Finding low competition keywords comes down to targeting specific, longer phrases that fewer websites are actively trying to rank for, then validating them with difficulty scores and search volume data. The process combines tool-based research with manual discovery on platforms where real people ask questions. Once you learn the method, you can repeat it for any niche.
What Makes a Keyword “Low Competition”
Most keyword research tools assign a keyword difficulty (KD) score on a scale of 0 to 100. Semrush, one of the most widely used tools, breaks its scale into six tiers. Keywords scoring 0 to 14 are considered “very easy,” meaning a brand-new website could realistically rank for them with minimal effort. Keywords in the 15 to 29 range are “easy,” still achievable even for newer domains. Once you cross 30, you’re competing with more established pages, and anything above 50 gets progressively harder.
For practical purposes, aim for keywords with a KD below 30 when you’re starting out or building authority in a new topic area. A low difficulty score alone isn’t enough, though. You also need the keyword to have enough search volume to be worth your time and to match what your content actually delivers. A keyword that nobody searches for is easy to rank for but useless.
Start With Long-Tail Phrases
The fastest path to low competition keywords is targeting long-tail phrases: searches that are three, four, five, or more words long. These are naturally less competitive because they’re more specific, which means fewer websites have created content directly addressing them. They also tend to reflect clearer intent, so the traffic you get is more likely to engage with your content or convert.
Compare “time tracking app” to “best time tracking app for freelancers under $10/month.” The first phrase is broad, highly competitive, and attracts everyone from casual browsers to enterprise buyers. The second is specific enough that far fewer pages target it directly, and the person searching it is clearly close to making a purchase decision. That combination of low competition and high intent is exactly what you’re looking for.
To generate long-tail variations, start with a broad “seed” keyword in your niche, then add modifiers. Think about specific audiences (freelancers, beginners, small businesses), price points, use cases, locations, or comparisons. Google’s autocomplete suggestions are a free and immediate way to see what people actually type. Search your seed keyword and note every suggestion that appears in the dropdown, then scroll to the bottom of the results page for “related searches.”
Use Keyword Research Tools
Free and freemium tools give you the data you need to evaluate whether a keyword is genuinely low competition or just looks that way.
Google Keyword Planner is free but requires a Google Ads account (you don’t need to run any ads). It provides search volume ranges and competition levels based on advertising data. The competition metric here reflects how many advertisers bid on the keyword, not organic ranking difficulty, so treat it as a signal of commercial value rather than SEO difficulty. One limitation: search volume data shows broad ranges unless you’re actively spending on ads.
Ubersuggest offers a limited number of free daily searches and shows keyword difficulty scores, search volume, and content ideas. It’s a solid starting point if you don’t want to pay for a premium tool right away. You can enter a seed keyword and filter results by difficulty score, sorting to surface the easiest opportunities first.
Semrush, Ahrefs, and Moz are the industry-standard paid tools. Each calculates keyword difficulty differently, but they all let you filter large keyword lists by KD score, search volume, and intent type. If you’re serious about keyword research at scale, a paid subscription to one of these tools pays for itself quickly. Most offer free trials or limited free tiers that let you run a handful of searches per day.
When using any tool, set your filters to show keywords with a KD under 30 and a monthly search volume between 50 and 1,000. This range captures keywords that are searched often enough to drive meaningful traffic but aren’t so popular that major websites dominate the results.
Mine Reddit, Quora, and Forums
Some of the best low competition keywords never show up in traditional tools because they’re phrased as questions or use language that only real users would think to type. Reddit and Quora are goldmines for this kind of discovery. People ask questions on these platforms when they can’t find a satisfying answer elsewhere, which means the content gap already exists for you to fill.
Search Reddit for your topic and read through the threads. Pay attention to the specific phrasing people use when describing their problems. A thread titled “how do I stop my sourdough from being gummy in the middle” is a real question with real intent, and it may have very little competition as an article topic. The same applies to Quora, where questions are structured in a way that maps naturally to search queries.
You can do this manually by browsing subreddits and Quora topics relevant to your niche, or use dedicated tools that aggregate questions from these platforms. Once you collect a list of promising phrases, run them through a keyword tool to check volume and difficulty. Even if a question has very low search volume on its own, a well-written answer can rank for dozens of related variations that collectively add up to significant traffic.
Check the Actual Search Results
Keyword difficulty scores are estimates based on algorithms. They’re useful for filtering, but you should always verify by looking at the actual Google results for any keyword you plan to target. This step takes 30 seconds and can save you from wasting hours on content that won’t rank.
Search your target keyword and look at the first page of results. Ask yourself a few questions. Are the top results from massive, authoritative domains (Wikipedia, major publications, government sites), or are some from smaller blogs and niche websites? Do the existing results directly answer the query, or are they only loosely related? Are the top-ranking pages thin content, or are they comprehensive and well-structured?
If you see forum threads, outdated articles, or thin pages ranking on page one, that’s a strong signal the keyword is genuinely low competition. Google is essentially showing that it doesn’t have great content to serve for this query, so a well-written, targeted page has a real shot. On the other hand, if the top five results are all detailed guides from high-authority sites, the keyword may be harder to crack than the difficulty score suggests.
Validate With Intent and Commercial Value
Not every low competition keyword is worth pursuing. Before you commit to creating content, evaluate whether the keyword aligns with what your site actually offers and whether the people searching it are likely to take an action you care about.
Search intent falls into a few broad categories. Informational keywords (“how to track billable hours”) attract people looking to learn. Commercial investigation keywords (“best time tracking app for freelancers”) attract people comparing options before a purchase. Transactional keywords (“buy Toggl annual plan”) attract people ready to spend money. Each type has value, but they serve different purposes in your content strategy.
One useful shortcut for gauging commercial value: look at the cost-per-click (CPC) data in your keyword tool. CPC reflects what advertisers pay for clicks on that keyword in Google Ads. A keyword with low organic difficulty but a relatively high CPC (say, $2 or more) suggests that the people searching it have buying intent, even if organic competition is thin. These keywords are especially valuable if you monetize through affiliate links, product sales, or lead generation.
The Keyword Golden Ratio
The Keyword Golden Ratio (KGR) is a simple formula that helps identify underserved keywords. Divide the number of Google results that have your exact keyword in the title by the keyword’s monthly search volume. If the result is below 0.25, the keyword is considered underserved, meaning there’s demand but not enough content targeting it directly.
To use it, search your keyword in Google with the “allintitle:” operator (type allintitle: followed by your keyword). The number of results Google returns tells you how many pages specifically target that phrase in their title tag. Compare that number to the monthly search volume from your keyword tool. A keyword with 200 monthly searches and only 30 allintitle results gives you a KGR of 0.15, which is a strong signal to go after it.
This method works best for keywords with search volumes under 250, where the math is most reliable. For higher-volume keywords, rely more heavily on your tool’s difficulty score and the manual search results check.
Building a Keyword List You Can Act On
Collect your findings in a spreadsheet with columns for the keyword, monthly search volume, difficulty score, CPC, intent type, and any notes about the search results. This becomes your content calendar. Sort by difficulty first, then by volume, and start creating content for the keywords where you have the best combination of low competition and meaningful traffic potential.
Group related keywords together. If you find five low competition variations of the same question, you don’t need five separate articles. One thorough piece can target a primary keyword and naturally incorporate the related phrases. This approach builds topical depth, which search engines reward.
Revisit your keyword list regularly. Competition levels change as more content gets published, and new low competition opportunities appear constantly as language evolves and new products, trends, and questions emerge. The sites that consistently find and target these gaps are the ones that build organic traffic steadily over time, even without massive domain authority.