Ask ten bloggers what the hardest part of growing their blog is and nine of them will say the same thing: getting traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They write consistently. They publish regularly. They share on social media. And yet their Google traffic barely moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The problem almost always comes down to one thing: they are targeting the wrong keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not wrong as in irrelevant to their niche. Wrong as in impossible to rank for given their site’s current authority. A brand new blog trying to rank for “best credit cards” or “weight loss tips” is competing against sites with thousands of backlinks, decades of domain history and full-time SEO teams. It is a battle they cannot win \u2014 at least not yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The solution is not to give up on SEO. The solution is to find low competition keywords \u2014 keywords that real people are searching for, that are directly relevant to your niche and that your blog can realistically rank for right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This guide will show you exactly how to do that. Step by step, tool by tool, with a process you can use today to find the low competition keywords that will actually drive traffic to your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we get into the process, it is worth understanding why bloggers consistently make the same keyword mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most common mistake is targeting keywords based on search volume alone. A blogger sees that “best laptops for students” gets 50,000 searches per month and thinks \u2014 great, I want some of that traffic. They write an article, publish it and watch it disappear into the depths of Google because the keyword has a difficulty score of 85 and every result on page one is from a major tech publication with millions of backlinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![IMAGE: A simple chart showing high search volume vs high difficulty on one side, and lower search volume vs low difficulty on the other side. Label the right side “Where bloggers should start”. Create in Canva with two columns and simple icons.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second mistake is ignoring long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific search queries \u2014 typically three words or more. They have lower search volumes individually, but they are vastly easier to rank for and they convert better because the searcher knows exactly what they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Best laptops for students” is a head keyword. “Best budget laptops for college students under 500 dollars” is a long-tail keyword. The long-tail version has far less competition, the searcher intent is crystal clear and a newer blog has a genuine shot at ranking for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The third mistake is not checking search intent before creating content. Even if you find a low competition keyword, if you produce the wrong type of content for the intent behind it, you will not rank. We will cover this in detail later in this guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keyword difficulty is a score \u2014 usually on a scale of 0 to 100 \u2014 that indicates how hard it would be to rank on the first page of Google for a given keyword. The higher the score, the more competitive the keyword and the harder it is to rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a general guide for bloggers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
0-20: Very low difficulty.<\/strong> Easy to rank for with a relatively new site and minimal backlinks. Target these when you are just starting out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 20-40: Low to moderate difficulty.<\/strong> Achievable for a site with some established content and a few backlinks. Good targets for blogs that have been publishing for 6-12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 40-60: Moderate difficulty.<\/strong> Requires a more established site with meaningful domain authority. Possible but takes time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 60+: High difficulty.<\/strong> Very competitive. Reserved for high-authority sites with substantial backlink profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ![IMAGE: A colour-coded difficulty scale from 0-100. Green for 0-20 “Easy”, yellow-green for 20-40 “Achievable”, amber for 40-60 “Moderate”, red for 60+ “Hard”. Clean horizontal bar graphic. Create in Canva.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you are starting a new blog, focus almost exclusively on keywords with a difficulty score below 30. As your site grows and earns more backlinks, you can gradually target higher difficulty keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trap that catches most new bloggers is targeting keywords in the 60-80 difficulty range because the search volumes are attractive. These keywords are attractive to everyone \u2014 which is exactly why they are so competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now let us get practical. Here are the five best places to find low competition keywords that your blog can realistically rank for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google itself is one of the best free keyword research tools available. When you search for any keyword on Google, look at two places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, the People Also Ask section that appears in the middle of the search results. These are real questions that people are asking related to your search. Each one is a potential keyword \u2014 often a long-tail keyword with low competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, scroll to the very bottom of the search results page and look at the Related Searches section. These are variations and related queries that people commonly search for. Again, many of these are lower competition alternatives to your main keyword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ![IMAGE: A screenshot-style mockup showing a Google search results page with the “People Also Ask” section highlighted and arrows pointing to it with the label “Free keyword ideas here”. Create in Canva with a clean mock search results layout.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make a list of every People Also Ask question and Related Search that is relevant to your niche. These are your raw keyword candidates. You will filter them by difficulty in the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dedicated keyword research tools give you search volume data, keyword difficulty scores and suggestions for related keywords. Some of the most useful options for bloggers include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google Keyword Planner<\/strong> \u2014 Free with a Google Ads account. Provides search volume ranges and competition data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ubersuggest<\/strong> \u2014 Has a limited free plan that provides keyword difficulty scores and suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Answer The Public<\/strong> \u2014 Generates question-based keywords from any seed topic. Excellent for finding long-tail question keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BriefIQ<\/strong> \u2014 Generates 150+ keywords with difficulty scores, search intent and content type recommendations in one click. Particularly useful because it also groups keywords by cluster and identifies quick wins automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For each keyword research tool you use, always sort or filter by keyword difficulty first. You are looking for keywords with a difficulty score below 30-40 and a search volume above 100 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your competitors \u2014 other blogs in your niche with a similar level of authority \u2014 are a goldmine of low competition keyword ideas. Specifically, you are looking for the pages that are ranking on pages 2-3 of Google for keywords they have not fully optimised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are keywords where someone has written content that is ranking but not ranking well. That signals an opportunity. If you produce a more thorough, better optimised article on the same keyword, you can outrank them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ![IMAGE: A simple diagram showing a competitor’s website with some pages highlighted on page 1 of Google and others on page 2-3. Arrow pointing to page 2-3 pages with label “Your opportunity”. Create in Canva.