The former Websites Comparison report has been redesigned and turned into Keyword Gap. While maintaining the core ability to compare competitor ranking positions side by side, new additional insights have been introduced, now revealing unexplored keywords and areas of opportunities where you can work toward improving your website's overall search visibility.
How to use the Keyword Gap
The Keyword Gap report provides a comprehensive comparison between your website's keyword profile and that of up to 5 competitors. To get started, simply add your competing websites (complete domain URLs, specific pages, subdomains, or subfolders) to the Competitors section of your project's settings.
💡To easily identify the top-ranking websites for each monitored keyword you could use the Top Sites report.
Once there's been at least one ranking update completed for both the primary website of the project and the newly added competing websites, the Keyword Gap report will start unveiling various insights, including keywords that are exclusive to your domain, common keywords among all websites, keywords your competitors rank for but your website does not, and more, so you can easily acknowledge your competitive position and where to focus your SEO efforts.
Keyword Intersection
The Keyword Intersection KPI tab shows the common (shared) ranking keywords between the main website and the chosen competitors. Hovering over an intersection on the diagram will reveal the number of shared keywords within that intersection.
The counts for shared keywords and total ranking terms displayed for each website are computed by taking into account:
The chosen inputs (set of keywords - all vs. specific groups, search engine, websites) and the filters applied in the Keywords table.
The ranking data retrieved for the selected inputs during the end date update within the specified time frame.
Estimated Visits Distribution
This KPI tab shows the total traffic estimated to be received from organic search by the main and each of the selected competitors, based on their top 20 ranking keywords and the related ClickShare & Search Volume.
The estimated visits displayed in the chart are calculated for the end date update and considering the report's inputs (set of keywords, search engine, websites selected) and the filters applied in the Keywords table.
Keywords Table
The Keywords table offers an extensive view of how your website's keyword profile intersects with those of the competitors, allowing you to identify both areas of strength and new opportunities for SEO expansion.
The table's dynamic nature, which updates based on the selected set of keywords, search engine, competing websites, and applied filters, enables you to tailor the analysis to your specific needs and make data-driven decisions for achieving better search engine visibility.
Using the intersection tabs in the provided table you can delve into specific competitor details and explore the overlap between their keyword profiles and your website's. The types of keyword intersections include:
All keywords
The entire list of keywords added to the project (when selecting all keywords as the report's input) respectively the list of terms in the selected groups (when selecting specific keyword groups as input).
Common
Keywords for which all of the selected websites have a ranking position, indicating overlapping areas of interest.
Absent
Keywords for which all the selected competitors have a ranking position, but the main website does not, indicating potential areas for improvement.
Unexplored
Keywords for which the main website does not have a ranking position, but at least one of the competitors does, representing potential prospects for SEO expansion.
Underperforming
Keywords for which the ranking position of the main website is lower than that of the competitors, indicating areas where your SEO could be strengthened.
Outperforming
Keywords for which the ranking position of the main website is higher than that of the competitors, showcasing your SEO strengths.
Exclusive
Keywords for which the main website has a ranking position, but none of the competitors do, reflecting your unique selling propositions or niche areas.
💡 The old comparison table layout, with more than 5 competitors added, remains accessible within the Reports section. You can continue using the Websites Comparison table in its previous format, by creating a report with this table widget. For a step-by-step guide on creating a custom dashboard that facilitates a side-by-side comparison of over 5 competing websites, please refer to the video attached at the end of this article.
Also, the comparative data visualization among all competitors can be downloaded from the Keyword Gap section via UI exports as follows:
the CSV/XLSX options allow exporting the ranking data for all the selected competitors
for PDFs, the table widget remained in the old format, similar to the former Websites Comparison report.
For a holistic keyword evaluation, various search volume-related metrics, triggered SERP features, underlying search intent, overall keyword difficulty score, and estimated organic traffic for each term can be added as additional columns to the table. Combining keyword intersection data with these metrics can help you to:
assess keyword potential from multiple angles. For instance, beyond search volume, you can consider intent, difficulty, or estimated visits to determine which keywords align best with your goals.
tailor an informed content strategy. For instance, you can look at keywords with high search volume and low competition, then optimize your content for these keywords so it can match user needs.
make strategic SEO planning. Using the keyword difficulty and SERP features data you can prioritize keywords that are achievable in terms of rankings and likely to generate clicks based on Featured Snippets, Images, or other search elements.
create effective paid campaigns. Combining CPC and search intent data enables you to make cost-effective choices in your sponsored campaigns, ensuring you bid on keywords that resonate with user needs and are within your budget.
eliminate the need to switch between different tools. You can gain valuable insights for holistic decision-making within a single report.
The metrics available as optional table columns are defined as follows:
SERP Features
Special search results that Google blended in the SERPs retrieved from the selected search engine for each keyword.
Search Intent
The purpose behind the search query, based on the top 10 results retrieved from Google, for the selected keyword.
Keyword Difficulty
Overall score of the selected keyword based on all 3 difficulty metrics: Domain, URL & Content.
Estimated Visits
The estimated amount of visits each website may receive during a month from the selected keyword, based on its related Click Share & Search volume.
Competition
How hard will be to rank for each keyword on the selected search engine country, based on the number of advertisers bidding on that particular term. The competition is provided as a 0-1 range, where a value close to 0 shows low competition while a value close to 1 indicates a high search competition.
Search volume + YOY
Search volume
Average number of searches each keyword has on Google, country-wide, as reported by Keyword Planner in the last 30 days. The searches are relevant for the selected search engine country.
YOY trend
Volume % change calculated by comparing the searches from the last month with the ones of the corresponding month of the previous year.
Local Searches
Average number of searches each keyword has on the selected Google custom location, as reported by Keyword Planner in the last 30 days.
Quarterly Search Trends
Trend of searches in the last three months compared to the previous three months.
Global Search Volume
Sum of the keyword’s monthly search volumes across all of the regional databases.
CPC
Average cost an advertiser pays for the keyword with every ad click as reported by Keyword Planner in the last 30 days for the country selected search engine country.
Do you have any further questions or need more information about this product update? Don't hesitate to get in touch with our dedicated support team.