Content Gap Analysis Template
Identify the topics, keywords, and content types your competitors rank for but you don't. Prioritize gaps by impact and difficulty for maximum ROI.
Best for: Teams with existing content looking to find growth opportunities
Current Content Audit
300-400 wordsExport your full content inventory with URLs, target keywords, traffic, and rankings. Categorize by topic cluster and content type. You can't find gaps without first knowing what you already cover.
Keyword Gap Identification
300-400 wordsUse Ahrefs Content Gap or SEMrush Keyword Gap to find keywords your competitors rank for that you don't. Filter for keywords with 100+ monthly searches and difficulty under 40. These are your quick wins.
Topic Gap Analysis
300-400 wordsLook beyond keywords to topics. What subjects do competitors cover that you ignore entirely? Check their navigation, category pages, and content clusters. Map missing topics to your product's value propositions.
Content Type Gaps
250-350 wordsAssess which formats you're missing. If competitors have comparison pages, ROI calculators, or template libraries that you lack, those are structural gaps. Bottom-of-funnel content gaps (vs pages, alternatives, pricing) often have the highest conversion potential.
Prioritization Matrix
300-400 wordsScore each gap on two axes: business impact (how closely it aligns with your product and buyer intent) and achievability (keyword difficulty, content effort required). Focus first on high-impact, low-effort gaps — these deliver the fastest ROI.
Execution Roadmap
250-350 wordsTurn your prioritized gaps into a 90-day content plan. Assign each gap a target publish date, responsible owner, and success metric. Group related gaps into clusters so you build topical authority efficiently.
Pro Tips
The most valuable gaps aren't always the highest-volume keywords. A gap in bottom-of-funnel content (comparison, pricing, alternatives) with 200 monthly searches can drive more revenue than a top-of-funnel gap with 5,000 searches.
Run gap analysis against your own content over time. Compare what you published 12 months ago to current search trends — your own content becomes outdated and creates internal gaps.
Don't try to fill every gap at once. Pick the top 10-15 gaps, execute them well over 90 days, then re-run the analysis. The landscape shifts constantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between a content gap and a keyword gap?+
A keyword gap is a specific search term competitors rank for that you don't. A content gap is broader — an entire topic, format, or buyer journey stage that you haven't addressed. Both matter, but topic gaps usually represent bigger opportunities.
How often should I run gap analysis?+
Quarterly at minimum. The search landscape changes fast — new competitors emerge, search intent shifts, and your competitors fill their own gaps. Averi runs continuous gap analysis as part of its content queue recommendations.
Can I use gap analysis if I'm starting from zero content?+
Absolutely — in fact, it's even more valuable. When you have no content, everything is a gap. The analysis helps you prioritize which topics to tackle first based on competitor weakness and search opportunity rather than guessing.
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