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n To find these opportunities, look at what keywords competitors are targeting in their article titles and headings. If you see articles on topics that feel specific and niche \u2014 rather than broad head keywords \u2014 those are likely low competition opportunities worth investigating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reddit, Quora, Facebook Groups and niche-specific forums are extraordinary sources of real questions that real people in your niche are asking. These questions are often phrased as natural language queries that map directly onto long-tail keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spend 30 minutes browsing subreddits related to your niche and note down every question that gets multiple upvotes or replies. These are questions enough people care about to engage with \u2014 which suggests there is also search demand for answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Convert these questions into keyword format. “How do I find low competition keywords as a new blogger?” becomes “low competition keywords for new bloggers” or “how to find low competition keywords” \u2014 both of which are long-tail keywords worth investigating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your blog has been live for at least 3-6 months, Google Search Console is one of the most valuable keyword research tools you have \u2014 and most bloggers completely ignore it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go to Search Console and look at the queries your site is already receiving impressions for. Pay particular attention to queries where your site appears in positions 6-20. These are keywords where you are already ranking but not yet on page one. With some additional optimisation of the relevant articles, you could push these into the top 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ![IMAGE: A Google Search Console mockup showing a queries table with columns for Query, Clicks, Impressions, CTR and Position. Highlight rows showing positions 8-15 with a label “Quick win opportunities”. Create in Canva.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are your quickest wins because Google has already decided your content is relevant for these keywords. You just need to improve the article to earn a higher position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have a list of potential keywords, you need to evaluate each one before deciding to target it. Here is a simple four-step evaluation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use a keyword research tool to check the difficulty score. If it is above 40 and your site is relatively new, move on. If it is below 30, continue evaluating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Search the keyword on Google and look at the top results. What type of content is ranking \u2014 blog posts, product pages, videos, news articles? If the top results are all blog posts similar to what you would write, the intent matches your content type. If the top results are all product pages or news articles, the intent may not match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at the top 5 results for your keyword. Are they from massive, high-authority sites like Forbes, Wikipedia or major brands? Or are some of them from smaller, independent blogs? If you see smaller blogs ranking on page one, that is a strong signal that you can compete for this keyword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all traffic is equally valuable. A keyword that attracts readers who might become customers or subscribers is more valuable than a keyword that attracts casual readers who will never engage further. Before targeting a keyword, ask yourself \u2014 is this the kind of person who would benefit from my blog and potentially become a regular reader?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Individual keyword research is important, but the most effective approach is to build a keyword strategy \u2014 a planned map of all the keywords you intend to target and in what order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A keyword cluster is a group of related keywords that all relate to a central topic. Instead of writing one article per keyword, you build a cluster of articles that together comprehensively cover an entire topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if your blog is about personal finance, a keyword cluster around “saving money” might include articles on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each article targets its own low competition keyword, but together they build your authority on the broader topic of saving money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ![IMAGE: A topic cluster diagram showing a central “pillar” article in the middle with 5-6 “cluster” articles around it connected by lines. Clean, modern diagram. Create in Canva or search Unsplash for “mind map” or “content cluster”.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keyword clusters work because each article in the cluster strengthens the others through internal linking. When all your cluster articles link to each other and to the central pillar article, Google sees your site as a genuine authority on that topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have identified 20-30 low competition keywords across several clusters, map them into a content calendar. Assign one keyword per article and schedule publication dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A realistic publishing schedule for a solo blogger is one to two articles per week. At this pace, you can build a substantial keyword-optimised content library within 6-12 months that starts generating meaningful organic traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key is consistency. A blog with 50 well-optimised articles targeting the right keywords will almost always outperform a blog with 200 poorly targeted articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the question every blogger wants answered. The honest answer is that it depends on several factors \u2014 your site’s age and authority, the competitiveness of your niche and the quality of your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a realistic guide for a relatively new blog targeting low competition keywords:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Weeks 1-4:<\/strong> Google crawls and indexes your articles. They may appear briefly in positions 20-50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months 1-3:<\/strong> Articles start to settle into positions as Google gathers engagement data. Expect to see some articles climbing slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months 3-6:<\/strong> Well-optimised articles targeting low competition keywords should be appearing on pages 1-2. Some may break into the top 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months 6-12:<\/strong> Consistent content production and internal linking starts to compound. Multiple articles ranking on page one. Organic traffic begins to grow meaningfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bloggers who see the fastest results are the ones who combine rigorous keyword research with high-quality, well-structured content. Every corner you cut on keyword research adds months to your timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding and targeting low competition keywords is the single most important strategic decision you can make as a blogger who wants to rank on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stop targeting keywords because they have high search volumes. Start targeting keywords because you can realistically rank for them, they attract the right audience and they fit into a coherent topic cluster strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To summarise the process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The blogs that rank are not the ones with the most content. They are the ones that were strategic about which keywords they targeted from the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start with low competition keywords. Build your authority. And over time, the competitive keywords will become within reach too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe 5 Best Sources for Low Competition Keywords<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Google’s People Also Ask and Related Searches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Keyword Research Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Your Competitors’ Low-Traffic Pages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Niche Forums and Communities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Your Own Search Console Data<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow to Evaluate a Keyword Before Targeting It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Check the difficulty score<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Analyse the search intent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Examine the competition quality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Assess the business value<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBuilding a Keyword Strategy for Your Blog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Start with keyword clusters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Build a content calendar from your keywords<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow Long Until You See Results?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\n\n\n