Blogging can be very enjoyable, however, obtaining traffic from Google may take time. A lot of bloggers write valuable posts, but they cannot attract their audience. One of the reasons why this happens is because many bloggers use keywords which are too broad or competitive for their blogs.
Learning how to find low-competition keywords for beginners can help beginners identify targeted phrases that are relevant to their topics and attract visitors interested in specific information. In this way, beginners will not need to compete with big websites for popular keywords. Instead, they can focus on topics they can cover better and improve their chances of reaching the right audience.
In this article, you will learn about the keyword competition, research techniques, free tools, and methods of choosing keywords for your blog.
What Are Low-Competition Keywords?
Keywords having low competition are those which have very little amount of strong competing pages targeting these keywords. These keywords can present an opportunity to smaller sites to get featured in search engines, provided that their content relates well to the requirement of users.
Here are two examples of such keywords:
- Digital marketing
- Tips for digital marketing for small businesses
The first keyword represents a general topic and is related to many types of searches. On the other hand, the latter keyword represents a specific topic, especially for a certain type of audience.
It will be easy for a blog to generate relevant content regarding the latter topic. Nevertheless, the competition level will depend upon the search results, already existing websites and the relevancy of the content.
It doesn’t matter how much traffic you can have from a keyword; what matters is its relevancy and purpose.
Why Should New Bloggers Focus on Low-Competition Keywords for Beginners?
Selection of a proper keyword makes it easy for one to develop their web content based on the information being searched by the target audience. It could also be more practical when developing a new site.
1. Find More Realistic Ranking Opportunities
Most websites have good quality content, back links, and brand equity. It becomes hard to compete with them when one starts blogging.
There may be specific keywords where your blog could add more clarity on a particular topic. This does not imply that it would rank higher, but it provides a good start point.
2. Reach the Right Audience
There are a number of things that someone looking for a generic term might need. However, there is more clarity in the goal of someone looking for a solution.
For instance, a person looking for information on “SEO tips for WordPress beginners” would probably not be looking for an introduction into digital marketingts more visitors.
3. Create Relevant Content About One Topic
This would result in writing more relevant content which attracThe process of keyword research allows one to identify some questions that are interesting for his/her audience and which may be used to write several interrelated articles.
For instance, an article about digital marketing could include information on keyword research, on-page SEO, internal links, and site performance.
How to Find Low-Competition Keywords for New Bloggers
You don’t have to buy an expensive SEO subscription to start keyword research. There are some free ways to find ideas for topics.
1. Start With a Relevant Topic
To get started, pick a topic relevant to your website. If your website is about digital marketing, topics may be SEO, social media marketing, email marketing, content writing, and AI tools.
Note the questions a beginner may have about each topic.
For instance, a beginner owner of a website may be interested in how to increase page speed, pick keywords for blogs, or how to make a good meta description.
Such questions can become the basis for keyword research.
2. Use Google Search Suggestions
Google Search is a convenient tool to find topics depending on the keywords entered by people.
Enter a broad topic in the search bar and pay attention to the suggestions shown. You may also look at the “People also ask” and the “Related searches” sections on the search result page.
For instance, the keyword “blog SEO” will give you suggestions about the basics of SEO, keyword research, and content optimization.
Make a list of relevant phrases and explore them. Search suggestions allow you to find ideas, but
3. Use Google Keyword Planner Tool
This is an online tool that allows you to find search-related terms as well as the approximate number of searches for these terms. You can use this tool to choose from among various keyword ideas to decide which topic to write on.
Go ahead and enter any subject, for example, “keyword research.” See the list of suggested phrases.
See if you can find the terms that match your website and the information you can give. Keep in mind that competition in Keyword Planner refers to advertising competition, not SEO difficulty.
4. Find Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords refer to specific phrases with multiple words that will help you narrow down your topic or the audience you are writing for.
Here are a few examples:
- Broad keyword: SEO
- More specific keyword: SEO tips for beginners
- Long-tail keyword: SEO checklist for a new WordPress blog
The last phrase provides a clear idea to the writer what he needs to do in his article.
Long-tail keywords may or may not be competitive, and some long-tail keywords get hardly any search volume.
5. Analyze Google Results
Should you select a possible keyword, use it to search Google.
Look through the pages located at the top positions and consider whether they are capable of giving the necessary information, answering the question entirely and providing examples to the fullest.
Consider actual content gaps that might exist. There could be any missing guide or questions people are searching for but cannot find the answer.
