Content Gap Analysis Checklist: 12 Essential Steps

Content gap analysis helps you find missing or underperforming content to improve SEO, connect with your audience, and boost conversions. Here's what you'll learn in this guide:

• What It Is: A way to identify content opportunities by analyzing your current content, competitors, and user needs.
• Why It Matters: 75% of users only click links on the first search results page. Filling content gaps can improve rankings and traffic.
• How to Do It: Follow these 12 steps, from understanding your audience and reviewing your content to optimizing SEO and creating a plan.

Quick Overview of the 12 Steps:

1. Know Your Audience: Build detailed profiles and list their problems.
2. Review Current Content: Inventory and assess performance.
3. Study Competitor Content: Analyze their strengths and weaknesses.
4. Research Keywords: Identify gaps and opportunities.
5. Match Keywords to Sales Funnel: Align content with user intent at each stage.
6. Check Search Intent: Ensure content matches user goals.
7. Check Content Types: Diversify formats like blogs, videos, and infographics.
8. Review Content Quality: Expand topics, add data, and improve visuals.
9. Fix Old Content: Update outdated pages for better rankings.
10. Check SEO Basics: Optimize titles, meta descriptions, and structure.
11. Review Internal Links: Fix broken links and create connections.
12. Make Your Plan: Prioritize tasks and set a content schedule.

By following this checklist, you'll uncover gaps, improve your strategy, and drive better results for your content marketing efforts.

How To Do A Content Gap Analysis Like A Pro

Step 1: Know Your Audience

Understanding your audience is the cornerstone of effective marketing. Did you know that 94% of marketers report increased sales through personalization? [1] This is why leveraging detailed, data-backed insights about your audience is so important.

Build Audience Profiles

Creating audience profiles helps you tailor your marketing efforts. Use both quantitative and qualitative data, and make sure your strategy aligns with your sales team. Interestingly, only 23% of sales professionals feel strongly aligned with marketing [1], so bridging that gap can make a big difference.

Here’s what to focus on when building profiles:

• Demographics: Age, location, income, and professional background
• Psychographics: Values, interests, and behaviors
• Content Preferences: Favorite formats and platforms
• Pain Points: Challenges they face
• Purchase Behavior: How they make buying decisions

"When you truly know your audience, you can create effective campaigns that speak to (or solve) their challenges, goals, and pain points. This is a superpower for your marketing efforts." - Kayla Schilthuis-Ihrig, Author, HubSpot

A great example is Walk the Camino Portugués. They identified content gaps by creating profiles like "Nervous Natalie" - American travelers aged 40-65 with little international experience. This approach allowed them to craft content that tackled travel anxiety and cultural concerns directly.

Once your profiles are ready, the next step is to pinpoint your audience’s specific challenges.

List Audience Problems

To uncover your audience’s problems, use a mix of these research methods:

Research Method	Purpose	Key Benefits
Direct Surveys	Gather firsthand feedback	Immediate, specific insights
Social Listening	Monitor conversations	Real-time, unfiltered feedback
Sales Team Input	Collect customer interactions	Direct problem identification
Analytics Review	Track user behavior	Data-driven decision making

"Fear in marketing is a lot like salt in baking - it shouldn't be the predominant flavor, but every recipe should have a little." - Donald Miller, Founder, StoryBrand [1]

Take Spotify, for example. In March 2023, they identified a key pain point through customer feedback. By addressing it, they reduced bounce rates from 12.3% to 2.1% in just 60 days. This improvement boosted email deliverability by 34% and generated an additional $2.3M.

Keep in mind that 82% of shoppers prefer brands that reflect their values [1]. Regularly update your audience profiles - quarterly is a good cadence. Validate your findings with focus groups, stay on top of industry trends, and measure how your content performs.

With a clear understanding of your audience and their challenges, you’ll be well-equipped to refine and improve your content strategy.

Step 2: Review Current Content

Now that you know your audience, it’s time to evaluate the content you already have.

Did you know about 72% of top North American marketers track content ROI? [3] Here's how you can catalog and assess your content effectively.

List All Content

Creating a content inventory helps you spot gaps and opportunities. Tools like Screaming Frog (free for up to 500 URLs) can make this process easier [2].

