How to Gain a Competetive Edge with Content Gap Analysis

Generating fresh content ideas can be a challenging task, even after thorough keyword research and idea-generating sessions. Content gap analysis can be an excellent strategy for developing relevant blog topics and engaging web copy. 

When done right, a content gap analysis can help you find top-quality content ideas, track your competitors, and be at the top of your game when it comes to SERP rankings. But what is a content gap analysis, and how can it help your website’s performance? 

We’ll break down everything you need to know about content gap analysis and the ways in which it can help you and your business to thrive. 

What is a content gap analysis?

A content gap analysis involves reviewing competitors’ content to identify weak or missing elements on your own website. By comparing your website with your competitors, you can discover how to outrank them and attract more customers. 

This process goes beyond merely identifying keywords and instead focuses on finding missing content that could improve your customers’ overall experience and buying journey. Performing a content gap analysis offers valuable insights into areas where your website might be falling short and where extra information might be needed to address customer needs. 

There are three main types of content gap analysis: competitor-based, topic-based, and buyer-based. Each type of analysis can generate ideas to enhance your content, and by combining all three, you can identify pitfalls and boost your website content. 

Competitor-based gap analysis

The first content gap analysis method is a competitor-based gap analysis. This entails examining your competitors’ websites to understand their target audience, content strategy, keywords, and product use cases and using your findings as inspiration. 

Once you’ve researched into missing or weak content, you can use this to inform your existing content play or create a new one if necessary. Competitor-based gap analyses can be time-consuming, but it’s well worth the effort to improve your website and conversion rate. 

Topic-based gap analysis

When tackling a popular topic inundated with existing content, it’s tricky to produce something valuable without being a copycat. To generate fresh content, try to find a new angle by redefining the issue, integrating additional data, or introducing new case studies. 

A good place to start is to analyse the top ten articles on Google to understand what is doing well and discern what elements to include or omit in your own content. This process helps to determine how much depth to go into, what keywords to include, and how to structure the content.

Once you have a better understanding of what’s already out there, ask yourself, how can I do better?

• Can you address an unresolved pain point?
• Can you go into even more depth? 
• Can you add images or videos? 
• Can you find a more relatable or recent case study/example? 

By answering these questions and establishing a clear direction, you’ll find it far easier to produce high-quality, SEO-optimised content that enhances audience engagement and strengthens brand perception. 

Buyer-based gap analysis

A buyer-based gap analysis focuses on bridging the gap between what a customer expects and what a company delivers. Adding content can be a relatively simple way to ensure you’re keeping up with audience needs and providing a fantastic user experience. 

To effectively engage with your customers, it’s useful to map out their entire journey from the moment they become aware of your brand all the way through to post-purchase and beyond. By gaining a deeper understanding of your customer’s expectations at each stage, you can anticipate potential pain points and identify gaps in your website’s content. 

If you identify any gaps, try out the following ideas: 

• Write an optimised blog post targeting a keyword that addresses a pain point. 
• Create a product tutorial and upload it to your website. 
• Host a webinar and repurpose the content into a blog post. 
• Add a section to your newsletter explaining an aspect of the buyer journey. 

Performing a content gap analysis can help you pinpoint new avenues to outrank your competitors and convert casual browsers, or ‘window shoppers’, into loyal customers. While keyword research is valuable, combining it with competitor and content gap research gives you the best chance at blowing your competitors out of the water and driving sales. 

At Puddle, we specialise in elevating your content strategy to new heights. We can conduct an advanced content gap analysis and craft a stellar content plan to propel your business in the right direction. 

Let us handle your website and social media content so you can focus on your business’s day-to-day operations. 

To find out more, give us a call on +44(0)1138561930.