Use this knowledge to produce better articles. Do not copy the content from the competing websites; the goal is to provide an explanation of your own.
6. Keyword Difficulty
SEO tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush can determine the difficulty of a particular keyword.
The metric can help you in choosing between different keywords.
In case of a new website, it would make sense to check more difficult keywords. However, each tool provides a different difficulty score.
Never choose the keyword solely according to its score; look for real results, relevance and content producing abilities.
Choosing the Correct Focus Keyword
Once you have developed a couple of topic ideas, select a primary keyword for each one.
Your chosen keyword should be reflective of the core message of the blog. You can use other supporting keywords that relate to the topic but do not overshadow the core message.
For example, if you plan to make a blog post about how to conduct keyword research for newbies, then your keywords will be like this:
Primary keyword: Low-competition keywords for new bloggers
Secondary keywords:
- Low-competition SEO keywords
- Keyword research for beginners
- Keyword research for blogs
- Long-tail keywords for new websites
Once you are done listing your keywords, verify that there is enough interest and not much competition through your research tools.
Do not try to cover several primary themes within one blog post.
Where Should You Place Keywords in Your Blog Post?
Keyword placement helps search engines and readers easily recognize the main topic that you are addressing in your blog post. Avoid repeating your selected keywords simply because they are your keywords.
SEO Title
Craft a meaningful title for your blog post. Make sure that your selected keyword is in sync with the blog post title where required.
For instance, “Low-Competition Keywords for New Bloggers: An SEO Guide” is very straightforward regarding the content of the article.
Introduction
The introduction to the blog post needs to highlight the core problem of the reader that he can address via the knowledge in the blog post. But do not include the same keyword in each sentence.
Headings
Make relevant H2 and H3 headings for your blog post to create meaningful paragraphs. Wherever relevant, use the keywords in your heading.
URL Slug
Slug for your blog post needs to be brief and clear.
Example: low-competition-keywords-new-bloggers
A brief URL is always preferred to a lengthy one.
Meta Description
This is something unique in nature and helps give the readers a proposition of why should they read your blog post.
Like, “Learn how to find low competition keywords as a newbie blogger through SEO tips and free keyword research tools.”
As per the user’s search query, Google takes up the meta description; hence, your meta description will not come as it is.
Image Alt Text
This should contain the actual content of the image in a meaningful way without using any kind of keyword.
Like, “Keyword research process for new bloggers.”
Common Keyword Research Pitfalls to Avoid
Here are some common pitfalls that may affect the effectiveness of your keyword research.
Choosing the keyword because of the high search volume: The fact that a keyword is often used in searches doesn’t guarantee that it is the best choice for your website. Relevance and competition are equally important to consider.
Using too many keywords: It is easy to make your article hard to understand because of having too many keywords. So use them when it’s necessary and natural.
Ignoring the search intent: Your tutorial article should be able to fulfill the needs of your reader and solve his problem while the comparison article is supposed to help him choose something.
Writing different articles about one search problem: The existence of several articles devoted to solving the same search problem might create an overlap. Every article must have its own problem.
Believing that your article ranks immediately after being published: Rankings require time and all of your articles won’t become popular with time.
Copying articles of your competitors: You can learn how to write good articles from your competitors by analyzing their websites but do not copy their content and write your own.
How to Make Improvements to Your Blog Post After Publication
Conducting keyword research does not have an end point. Conduct analysis and discover what needs to be changed.
With the help of Google Search Console, you will learn what kinds of queries lead traffic and clicks to your site. You might get an idea about how well your web pages are indexed on Google Search.
Should the post get a lot of impressions but not even one click, analyze whether it provides sufficient information in the title. And if the users seek some answers to related questions from the search bar but find none in the post, then revise it.
Creating internal links on your site will definitely come in handy. These links will enable the reader to access additional information and will enable search engines to see the connection between the pages.
Do not make changes just to increase the rating of an SEO plugin.
Conclusion
Keywords with low competition can be a good starting point for a novice blogger who wants to increase his website’s presence on the web. By conducting Google search suggestions and doing proper keyword research, you will find the topic that is worth your attention.
However, proper selection of the keywords is only one part of SEO. Valuable content, proper structuring, appropriate internal links and user experience are also important.
Pick the topic you know, learn what people are asking about and write an article about it. Analyze the results and make it the basis of the following blog post.
SEO by means of continuous improvement is better than SEO by means of fast development.