Low competition keywords: how to find them and rank quickly

Targeting low competition keywords is the fastest way for a young or mid-sized site to get its first rankings, visits and customers. Instead of fighting big brands on generic terms, you answer precise questions that nobody covers well yet. This guide explains where to find these keywords, how to judge their real difficulty beyond a number, and how to turn them into a publishing plan.

What is a low competition keyword?

A low competition keyword is a query where the current top results can realistically be beaten by your site. The definition is relative. A query that is easy for a ten year old site with strong backlinks can be out of reach for a domain launched last month. What matters is the gap between your strength and the strength of the pages already ranking.

Most of these keywords are long tail keywords: longer, more specific queries with modest volume. "Accounting software" is a crowded term; "accounting software for a freelance photographer" is much more open, and the person typing it knows exactly what they want.

Where can you find low competition keywords?

The best sources are the ones that show how real people phrase their problems. Combine several of them to build a list quickly.

• Google autocomplete and related searches. Type your main topic followed by a letter, a question word or a modifier ("for", "without", "vs") and note the suggestions. Related searches at the bottom of the page add more variants.
• The People also ask box. Each question is a query Google already associates with the topic, and many of them have weak answers.
• Forums and communities. Reddit, Quora, specialised forums and Facebook groups reveal the exact words of your customers, including problems that keyword tools have not picked up yet.
• Your own Google Search Console. Queries where you already rank between positions 11 and 30 are the easiest wins: Google already considers you relevant.
• Your customers. Questions from sales calls, support tickets and emails are often the most valuable keywords of all.
• Keyword tools. Use them to expand a seed and estimate volume. The free keyword opportunity score calculator helps you rank options by balancing volume, difficulty and value.

How do you judge keyword difficulty beyond a score?

A keyword difficulty score estimates competition mostly from backlinks, so always confirm it by looking at the results page yourself. Two keywords with the same score can be very different: one dominated by authoritative guides, the other by thin pages that happen to sit on strong domains.

Look at the first ten results and check these weakness signals:

Also check search intent. If the top results are product pages and you plan a blog post, or the reverse, you will struggle whatever the score says.

How do you build and prioritise a keyword list?

Collect broadly, then group variants by intent and rank the groups by value and winnability. A simple method works well:

1. Start from seed topics linked to what you sell, then expand each with the sources above.
2. Group close variants together. "How to clean a leather sofa" and "leather sofa cleaning tips" belong in the same article. One page per intent avoids pages competing against each other.
3. Score each group on three criteria: business value (does it lead to your offer?), competition (weakness signals found), and effort (how much work a strong page needs).
4. Start with high value, low competition groups, then move to harder topics once you have authority on the subject.
5. Link the pages together so that each new article strengthens the others and builds topical authority.

Do not discard keywords because the volume looks small. Tools often underestimate specific queries, and a good article ranks for many variants at once. The sum of those variants is your real traffic.

What mistakes should you avoid with low competition keywords?

The common mistakes come from trusting a single number or chasing keywords nobody needs.

• Choosing zero intent queries. A keyword with no competition and no buyer behind it brings visits that never convert.
• Writing one page per tiny variant. Near duplicate pages split signals and confuse Google.
• Relying only on a difficulty score. Always look at the actual results page.
• Stopping at easy keywords. They are a starting point to build authority, then you climb toward more competitive terms.
• Expecting instant results. Even easy queries need time to be crawled and ranked; our guide on how long SEO takes gives a realistic timeline.

Do low competition keywords help you appear in AI answers?

Yes, because people ask AI assistants long, specific questions that look a lot like long tail keywords. When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Claude "which accounting software suits a freelance photographer", the assistants that search the web look for pages answering that precise need. A page built around a specific question, with a direct answer at the top, clear sections and sources, is easier for them to quote.

The same research method works for both: collect real questions, answer each one clearly, and cover the topic in depth. Specific pages that rank on Google often become the sources the AIs rely on.

Conclusion

Low competition keywords give young and mid-sized sites a realistic path to their first rankings. Find them in real questions, forums and your own Search Console, confirm the opportunity by reading the results page, group variants by intent, and publish one strong page per need. Then climb toward harder terms as your authority grows.

Sorank automates this work on autopilot: its keyword research analyses your site and competitors to find winnable keywords, plans them in a calendar, then writes and publishes an optimised article every day while checking whether the AIs cite your brand. See the plans and try it with the 3-day free trial.