Content Gap Analysis!
Boy Oh Boy! Seems like one hefty piece of analysis, right?
Honestly, it is not. But it is an important one.
Let’s compare it to a scenario where you visit a department store to buy your favorite chocolates. Sadly, you do not see it on the display shelves and think the store doesn’t sell it.
Kind of obvious! Now think of it this way. Maybe the store sells those chocolates and has them in the inventory.
But what’s the use then? No one will ever get to know about them unless they are displayed on the shelves.
Similar is the case with many websites, where they do provide a certain service or product but have absolutely no-to-little evidence to prove its existence.
This is where Content Gap Analysis helps. Let’s dive deep into to understand what exactly it is.
But First, What are Content Gaps?
Going by the definition, Content Gaps are the breaches between what folks are searching for on the web, and the results they are receiving.
And the worst thing about them is that they might go unnoticed unless you include their analysis in your content strategy.
This is because for any industry, even yours, there might exist hundreds and thousands of potential subjects that your target audience may be searching for.
But practically, it is impossible to include all of them in your content.
Therefore, all you need is a quick content gap analysis to spot these spaces and bridge them up.
Although there are numerous content gap analysis tools available, it is really important to know what these content gaps look like?
Content Gaps in Different Shapes and Forms
Having learned what content gaps are, it is only reasonable to learn in what shapes and forms they exist.
Well, content gaps can be of different kinds for different people.
For some, it means not covering enough content internally to cater for all demands of the target audience.
And, for others, it is another competitor analysis of what their competitors are doing and identifying what they themselves are lacking.
These gaps may exist as keywords, topics and/or even media gaps.
How Content Gaps affect your Business
Or, framing it as Why You Need To Fill These Content Gaps?
Where do we start!
Content is the king. It is everything that your business marketing is reliable on. And, since it is the first thing that your target audience interacts with, it will be only inane to miss and mess it all up.
Especially when the consequences can totally break your entire marketing strategy.
So creating content that feeds information to all your website visitors not only fill the spaces but also
Improves SEO
Did you know the average click rate drops from 28.5% at first position to 2.5% at tenth position on SERP. Fixing these content gaps helps to rank your site higher on the search engines.
Lowers the Bounce Rate
When information seekers get what they are looking for, the chances of them staying increases which in turn gradually decreases the bounce rate .
Increases the Session Time
Once visitors find the exact thing they were searching for, it creates a sort of connection between your site and them which makes them stay longer or even multiply their visits.
Further, increases the Conversion Rate
Ultimately, it is the conversion rate that goes up, resulting in more sales.
In a nutshell, we’d say an overall Improvement in the Buyer’s Journey.
This is everything a marketer ever dreams of.
Now luckily, there exist several ways to combat the evil consequences of content gaps. Let’s see what these are.
Bridging the Gaps
So, now that you’ve learned what content gaps are, what they look like and what consequences they might have on your site, it is time to finally know how to fix them.
This was a long wait. Cutting to the chase, here’s what you can do to bridge these gaps:
Nothing that some handy tools cannot fix
Use tools like SEMRush, Ubersuggest, Buzzsumo, Ahrefs, etc. to dig out the data from your website so that you can finally spot the problems— missing content.
Once you have the report ready,
- make sure to use these topics in your new content,
- add the absent keywords in your website content.
Time to visit your competitors
Find what’s working for your competitors that your website lacks.
Afterall it is not illegal, yet.
Consider 3-5 competitors for this. Once you are ready with your analysis,
- Brainstorm the best ideas to implement your new findings in your marketing strategy.
- Maybe, add a new page or a new blog for it.
Self Assessment
The most important one!
Sit back and be comfortable. This is going to take a while.
Start auditing your very own content.
- Search for some common topics that might have gone uncovered.
- Update your keyword strategy.
- Fix the missing landing pages and broken links.
TBH, they could be the #1 reason for increased bounce rates.
Conclusion
Long story short, next time you visit the department store, all you need to do is to ask for your favorite chocolates.
And, and, and…
Content gap analysis is nothing but actually aligning what your visitors are looking for.
Luckily we have an entire team of SEO specialists, content strategists and market analysts to help you fight and fix Content Gaps.
