By Theresa Meis

If you’re churning out content but not seeing a bump in search-driven traffic, it’s likely time to recalibrate your strategy with a content gap analysis. Content gaps are those missing pieces that keep your audience from finding what they need — and keep your site from ranking where it should.

In this guide, we’re breaking down a step-by-step process to conduct an SEO content gap analysis, to help you find the opportunities you didn’t even know you were missing. Once you know what’s lacking, you can fire up the creative engines and produce a range of content that drives better results. 

What is a content gap analysis?

A content gap analysis is the process of evaluating your existing content to identify missing topics, themes, or pieces of information that your audience needs but isn’t currently getting from you. To put it another way: It’s the method of pinpointing where your content falls short in delivering value, whether that’s due to outdated information, lack of depth, or even missing topics that your competitors are covering.

This analysis helps you uncover valuable opportunities to create new content that resonates with your audience. While it’s true that this process helps appease the Algorithm Overlords by better aligning your content with user intent, the bigger win comes from getting your audience to click through to your site and position your brand as the go-to resource in your industry. 

How to conduct a content gap analysis

Step 1: Define your target audience and their journey

You can’t find gaps if you don’t know what your audience needs. To even begin this process, you need a clear understanding of who you’re talking to, what they’re searching for, and how your content can guide them along every stage of their journey. This first step will help you get into the mindset of your audience and uncover where your content strategy needs a boost.

Tactical tips to get started:

• Create detailed audience personas. These personas should be more than just the basics — dig into pain points, motivations, and buying triggers. The more specific you get, the better you’ll be at aligning your content.
• Map out the buyer’s journey. Visualize the path from awareness to decision-making. Identify key touchpoints where your audience engages with your brand or searches for solutions.
• Spot the gaps. Look for stages in the journey where your audience struggles, gets confused, or needs more information. These are your opportunities to create content that answers their questions or solves their problems.

These preliminary steps help you spot gaps in your current strategy and create a more audience-focused content roadmap.

Step 2: Perform keyword research with intent in mind

Not all keywords are created equal. Targeting the right ones is crucial to creating SEO content that aligns with your audience’s search intent. When your content matches what users are …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

Author: Aaron