Track these key elements:

Content Element	What to Track	Why It Matters
Page URLs	Live links	Ensures all content is accessible
Publication Dates	Original and last updated dates	Pinpoints outdated content
Content Types	Blog posts, guides, videos, etc.	Shows how content is distributed
Content Topics	Main themes and keywords	Highlights topic clusters
Target Audience	Intended reader segment	Aligns content with audience needs

"In a content inventory, you comb through your website pages and report on all of the published content. Teams often track live URLs, page titles, published dates, etc. This allows you to see what pages already exist on your website and find opportunities to create and publish new pieces of content." - Clearscope [2]

Once your inventory is ready, it’s time to measure how well your content is performing.

Check Content Results

Use tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to analyze performance metrics [3].

Here are the key metrics to monitor:

Metric	What to Monitor	Action Items
Page Views	Overall traffic	Spot high and low-performing pages
Time on Page	User engagement	Improve content to keep visitors interested
Bounce Rate	Visitor drop-off rates	Fix pages that might be driving users away
Conversion Rate	How well content meets goals	Adjust content to boost conversions
Social Shares	How often content is shared	Increase shareability with targeted updates

MarketMuse is another tool that can help you evaluate your content library, identifying strengths and areas for improvement [3].

"Content creation is only half the battle; understanding what makes it successful is the other." - Brody Dorland, DivvyHQ [3]

Step 3: Study Competitor Content

Take a close look at your competitors' content to spot gaps and missed opportunities.

Find Main Competitors

Use SEO tools to identify competitors targeting the same keywords and search visibility as you. Keep in mind, these might not always be your direct business competitors.

Tool Type	Purpose	Popular Options
SEO Tools	Keyword and ranking analysis	Ahrefs ($99/mo), Semrush ($129.95/mo)
Social Listening	Track content engagement	Sprout Social ($249/mo)
Content Analysis	Measure performance	BuzzSumo, Owler (Free plan available)

"Ahrefs is my go-to software for SEO, and their functionalities for competitor analyses are super helpful right out of the gate. I can create detailed reports on competitive benchmarking by keyword and category. These help me and clients quickly spot gaps, underperforming areas, or highly competitive terms we do well on, but want to make sure we maintain." - Ben Poulton, SEO consultant and founder of Intellar [4]

Review Their Content

Dive into your competitors' content performance by focusing on these key metrics:

Metric	What to Analyze	Why It Matters
Organic Keywords	Search terms they rank for	Uncovers new content opportunities
Content Types	Format distribution	Highlights successful content formats
Top Pages	High-performing content	Points to winning topics
Backlink Profile	Link acquisition strategies	Identifies content worth replicating

"Look at which pages and topics are driving the highest amount of nonbrand traffic to your competitors. This can reveal emerging trends that can be leveraged within your industry, or help determine which content on your own website should be prioritized to maximize organic traffic." - Nikki Brandemarte, Sr. SEO Strategist at NP Digital [5]

Go deeper by analyzing search intent, content depth, use of original research, visuals, expert citations, and how often their content is updated. This will help you uncover strategies that work well and areas where you can outshine them.

Here’s a key stat: the top organic result gets about a 22% click-through rate, but this drops to under 5% for positions below six [6]. Focus on keywords where you can realistically rank at the top.

"It's important to understand why competitors are outperforming you, how they're meeting user needs better, and on the flip side, where they're weak and leaving you an opening to get ahead." - Nikki Lam, VP of SEO at NP Digital [5]

To keep track of your progress, tools like Semrush's Position Tracking can help you monitor rankings and find opportunities to create content that fills gaps in your competitors' coverage [6].

Use all these insights to sharpen your keyword research in the next step.

Step 4: Research Keywords

Once you've analyzed your competitors, the next step is to pinpoint the best keywords for your content strategy.

Choose the Right Keyword Tools

To find the best opportunities, you'll need tools that go beyond basic data. Look for tools that combine raw metrics with insights to identify content gaps.

Tool Type	Primary Function	Key Benefits
Traditional SEO	Provides keyword metrics	Offers search volume and difficulty data
AI-Powered	Analyzes strategically	Suggests content ideas and finds gaps
Hybrid Solutions	Combines both approaches	Delivers detailed keyword insights

"Just Raw Data...Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush only show you keyword gaps, leaving you to figure out what to do next." - KeywordGaps

Modern tools, like KeywordGaps, can analyze competitor data in seconds, making it easier to identify opportunities quickly.

Narrow Down the Best Keywords

After selecting your tools, refine your keyword list by evaluating their potential. Focus on three key factors:

Factor	Description	Why It Matters
Search Volume	Monthly search numbers	Shows traffic potential
Ranking Difficulty	Level of competition	Indicates how hard it is to rank
Search Intent	What users are looking for	Ensures your content meets their needs

Pay attention to keywords that your competitors rank for but you don't. These can reveal areas where you can create targeted content to fill gaps.

