a ready-made list of content opportunities. Every keyword in the gap has already been validated by your competitors' traffic data.

Preparing for Content Gap Analysis

Before running a content gap analysis, you need to have two things in place: a clear understanding of your current keyword profile and a validated list of competitors to analyse against. If you completed the competitor identification lesson, you already have your competitor hit list. Now you need to audit your own keyword profile to establish a baseline.

Pre-analysis preparation

• Export your current keyword rankings from Google Search Console (Performance report, sorted by impressions, last 6 months)
• If you have Ahrefs or SEMrush, export your full organic keyword list for a comprehensive view
• Create a spreadsheet listing every keyword your Wix site currently ranks for in positions 1-100
• Identify your Tier 1 competitors from the competitor hit list (you will compare against these)
• Select 3-5 competitors for the analysis: ideally direct competitors with similar business models but better organic performance
• Ensure you have access to at least one SEO tool: Ahrefs, SEMrush, Ubersuggest or a free alternative

Running a Content Gap Analysis Using Ahrefs

Ahrefs Content Gap tool is the gold standard for content gap analysis. It compares your domain against up to 10 competitors simultaneously and returns keywords where at least one competitor ranks but you do not. The results can be filtered by search volume, keyword difficulty, position and more.

Complete Ahrefs Content Gap analysis process

• Log in to Ahrefs and navigate to Site Explorer
• Enter your Wix website domain and click Search
• In the left sidebar, click Content Gap under Organic Search
• In the target fields at the top, enter 3-5 competitor domains (use your Tier 1 competitors for the most relevant results)
• In the bottom field, ensure your own domain is entered
• Click Show Keywords to generate the content gap report
• The results show every keyword where at least one of your competitors ranks but you do not
• Use the Intersection filter to focus on keywords where 2 or more competitors rank (these are the most validated opportunities)
• Set the Volume filter to a minimum of 100 monthly searches to focus on keywords with meaningful traffic potential
• Set the Keyword Difficulty filter to a maximum of 40 (or adjust based on your domain authority) to focus on achievable targets
• Sort by Volume (highest first) to see the biggest traffic opportunities at the top
• Click on any keyword to view the SERP and assess the ranking pages, content types and difficulty
• Export the full filtered results to CSV for analysis and content planning
• Save the analysis with a date so you can compare progress in future gap analyses

Running a Content Gap Analysis Using SEMrush

SEMrush offers the Keyword Gap tool, which serves the same purpose as Ahrefs Content Gap but with a slightly different interface and additional features like intent classification and SERP feature data for each keyword.

Complete SEMrush Keyword Gap analysis process

• Log in to SEMrush and navigate to Keyword Gap under Competitive Research in the left sidebar
• Enter your Wix domain in the first field (Your Domain)
• Enter up to 4 competitor domains in the remaining fields
• Select Organic Keywords as the comparison type
• Click Compare to generate the keyword gap report
• Click the Missing tab to see keywords where all competitors rank but you do not (these are your critical gaps)
• Click the Weak tab to see keywords where you rank but in significantly lower positions than competitors
• Click the Untapped tab to see keywords where at least one competitor ranks but you are completely absent
• Use the Advanced Filters to set minimum search volume (100+) and maximum keyword difficulty (40 or your threshold)
• Filter by intent type: select Informational for blog content opportunities and Commercial for service and product page opportunities
• Sort by Volume to prioritise the highest-traffic opportunities
• Export the results to CSV for detailed analysis and content planning

Free Alternatives for Content Gap Analysis

If you do not have access to Ahrefs or SEMrush, several free and freemium approaches can help you identify content gaps, though they require more manual effort.

Ubersuggest Keyword Gap

Ubersuggest offers a basic keyword gap feature in its free tier (limited to 3 searches per day). Enter your domain and a competitor domain to see keywords they rank for that you do not. The results include search volume, SEO difficulty and CPC data. While less comprehensive than Ahrefs or SEMrush, it provides actionable gap data for free.

