In 2019, it’s estimated that every minute there are 150 new websites coming online. While many of these won’t be long-term ventures, a large percentage will eventually find themselves looking to organic search engine traffic to grow their reach.

This invariably leads people to the task of keyword research; uncovering the search terms most likely to result in prospective customers.

With increased competition it’s imperative you don’t just focus on the traditional sources of keyword inspiration that every other business uses.

In the past year alone I’ve personally helped hundreds of business owners grow search engine traffic to their websites. This responsibility drives me to succeed in one key area: Finding relevant search terms to target that their competitors have likely missed.

In this article, I will highlight some of the most overlooked ideas and sources of data to reveal words and phrases relevant to your business that are high in intent but lacking in competition.

If you can find the keywords your audience are searching for, but your competitors haven’t found, you can leverage a huge advantage to increase traffic and engagement on your content.

Table of Contents

1. Be Open to Talking About Your ‘Best’ Competition
2. Use [Brand Alternatives] Search Terms to Gain Visibility
3. Find Content Opportunities in the ‘People Also Ask’ Box
4. Use Public Wikipedia Stats to See If a Term Is Worth Targeting
5. Quora’s Ad Platform Reveals Popular Search Terms Without Spending a Penny
6. Wikihow’s Public View Counts Are Great for Tutorial-Based Content Inspiration
7. Bonus Tip: ProductHunt Dominate ‘Alternatives’ Keywords: Make Sure You Have a Listing There
8. To Recap

1. Be Open to Talking About Your ‘Best’ Competition

Google is constantly improving their ability to understand searcher intent. That is, they know what people are looking for and the results that will satisfy those searches.

When it comes to any industry that offers products or services, one of the most common search queries is often some variation of “best [industry] [services / products]”.