When assessing keywords, prioritize those that:

• Have consistent search volume
• Show manageable competition
• Align with your resources and goals
• Fit into identified content gaps

But don’t just stop at the keywords. Look at the top-ranking content for each term. Ask yourself: Why is this content performing well? Use this insight to craft something even better.

For every keyword you select, make sure you understand:

• What the current top-ranking content looks like
• How in-depth your content needs to be
• Key subtopics to include
• Supporting visuals or media required
• How well it aligns with user intent

This detailed approach ensures your strategy focuses on keywords that not only bring traffic but also meet user needs and deliver real results.

Step 5: Match Keywords to Sales Funnel

Define Funnel Stages

To make your content strategy more effective, connect your keywords to the stages of your sales funnel. This helps identify areas where content is missing.

Funnel Stage	User Intent	Content Types	Keyword Examples
Awareness (ToFu)	Educational, informational	How-to guides, blog posts	"what is marketing automation"
Consideration (MoFu)	Comparative, evaluative	Reviews, comparisons	"best marketing automation tools"
Decision (BoFu)	Purchase-ready, transactional	Product pages, pricing	"marketing automation pricing plans"

The goal is to align your content with what users need at each stage. For example, Act-On discovered that users searching for "marketing automation" had a wide range of intents, from learning the basics to being ready to buy [7]. Once you've mapped this out, focus on identifying where your content is lacking.

Find Missing Content

Now that your funnel stages are clear, evaluate where your content doesn't meet user needs. Here's how:

• Audit Current Coverage: Map your existing content to the funnel stages. Use tools like Google Analytics to measure performance and pinpoint weak spots.
• Analyze Competitor Coverage: Look at how competitors address gaps. For instance, SharpSpring effectively targets decision-stage users by optimizing for "alternatives" keywords [8].
• Fill the Gaps: Create content tailored to the stages where you're falling short.

Stage	Gap-Filling Strategy	Goal
Awareness	Write educational content that answers basic questions	Boost visibility and build trust
Consideration	Produce detailed guides and comparisons	Help users weigh their options
Decision	Focus on conversion-driven content with clear calls-to-action	Encourage purchases

As users move closer to making a decision, target longer, more specific keywords to attract leads that are more likely to convert [9].

Step 6: Check Search Intent

After matching keywords to funnel stages, fine-tune your strategy by ensuring your content aligns with the exact search intent behind those queries.

Types of Search Intent

Studies reveal that 80% of search queries are informational, while 10% are navigational [14]. To determine intent, review SERP features and analyze the language used in queries:

Intent Type	User Goal	Common Indicators	Content Format
Informational	Learn or understand	"how to", "what is", "guide"	Blog posts, guides
Commercial	Research products	"best", "vs", "reviews"	Comparison pages
Transactional	Make a purchase	"buy", "price", "discount"	Product pages
Navigational	Locate a specific site/page	Brand names, product names	Landing pages

For instance, a search for "toaster oven" often shows product listings and retail ads. This indicates a commercial intent, as users are likely in shopping mode [11].

Tailoring Content to Intent

Once you've identified the type of intent, ensure your content directly addresses it. Here’s how to do it effectively:

• Study top-ranking pages to see what formats and topics perform well.
• Structure your content to align with the user’s purpose (e.g., guides for informational intent, product pages for transactional intent).
• Use Search Console to monitor performance and spot mismatches between intent and content [11][13][14].

"Understanding user intent is crucial for creating SEO content that resonates with your audience, improving engagement and conversion rates." - Noble Desktop [12]

Key Factors to Consider

When optimizing content for intent, keep these factors in mind:

• Mobile optimization: Mobile accounts for 53% of website traffic [13].
• Page speed: A 1-second delay can reduce conversions by 7% [13].
• Content depth: 94% of top-ranking pages are over 2,000 words [13].

Also, pay attention to subtle differences in how keywords are phrased. For example, "ingredients for dog food" suggests users want homemade recipes, while "dog food ingredients" points to curiosity about what’s in store-bought options [10]. Matching this nuance can make or break your content’s relevance.

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Step 7: Check Content Types

Take a close look at the mix of content formats you're using to spot strengths and areas for improvement. Research shows that 55% of content marketers prioritize short-form articles and long-form blog posts [15].

