How to Perform a Detailed SERP Analysis to Find Low-Difficulty Keywords

For example, if I have a client in the industrial coatings industry, I'll start by entering the phrase "industrial coatings" into the planner and seeing what it spits out. Once you have your list of at least 100 keywords, it's time to analyze them using Term Explorer and URL Profiler. And if you have a tool that attributes SEO metrics to URLs, it can replace URL Profiler. Once you've synced up your link-metric software, you can import the Term Explorer CSV and merge your data set with the new metrics you've chosen. Combining Term Explorer and URL Profiler allows users to analyze Google's results pages using the metrics they trust the most! Include metrics that analyze both on-page and off-page factors. Number of keyword occurrences Moz Domain Authority Number of Majestic external backlinks pointing to the domain Number of Majestic referring domains pointing to the domain Number of Majestic external backlinks pointing to the URL Number of Majestic referring domains pointing to the URL Once you have your most meaningful metrics, use conditional formatting to show GREEN when metrics indicate low competition (i.e., low authority, no explicit keyword targeting) and RED when metrics indicate high competition. Try to find URLs that have lower domain authority than your website, that don't have links pointing to their ranking URL, and that aren't explicitly targeting the keyword you're considering. Of course, you need to be creating well-researched and useful content that Google wants to rank, but that's assumed in this process. While this method of keyword research works for non-localized (national) results, it doesn't apply to localized search results.

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Why Low-Difficulty Keywords Are Worth Your Time

Backlinks are the most influential ranking factor in Google’s non-localized algorithm, according to industry experts. I won’t deny that there are a lot of other factors that influence rankings, but it’s also important that everyone in the SEO industry understand and appreciate the influence backlinks have on rankings.

Especially new businesses, with freshly created websites, need to understand this concept: Backlinks are a prerequisite to ranking. That doesn’t mean you need to be obsessed with building links, and you should never automate your link-building in any way.

Rather, instead of resorting to shady link building tactics, you need to identify low-difficulty keyword opportunities is a way to find the search result pages you can realistically compete for with your current backlink profile.

If you’re struggling to drive traffic through search engines because your high-quality content is ending up on the third or fourth page of Google search results, this guide will show you how to identify the keywords you could be ranking for right now without building masses of backlinks.

Start by Gathering a List of Prospective Keywords

You’re going to need a pretty massive list of keywords for this tactic—at least 100 keywords. Using the Google Keyword Planner, plug in the topics you want to explore.

I usually start broad and then narrow my search down using related topics that pop up during this process. For example, if I have a client in the industrial coatings industry, I’ll start by entering the phrase “industrial coatings” into the planner and seeing what it spits out.

From there you can export the keyword list into Excel and start trimming the list down. I usually start by filtering out all of the keywords with over 1,000 searches a month: We’re looking for the low-hanging fruit, and typically keywords searched over 1000 times a month will be too competitive to rank for without additional link-building and content promotion.

The keywords with lower search volume (between 50 and 200 monthly searches) are opportunities ripe for the picking. They are often terms your competitors are completely ignoring.

As you’re going through this list, look for subtopics that would be worth creating content around. Subtopics in our example, the industrial coatings industry, might include things like fireproof coatings, fluoropolymer coatings, and zinc primers. Once you’ve identified your subtopics, plug them into Keyword Planner for a whole new list of ideas. Subtopic lists usually contain keywords with even lower difficulty than your original list, because the keywords are more specific.

To understand why subtopics contain great opportunities, look at the difference in the number of webpages in Google’s index mentioning industrial coatings vs. those mentioning fluoropolymer coatings.

I’d be competing against 10 times as many webpages if I were to pursue “industrial coatings” over “fluoropolymer coatings.” Of course, that is only a surface-level, anecdotal example, but it illustrates the importance of exploring niche keywords within your industry.

Once you have your list of at least 100 keywords, it’s time to analyze them using Term Explorer and URL Profiler.

Combining Term Explorer With URL Profiler

Let me preface this section by saying I have no affiliation with these tools: They just happen to be the tools I use to analyze SERPs because I get to pick and choose the data I want. If you have a tool that can gather the top 10 results of Google for keywords at scale, you can substitute it for Term Explorer. And if you have a tool that attributes SEO metrics…

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