How to Find Low Competition Keywords: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2025

Most SEO advice tells you to "target long-tail keywords" and "find low competition opportunities"-but rarely explains how to actually find them. Meanwhile, you spend hours researching only to discover that every keyword with decent volume is dominated by major authority sites you cannot possibly outrank.

The good news is that genuinely low competition keywords exist in virtually every niche. They are just harder to find than the obvious high-volume terms that everyone targets. Finding them requires looking in places competitors overlook and evaluating competition more carefully than simply checking a difficulty score.

This guide provides a systematic process for discovering low competition keywords with real search volume-the terms that let newer or smaller sites build traffic while established competitors ignore opportunities right in front of them.

What Makes a Keyword "Low Competition"

Before hunting for low competition keywords, understand what actually determines competition levels:

Weak Backlink Profiles of Ranking Pages

The strongest competition indicator is how many quality backlinks top-ranking pages have. If position 1-3 results have few or no backlinks, you can compete. If they have thousands of referring domains from authoritative sites, competition is high regardless of what difficulty tools say.

Low Domain Authority of Ranking Sites

When major authority sites (Wikipedia, Forbes, Amazon, major industry publications) dominate results, competition is high for smaller sites. When results include smaller blogs, niche sites, or forums, the keyword is more accessible.

Content Quality Gaps

Sometimes high-authority sites rank with mediocre content simply because nothing better exists. These keywords offer opportunity-create genuinely superior content and you can outrank sites with higher authority.

Low Commercial Intent

Keywords with high commercial value attract aggressive competition and investment. Informational keywords with less direct revenue potential often have lower competition because companies focus resources on terms that directly drive sales.

Specificity and Niche Focus

Broad terms attract broad competition. Highly specific terms targeting narrow needs often slip through competitive gaps because they are not worth major players' attention despite having enough volume to matter for smaller sites.

Why Difficulty Scores Are Not Enough

Keyword difficulty scores from SEO tools are useful starting points but should not be trusted blindly:

Scores Use Different Methodologies

Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz all calculate difficulty differently. A keyword showing 30 difficulty in one tool might show 50 in another. No single score represents absolute truth.

Scores Cannot Assess Content Quality

Difficulty calculations focus on backlinks and domain authority but cannot evaluate whether ranking content is actually good. Weak content from strong domains creates opportunities that difficulty scores miss.

Scores Are Relative, Not Absolute

A difficulty score of 40 might be achievable for an established site but impossible for a brand new one. Your site-specific ability to compete matters more than abstract scores.

Always Verify by Reviewing Actual SERPs

Before targeting any keyword, manually review what currently ranks. Difficulty scores are screening tools, not final decisions. The actual competition you face is what appears in search results.

Step-by-Step Process for Finding Low Competition Keywords

Step 1: Start with Seed Topics, Not Keywords

Rather than starting with specific keywords, begin with broad topics related to your business, expertise, or audience needs. This opens more discovery paths than jumping straight to keyword tools.

Good seed topics:

• Problems your customers frequently have
• Questions people ask before buying your product/service
• Topics you have genuine expertise in
• Subjects covered poorly by existing content in your niche

Step 2: Expand with Keyword Tools

Enter seed topics into keyword research tools to discover related terms, questions, and variations. Look beyond the first suggestions-low competition gems often appear deeper in results.

What to look for:

• Long-tail variations with 3+ words
• Question-format keywords (how, what, why, where)
• Keywords with modifiers (best, cheap, for beginners, near me)
• Comparison keywords (X vs Y, X alternative)
• Problem-focused keywords describing pain points

Step 3: Mine Forums, Reddit, and Q&A Sites

Real people asking real questions reveal keyword opportunities that tools miss entirely. These sources surface exact phrases people use when searching for help.

Where to look:

• Reddit: Find subreddits in your niche and note recurring questions
• Quora: Search your topics and analyze question phrasing
• Industry forums: Niche communities discuss problems in specific language
• Facebook groups: Members ask questions using natural language
• YouTube comments: Viewers ask follow-up questions revealing content gaps

How to use these sources:

1. Collect exact phrases people use when asking questions
2. Check search volume-many forum questions have measurable search demand
3. Verify competition by searching these exact phrases in Google
4. Create content directly answering these questions

Step 4: Analyze Competitor Gaps

Your competitors rank for keywords you could target but do not. Finding gaps in their coverage reveals opportunities they have validated with traffic but left partially addressed.

How to find competitor gaps:

• Use keyword tools to see what competitors rank for
• Filter for keywords where they rank positions 5-20 (vulnerable positions)
• Identify keywords they rank for with weak content
• Find related keywords they have not targeted at all
• Look for newer variations of topics they covered years ago

Step 5: Explore Related Searches and People Also Ask

Google itself suggests related queries that real people search. These suggestions are based on actual search behavior and often reveal low competition variations of popular terms.

Where to find them:

• Related searches: Bottom of Google search results
• People Also Ask boxes: Expandable question boxes in results
• Autocomplete suggestions: What Google suggests as you type
• Google Trends related queries: Rising and related terms for any topic

Pro tip: Click on People Also Ask questions to expand them-Google loads more related questions each time, revealing deeper layers of related queries.

Step 6: Add Modifiers Systematically

Taking a competitive keyword and adding modifiers often creates lower competition variations with meaningful volume.