Review Your Current Formats

Start by auditing your content library across different categories. Here's a quick breakdown:

Content Format	Best For	Key Metrics to Track
Blog Posts	Sharing detailed insights	Page views, time on page
Videos	Visual storytelling	Watch time, engagement
Podcasts	Easy, mobile listening	Downloads, retention
Infographics	Presenting data visually	Social shares, backlinks
Case Studies	Showcasing success	Conversion rate
Webinars	Interactive education	Attendance, lead generation

Also, keep an eye on newsletter open rates and social media engagement to see which formats your audience connects with most [15]. Once you have a clear picture of your current formats, think about adding new ones to fill any gaps.

Add New Formats

When exploring new formats, focus on what your audience prefers and what’s trending. For example, the podcast industry now boasts 30 million episodes, highlighting its growing appeal [16].

Here are a few things to consider before diving into new formats:

• Audience Preferences: Younger people often lean toward short videos, while professionals may prefer articles or webinars [17].
• Team Resources: Make sure your team has the skills and time to handle new formats.
• Distribution Channels: Pick formats that fit the platforms you’re already using.

You can also repurpose top-performing blog posts into videos or infographics to expand your reach. A great example of this is Dollar Shave Club's YouTube video, which racked up over 28 million views and brought in 40,000 subscribers - proving the power of choosing the right format [18].

To fine-tune your content strategy:

• Look at how your current formats perform and what your audience prefers.
• Check out how competitors’ content is engaging their audiences.
• Experiment with small-scale projects to test new formats.

Visual content, like infographics and custom illustrations, continues to be a favorite, with 36.4% of marketers using them regularly [18]. These tactics help you refine your format strategy and prepare for more focused content updates.

Step 8: Review Content Quality

Take a close look at your content to see how it stacks up against competitors. This helps you identify areas for improvement, which can lead to better SEO rankings and more engaged readers.

Find Topics to Expand

Go over your existing content with a critical eye. Strong content answers user questions thoroughly and keeps readers interested.

Content Element	Checkpoints	Actions
Topic Coverage	Covers main points	Address any knowledge gaps
Supporting Data	Uses stats and research	Add recent, relevant data
Expert Insights	Cites authorities	Include expert quotes
Visual Elements	Uses images/graphics	Add or improve visuals
User Questions	Addresses FAQs	Cover common queries

Google’s "People Also Ask" feature is a great tool to discover additional questions your audience is searching for. Use this to guide your content updates and make it more useful for readers.

Compare with Competitors

Building on earlier competitor research, focus on the finer details that set top-performing content apart. For example, Sumo Logic increased their traffic by 4x-10x after improving their content with MarketMuse’s analysis [21].

When reviewing competitor content, pay attention to:

• Content Structure: Look at how they organize information. Strong content often uses clear headings (H2, H3) to guide readers.
• Data Presentation: See how they back up their claims. For instance, Tuft & Needle’s content keeps visitors engaged for an average of 8 minutes and 18 seconds, partly due to their effective use of data [20].
• Editorial Quality: Assess their accuracy, clarity, and overall professionalism.

"Content intelligence represents the systems and software that transform content data and business data into actionable insights for content strategy and tactics with impact." - American Marketing Association [19]

Use tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to dig into competitor performance metrics. Focus on:

• Keyword rankings and organic traffic trends
• How often content is updated
• Engagement signals like comments and shares
• Backlink profiles and authority scores

These insights can help you fine-tune your content strategy and maintain a competitive edge.

Step 9: Fix Old Content

Keeping your content current and relevant is crucial for maintaining search rankings and engaging users. Google's Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines highlight that outdated content can lower your site's quality and hurt its authority [22].

Spot Outdated Content

Use tools and metrics to identify content that needs attention:

Tool	Purpose	Key Metrics to Check
Google Search Console	Analyze traffic	Click-through rate, position drops
Screaming Frog	Conduct technical audits	Broken links, missing images
SuiteJar	Evaluate content	Ranking potential, outdated elements
Analytics	Track performance	Page views, bounce rates

Pay attention to pages with these red flags:

• Declining organic traffic
• Broken internal or external links
• Outdated data or information
• Ranking between positions 11–20 in search results [27]

Once you've identified weak pages, it's time to refresh them with targeted updates.

Refresh Weak Content

Orbit Media's regularly updated article on website traffic sources has drawn over 10,000 visits and earned links from multiple sites [24].