Manual Google Search Console Method

Free content gap analysis using GSC and Google Search

• Export your Google Search Console keyword data (Performance report, all queries, last 12 months)
• Identify your top competitor and visit their blog, service pages and resource sections
• List every topic they cover by reviewing their sitemap, blog archive and navigation structure
• Compare their topic list against your GSC keyword data to find topics they cover that you have no ranking for
• For each gap topic, search it on Google to confirm search volume and assess the SERP
• Use Google Keyword Planner (free with a Google Ads account) to get approximate search volume for gap keywords
• Create a spreadsheet of confirmed gap keywords with estimated volume, intent and priority

AlsoAsked and AnswerThePublic

Use AlsoAsked.com to map the People Also Ask questions for your core topics. Compare these questions against your existing content: any question you have not answered represents a content gap. AnswerThePublic generates question-based keywords from Google Autocomplete data. Run your main topic keywords through both tools and compare the results against your existing Wix content.

Interpreting Content Gap Results: Filtering and Prioritisation

A raw content gap export can contain thousands of keywords. The skill lies in filtering this data down to the keywords that represent the best opportunities for your Wix site. Not every gap keyword is worth pursuing. You need to apply strategic filters to identify the keywords that combine high traffic potential, achievable difficulty and strong business relevance.

Filter 1: Search Volume

Set a minimum search volume threshold based on your niche. For most Wix sites, a minimum of 50-100 monthly searches is a good starting point. In very niche B2B industries, keywords with 20-50 monthly searches may still be valuable due to high customer lifetime value. Do not ignore low-volume keywords entirely, as collectively they can drive significant long-tail traffic.

Filter 2: Keyword Difficulty

Filter by keyword difficulty appropriate to your domain authority. If your Wix site has a DR of 15, targeting keywords with KD 60+ is unlikely to succeed in the short term. Focus on keywords with KD 0-30 for quick wins and KD 30-50 for medium-term targets. Keep KD 50+ keywords on your aspirational list for when your authority grows.

Filter 3: Search Intent

Classify each gap keyword by intent: informational, commercial investigation, transactional or navigational. Match each keyword to the appropriate content type on your Wix site. Informational keywords map to blog posts, commercial investigation keywords map to comparison or guide pages, and transactional keywords map to service or product pages.

Filter 4: Business Relevance

Not every keyword your competitors rank for is relevant to your business. A wedding photographer competitor might rank for "camera settings for indoor photography" which is an informational keyword that attracts aspiring photographers rather than brides looking for a photographer. Assess each gap keyword for its relevance to your actual customer journey and business goals.

Prioritising Gap Keywords by Business Value

After filtering, you need a prioritisation framework that ranks remaining keywords by their potential business impact. Use a scoring system that weighs multiple factors.

Keyword prioritisation scoring system

• Traffic Potential (1-5): Score based on monthly search volume. 5 = 1000+ searches, 4 = 500-999, 3 = 200-499, 2 = 100-199, 1 = under 100
• Difficulty Score (1-5): Score inversely based on keyword difficulty. 5 = KD 0-10, 4 = KD 11-25, 3 = KD 26-40, 2 = KD 41-55, 1 = KD 56+
• Business Relevance (1-5): Score based on how directly the keyword relates to your revenue model. 5 = directly commercial, 4 = high-intent informational, 3 = awareness-building, 2 = tangentially related, 1 = weak relevance
• Competitor Count (1-5): Score based on how many of your competitors rank for this keyword. 5 = all competitors rank, 4 = most competitors, 3 = half, 2 = one or two, 1 = only one
• Content Effort (1-5): Score inversely based on how much work is required to create competitive content. 5 = minor update to existing page, 4 = short new page, 3 = medium article, 2 = comprehensive guide, 1 = extensive resource
• Calculate a Total Priority Score by summing all five scores (maximum 25). Keywords scoring 20+ are your top priorities.

Creating a Content Roadmap from Gap Analysis Results

The content gap analysis produces a prioritised list of keywords. The next step is transforming this list into a structured content roadmap that your team can execute systematically over the coming months.