Effective modifiers:

• Intent modifiers: how to, guide, tutorial, examples, tips
• Qualifier modifiers: best, top, cheap, free, easy
• Audience modifiers: for beginners, for small business, for seniors
• Location modifiers: near me, in [city], [state]
• Time modifiers: 2025, this year, today, now
• Comparison modifiers: vs, alternative, compared to

Example: "email marketing" is extremely competitive. But "email marketing tips for small business 2025" or "email marketing vs social media for restaurants" might have achievable difficulty with sufficient volume.

Step 7: Verify Competition Manually

Before committing to target any keyword, manually review what currently ranks. Difficulty scores are guidelines, not decisions.

What to check:

Who ranks on page 1?

• Major authority sites = high competition
• Smaller niche sites, blogs, forums = lower competition
• Weak or outdated content from any source = opportunity

Backlink profiles of top results:

• Use SEO tools to check referring domains for top 3 results
• Few or no backlinks = achievable
• Hundreds of referring domains = need significant link building

Content quality of ranking pages:

• Thin, outdated, or poorly written content = opportunity
• Comprehensive, well-designed, recently updated = harder to beat

SERP features present:

• Featured snippets you could capture
• People Also Ask boxes you could target
• Video results suggesting content format opportunities

Common Low Competition Keyword Patterns

Question Keywords

Queries starting with how, what, why, where, when, can, should, does often have lower competition than noun-based keywords. They also have clear intent, making content creation straightforward.

Comparison Keywords

"X vs Y" and "X alternative" keywords help people make decisions. While popular comparisons are competitive, niche comparisons (smaller tools, local services, specific use cases) often have gaps.

Problem-Specific Keywords

Keywords describing specific problems rather than general topics often have lower competition because they are too narrow for big players to target individually.

Beginner-Focused Keywords

Adding "for beginners," "for dummies," "easy," or "simple" to topics often reduces competition while maintaining meaningful volume from people early in their learning journey.

Industry + Use Case Combinations

Generic tools or concepts combined with specific industries create niche keywords. "Project management" is competitive. "Project management for construction companies" is less so.

Local Variations

Adding location modifiers reduces competition while targeting higher-intent searchers. "SEO services" is fiercely competitive. "SEO services Austin TX" is more accessible.

Tools for Finding Low Competition Keywords

Astra Rank ($15/month)

AI-powered keyword suggestions surface opportunities that manual research misses. Accurate difficulty scores help filter for achievable keywords, and the affordable price makes professional research accessible.

Ahrefs/SEMrush ($99-129/month)

Massive databases and sophisticated filtering find low competition keywords at scale. Overkill for many small businesses but powerful for professionals.

Google Keyword Planner (Free)

Useful for brainstorming but shows volume ranges rather than specific numbers. No difficulty scores for organic SEO-competition metrics reflect paid advertising.

AnswerThePublic (Limited Free)

Visualizes question-based keywords around any topic. Excellent for discovering question variations you might miss otherwise.

AlsoAsked (Limited Free)

Maps People Also Ask relationships showing how questions connect. Reveals question clusters for comprehensive content planning.

Mistakes to Avoid

Choosing Keywords with No Search Volume

Low competition means nothing if no one searches the term. Always verify meaningful volume exists before targeting. Even 50-100 monthly searches can be worthwhile for high-intent keywords, but zero is zero.

Trusting Difficulty Scores Blindly

Always manually review SERPs before committing significant resources. Tools are screening mechanisms, not decision-makers.

Ignoring Search Intent

A low competition keyword is useless if your content does not match what searchers actually want. Verify intent by analyzing what currently ranks.

Targeting Keywords Misaligned with Business Goals

Traffic for traffic's sake accomplishes nothing. Ensure keywords connect to your business-driving leads, sales, or audience building, not just pageviews.

Giving Up Too Soon

Even low competition keywords take time to rank. New sites especially need patience. Track progress in positions, not just traffic, and give strategies time to work.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much search volume is enough for low competition keywords?

It depends on your business model. For high-value B2B, 50-100 monthly searches can be valuable if intent is strong. For ad-supported content, you need higher volume for meaningful revenue. Generally, anything over 100 monthly searches is worth considering if competition is truly low and intent aligns with your goals.

Can new websites rank for low competition keywords?

Yes-this is exactly why low competition keywords matter for new sites. While you cannot compete for competitive terms initially, truly low competition keywords can rank within months for new sites with quality content.

How many low competition keywords should I target?

Start with 10-20 carefully chosen keywords. Create quality content for each, build some supporting internal links, and track results. Expand based on what works rather than spreading thin across hundreds of targets.

Do low competition keywords convert well?

Often better than high-volume competitive terms. Low competition long-tail keywords typically have more specific intent, meaning searchers know exactly what they want. Specific intent often converts better than vague, high-volume searches.

Conclusion

Finding low competition keywords is not about luck-it is about looking where competitors do not and evaluating opportunities more carefully than surface-level difficulty scores suggest. The systematic process outlined here helps you discover keywords that larger competitors overlook while still maintaining meaningful search volume.

Start with broad topics rather than specific keywords. Expand through tools, forums, and competitor analysis. Add modifiers systematically to create lower competition variations. Always verify by manually reviewing actual SERPs before committing resources.

The keywords you find through this process may not have the impressive volume of competitive terms, but they have something more valuable for newer or smaller sites: the realistic ability to rank. Building traffic through achievable keywords creates the foundation-authority, content, links-that eventually lets you compete for bigger opportunities.

Astra Rank AI-powered keyword research accelerates this process by surfacing opportunities that manual research misses and providing accurate difficulty scores that help you focus on genuinely achievable targets. For $15 monthly, you get professional keyword research alongside complete SEO tools.

Related: Astra Rank vs Ahrefs | Astra Rank vs SEMrush | Affordable SEO Tools