Content gap analysis compares a website’s content with what the audience searches for and what competitors cover, to find missing or weak topics. The results feed content planning.
How does it work?
Semrush names four kinds of gaps: a topic you do not cover, a topic covered with the wrong intent, content that is thin or outdated, and content that only repeats competitors. A narrower reading is the keyword gap, which lists terms competitors rank for and your site does not.
Typical steps, according to reports: export your own rankings and clicks, for example from Search Console, compare them with competitors’ rankings, check the search results for intent, and sort the gaps by demand and effort. Heretto also suggests mapping the customer journey and checking AI search answers.
Google’s helpful content guidance includes a question that works as a yardstick: does the content provide substantial value compared with other pages in search results? (assessment as a gap criterion).
Example (fictional)
A garden furniture seller finds that three competitors rank for “how to care for teak” and its own site has no page on it. The gap becomes a guide that answers the questions seen in the results.
Common mistakes
Not every gap is worth closing. Topics unrelated to the offer or with a different search intent bring few fitting visitors (assessment).
Sources
- Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- Content gap analysis – Semrush (secondary)semrush.com
- Content gap analysis – Heretto (secondary)heretto.com
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