What is a content gap?
A content gap is a missing page: people search for something, competitors in your space have a page that ranks for it, and you do not.
It is different from a weak page. If you already have a page on the topic that ranks poorly, that is a ranking problem, not a gap. A gap means the page needs to be written from scratch.
How do you find content gaps?
Compare the searches competitors rank for with the searches you rank for, and look at what is left over.
- 1List three to five competitors who write for the same audience, not just the biggest sites in your industry.
- 2Export the searches each competitor ranks for from a keyword research tool.
- 3Export the searches your own site appears for from Google Search Console.
- 4Remove every search you already have a page for. What remains is the gap list.
- 5Group related searches into topics, so one new page can cover several of them.
- 6Drop topics that do not fit what you sell or know about, however much traffic they bring.
Why do content gaps matter?
You cannot rank for a search you have no page for. Gaps are often the clearest list of new pages worth writing, because a competitor ranking there shows the topic has real search demand.
Demand matters more than most people expect. In Ahrefs’ study of around 14 billion pages, 96.55% got no traffic from Google at all, and a lack of search demand was one of the main reasons. Writing to fill a proven gap avoids that trap.
What does a content gap analysis look like?
Here is a simple example for a small accounting software blog compared with two competitors.
| Topic | Competitor A | Competitor B | Your site |
|---|---|---|---|
| How to reconcile a bank account | Position 3 | Position 7 | No page |
| Cash vs accrual accounting | Position 5 | No page | Position 9 |
| Invoice template for freelancers | Position 2 | Position 4 | No page |
| How to file a BAS | No page | Position 6 | Position 12 |
How do you choose which gaps to fill first?
Start with gaps that are relevant, winnable and useful to your customers. A good shortlist usually favours:
- Topics that two or more competitors rank for, which shows steady demand.
- Searches where the ranking pages are from sites of a similar size to yours.
- Topics close to what you sell, so the traffic is worth having.
- Topics that connect to pages you already have, so you can link them together.
Frequently asked questions
Is a content gap the same as a citation gap?
No. A content gap is about search rankings: competitors have a page that ranks and you do not. A citation gap is about AI answers: AI engines cite competitors as sources for a question but not you.
Do I need a paid tool to find content gaps?
It helps, because seeing what competitors rank for needs third-party data. You can do a rough version for free by searching your main topics and noting which competitor pages appear where you have nothing.
Should I copy the competitor’s page?
No. Use their page to understand what the searcher needs, then write something more useful from your own experience. A copy rarely outranks the original.
How many gaps should I fill at once?
As many as you can do well. A few thorough pages that match what searchers want usually do better than many thin ones written in a hurry.