Building your content roadmap

• Group your prioritised gap keywords by topic cluster: related keywords that could be addressed by a single hub page or content silo
• For each topic cluster, identify the pillar keyword (highest volume, broadest topic) and supporting keywords (more specific, lower volume)
• Map each pillar keyword to a content format: blog post, service page, resource page, tool, guide or other
• Assign each supporting keyword to either a new page or an existing page that could be expanded to cover the topic
• Create a monthly publishing calendar: aim to address 2-4 gap clusters per month depending on your content capacity
• For each planned piece of content, create a brief that specifies the target keyword, secondary keywords, content format, target word count (based on SERP analysis), heading structure and SERP features to target
• Prioritise quick wins first: gap keywords where a minor update to an existing page could capture the ranking
• Schedule high-effort content pieces (comprehensive guides, pillar pages) across multiple months to maintain a sustainable pace
• Include internal linking plans in each content brief: how will the new page connect to existing silo pages?
• Set review dates for tracking rankings of newly published gap content (4, 8 and 12 weeks after publication)

Gap Analysis for Different Page Types

Blog Content Gaps

Blog content gaps are the most common type identified in gap analysis. These are informational keywords where competitors have published blog posts, how-to guides, tutorials or educational content that you have not. Addressing blog content gaps is typically the fastest path to traffic growth because informational content can rank more quickly than commercial pages and serves to build topical authority for your entire site.

• Identify all informational gap keywords from your analysis (filter by intent if using SEMrush)
• Group related blog gaps into content silos that support your commercial pages
• Prioritise blog gaps that directly support buyer journey awareness: topics your potential customers search before they are ready to purchase
• Create comprehensive blog posts that exceed the quality and depth of existing competitor content
• Interlink new blog posts with relevant service or product pages on your Wix site to distribute authority

Service Page Gaps

Service page gaps occur when competitors have dedicated landing pages for specific services that you do not. If a competitor ranks for "emergency plumber Manchester" with a dedicated service page and you only mention emergency plumbing briefly on your general services page, that is a service page gap. Each distinct service should have its own dedicated page on your Wix site with unique content, relevant schema markup and location-specific optimisation.

Product Page Gaps

For Wix ecommerce sites, product page gaps reveal product categories or individual products that competitors sell and rank for but you do not carry. This can inform inventory decisions as well as SEO strategy. It also reveals opportunities for comparison pages, product guide pages and category content that competitors have but you lack.

Resource and Tool Gaps

Some of the highest-value content gaps are interactive tools, calculators, templates and downloadable resources. If competitors rank for keywords like "wedding budget calculator" or "SEO checklist PDF" and you have no equivalent resource, creating one can capture significant search traffic and generate backlinks naturally. Wix supports embedded calculators through Velo by Wix or third-party app integrations.

Wix-Specific Implementation: Creating Pages to Fill Content Gaps

Once you have identified and prioritised your content gaps, the implementation phase begins. Here is how to create gap-filling content specifically on the Wix platform.

Implementing content gap strategy on Wix

• For blog content gaps: Create new blog posts in Wix Blog with the target keyword in the title, URL slug, H1 heading and first paragraph. Use the Wix text editor to structure content with proper H2 and H3 headings.
• For service page gaps: Create new static pages in the Wix Editor for each gap service. Add them to your navigation under the appropriate parent category. Write unique, detailed content for each service page.
• For product page gaps: Add new product pages in Wix Stores with keyword-optimised titles, descriptions and alt text on all product images. Add each product to the appropriate category.
• For existing page optimisation: If a gap keyword is closely related to an existing page, expand that page rather than creating a new one. Add new H2 sections covering the gap topic. Update the meta title and description to include the gap keyword.
• Set up proper internal linking: Link new gap-filling pages from relevant existing pages. Add them to appropriate content silos. Ensure every new page is linked from at least 3 other pages on your Wix site.
• Configure SEO settings: For each new page, set the custom SEO title, meta description, og:title, og:description and og:image in the Wix SEO panel.
• Submit new pages for indexing: After publishing, submit each new page URL in Google Search Console using the URL Inspection tool and click Request Indexing.
• Add FAQ schema: If the gap keyword has associated People Also Ask questions, add FAQ structured data to the new page using Wix structured data markup.

