Everyone online seems to have their definition of content gap analysis. In layman’s terms, content gap analysis is the difference between what people search for and what they find online.

This theory states that the gap is a topic people search for information on but not enough content to meet their current needs.

A content gap can be described as competitor analysis. It involves looking at your competitors’ content structure to determine topics and keywords they rank better for so you can target them with your content.

While these views may be true, they don’t consider the customer’s goals or needs. They fail to demonstrate how important a piece of content is for a customer’s journey.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, less than half of content marketing companies say their efforts are successful. Content Gap Analyses are a popular tool for marketers to fill the gaps in their content inventories.

Content gap analyses can improve engagement by providing value and dialogue that resonates with diverse target audiences at different stages of their consumer journey. 

What is a content gap analysis?

According to the definition, content gap analysis is a comparison of current content offerings and the desired offerings of an audience. It attempts to determine what is needed to satisfy those needs.

For an expert, content gaps are the difference between your current content performance and your content strategy’s desired outcomes and goals.

Content gap analysis refers to reviewing and identifying what content is required to fill the “gap” between the current and future states.

An audit of your website’s content is the best way for you to understand it. This article will explain how you can identify the content you need to promote and what you should do with it.

Why is Content gap analysis crucial?

Imagine that you are a footwear brand selling “the best cheap” shoes online. Your content currently focuses on people looking for durable, cheap footwear for everyday use.

But what about content relevancy to your customers, and will it help them understand your brand, such as footwear types? Are you selling designer footwear? Are you able to make footwear for XL? Do you customize footwear according to the preferences of the customers? What is your brand’s performance compared to others? Do you have any customer reviews? Are there any special offers?

From an online marketing agency perspective, these are just some questions visitors may have. Providing this information can help solve their problems and turn them into paying customers.

This is the content gap. You get a lot of responses from people looking for low-cost footwear, but you don’t connect with other users in the funnel or those looking for different styles.

You’ll miss critical relationship-building opportunities if you’re neglecting a persona or customer segment from your content strategy. This will allow competitors to enter and forge relationships that could be yours.

Content marketing isn’t the only thing that will determine your success in this age of content marketing. Google any search term, and you’ll find millions of results. This is an indication of how fierce the competition is.

Content marketing can help in effective communication with potential customers

People mistakenly think that the content gap is between companies and their competitors. However, it is the gap between potential customers and companies. This gap shows how your content strategy can best meet your customer’s needs at each stage of their journey.

Don’t forget to give your customers all the information they need. They will find it elsewhere. You can avoid showing such an opportunity to competitors by conducting a content gap analysis. This helps you fill in the gaps so potential buyers stay longer on your site.

A content gap analysis can help you assess whether your content is sufficient to convert leads into customers. Your content must answer prospective customers’ questions as they move from awareness to decision-making.

Great content can be generated by sequential blog posts and site pages. This can be achieved with the help of email workflows and social media updates.

How can it help in optimizing the website for organic visibility?

Let’s look at content gap analysis from an SEO perspective. It is the process of identifying topics and content ideas that will drive traffic to your website. Because there are many players in today’s industry, there will be an overlap between your content and that of competitors.

Your content must rank higher for specific keywords than your competitors. A content gap analysis will identify high-value content opportunities and topic possibilities to increase your search visibility for topics you don’t currently rank.

The content gap analysis helps to make the picture clear and allows you to see which keywords your competitors rank. You will get enough information in two ways.

First, you should know which keywords your competitors are ranking for; effective keyword research can be put to your advantage.

You will also learn which keywords you are not ranking well. This will help you to create the best content marketing strategies to fill the gaps and rank for these keywords.

This gap does not exist between your competitor and your company’s customers and competitors.

The content you create to fill the gap may be similar in topic or keyword targeting to competitor content. But it doesn’t stop there. Not only focus on your competitors but also try adding some of your creativity and research when representing your content.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, try to work on all these aspects to improve the ranking of your website. While optimizing any website for more organic visibility using relevant keywords, the best quality content and interactive user interface can help you generate leads. 

To make your website rank, you need to elevate your website according to the algorithms of Google search machines. To match the current market needs, having a responsive website is your key to success. You can always take the support of the best web development company, like Propel Guru, which delivers highly effective and result-oriented SEO consultancy services to build your website that would boost your visibility in search engines.