Tracking Progress After Filling Content Gaps

Content gap analysis is not a one-time activity. You need to track how your gap-filling content performs and iterate based on results. Set up a tracking system that monitors rankings, traffic and conversions for every piece of gap content you create.

• Create a tracking spreadsheet with columns for: Gap Keyword, Target URL, Date Published, Week 4 Position, Week 8 Position, Week 12 Position, Monthly Organic Traffic, Conversions
• Use Google Search Console to track impressions and clicks for each gap keyword starting 2-4 weeks after publication
• If using Ahrefs or SEMrush, add your gap keywords to a tracked keyword list with weekly position monitoring
• Set up Google Analytics goals or conversions to measure whether gap content drives actual business results
• Re-run the full content gap analysis every quarter to identify new gaps created by competitor activity
• For underperforming gap content (no improvement after 8 weeks), revisit the page: update the content, add more depth, improve internal linking or build backlinks
• For high-performing gap content, identify related long-tail keywords you can target by expanding the page or creating supporting cluster content

Advanced Content Gap Strategies

Reverse Content Gap Analysis

A reverse content gap analysis identifies keywords that YOU rank for but your competitors do not. These are your content advantages, the unique topics where you have established authority. Protect these positions by regularly updating the content, building backlinks and creating supporting cluster content around your unique ranking keywords.

Cross-Industry Gap Analysis

Sometimes the most valuable content gaps come from analysing competitors outside your direct industry. A Wix-based accounting firm could analyse content gaps against financial planning blogs, business advisory sites and even fintech companies. Cross-industry analysis reveals content angles and keyword opportunities that your direct competitors have not thought to pursue, giving you a first-mover advantage.

SERP Feature Gap Analysis

Beyond standard organic rankings, analyse which SERP features your competitors earn that you do not. If a competitor holds 15 featured snippets in your niche and you hold zero, that is a SERP feature gap. Use Ahrefs or SEMrush to filter competitor keywords by SERP features and create a targeted strategy for winning specific features like featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes and image pack positions.

Complete How-To Guide: Running a Full Content Gap Analysis for Your Wix Site

This comprehensive, step-by-step guide consolidates everything in this lesson into a repeatable workflow that you can execute immediately for your Wix website.

Follow these steps for a complete content gap analysis

• Gather your competitor hit list: select 3-5 Tier 1 direct competitors with better organic performance than your Wix site
• Export your current keyword profile: download all keywords from GSC (last 12 months) and optionally from Ahrefs or SEMrush
• Run the content gap analysis: in Ahrefs, use the Content Gap tool (Site Explorer > Content Gap). In SEMrush, use the Keyword Gap tool (Competitive Research > Keyword Gap). In Ubersuggest, use the Similar Sites report.
• Apply initial filters: set minimum search volume to 100 and maximum keyword difficulty to your achievable threshold (typically KD 40 or below for newer sites)
• Focus the results: use the intersection filter to see keywords where at least 2 competitors rank for maximum validation
• Export the filtered results to CSV and open in Google Sheets or Excel
• Classify each gap keyword by search intent: informational, commercial investigation, transactional or navigational
• Classify each gap keyword by content type: blog post, service page, product page, resource page or page expansion
• Apply the Priority Scoring system: score each keyword on Traffic Potential (1-5), Difficulty (1-5), Business Relevance (1-5), Competitor Count (1-5) and Content Effort (1-5)
• Sort by Total Priority Score and highlight your top 20-30 gap keywords as immediate targets
• Group the top keywords into topic clusters for content silo planning
• Create content briefs for the top 10 gap keywords, specifying target keyword, secondary keywords, content format, word count, heading structure and internal linking plan
• Begin content creation: publish 2-4 gap-filling pages per month, starting with the highest-priority opportunities
• After publishing, submit each new URL for indexing in Google Search Console
• Set up a tracking spreadsheet and monitor rankings at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after publication
• Re-run the complete content gap analysis every 3 months to identify new gaps and measure progress on previously identified ones