"A page or blog post can live for years on Google's first page if it stays relevant to the searcher and is updated."
– Toby, Co-founder of 39 Celsius [23]

Here are three practical ways to improve your content:

1. Improve Existing Material

   Tim Soulo from Ahrefs increased traffic by 486% by:

   • Optimizing for better keywords
   • Updating the publication date
   • Promoting the refreshed content [25]

2. Add Engaging Media

   Make your content more appealing by incorporating:

   • New images and infographics
   • Videos
   • Interactive elements
   • Updated charts and graphs

3. Fine-Tune Technical Details

   Strengthen SEO by updating:

   • Title tags and meta descriptions
   • FAQ schema markup
   • Internal linking structure

Keep in mind that 69% of blog post visits are to older content, published before the current month [26]. Use Google Search Console to track performance metrics like impressions, average position, and click-through rates [23]. This data will help confirm the success of your updates and guide future improvements.

Step 10: Check SEO Basics

Technical SEO plays a key role in making sure your updated content is both accessible and effective. Did you know Google rewrites 58%-61% of title tags? That makes proper optimization essential [28].

Check Page Titles and Descriptions

Title tags and meta descriptions are often the first things users see in search results, so they need to grab attention. Research shows titles with 6–9 words tend to get the best click-through rates [29].

Element	Best Practice	Character Limit
Title Tags	Place keywords near the beginning	55–65 characters
Meta Descriptions	Summarize content with keywords	150–170 characters
Headers	Maintain proper H1–H6 hierarchy	N/A

"When writing titles and descriptions, include your most important terms and compelling points as early as possible. Meta descriptions are first and foremost meant to benefit users, so make sure you pay close attention to length."
– Kim Doughty, Digital Marketing Strategist and SEO [30]

For meta descriptions, focus on:

• Solving user problems
• Naturally integrating keywords
• Adding a call-to-action
• Keeping each description unique

Once your titles and descriptions are polished, it's time to fine-tune your page structure to improve clarity and crawling efficiency.

Fix Page Structure

With titles and descriptions optimized, shift your attention to your page structure. Tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider can help identify technical issues [31].

Key areas to address:

• Header Tags
  Use a clear heading structure with one unique H1 and logically ordered H2–H6 tags. Make sure they naturally include keywords.

• Image Optimization
  Add descriptive alt text, reduce file sizes, use relevant file names, and ensure correct formatting for all images.

• Content Format
  Break content into short paragraphs, include relevant internal links, and use proper schema markup to enhance readability.

"I always try to center titles and descriptions on user intent for a target query: making them unique, concise, and authentic to the brand. They have to be descriptive and inspire confidence. It's your opportunity to sell your content and stand out on SERPs, so research and monitor the competition, then take those learnings to ensure yours is more compelling."
– Laura Rudd, Head of SEO & Insights, No Brainer Agency [30]

"Titles are important. They are important for SEO. They are used as a ranking factor." [28]

Step 11: Review Internal Links

Internal links tie related content together, improving navigation for users and helping search engines better understand your site's structure. They also play a role in organizing your content for better crawl efficiency.

Check Link Health

Broken internal links can hurt both your site's crawlability and user experience. According to a study by seoClarity, addressing these issues is crucial for maintaining a healthy website [32].

Link Issue	Impact	Solution
Broken Links (404s)	Block indexing efforts	Use Google Search Console to identify and repair them
Orphaned Pages	Hard to discover content	Add links from relevant pages to make them accessible

For websites with a lot of pages, tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog SEO Spider ($259/year), Ahrefs ($99/month), and InLinks ($49/month) can simplify the process of finding and fixing link issues.

"A broken internal link is simply a link that points to another URL on your site that doesn't work." - Kristina Lyons, seoClarity [32]

Once you've resolved any broken links or orphaned pages, it's time to focus on expanding your internal link network.

Add Missing Links

Cyrus Shepard's 2024 research underlined the importance of using varied and natural anchor text to avoid penalties for over-optimization [33].

When adding internal links, keep these key points in mind:

• Place links strategically, ideally early in the content.
• Use descriptive anchor text that clearly reflects the linked page's topic.
• Ensure the linked pages are closely related in terms of content.

"Internal links are the paths that guide visitors to keep strolling through your garden, leading them on a journey through your landscape to discover new plants and ideas." - Roslyn Ayers, Search Engine Land [33]

Consider adopting a hub-and-spoke structure. This setup connects main topic pages (hubs) to related subtopic pages (spokes), making it easier for search engines to understand your site's hierarchy and content relationships [34].

Step 12: Make Your Plan

Now that you've tackled content gaps and SEO issues in Steps 1–11, it's time to turn those insights into an actionable plan.

Prioritize Your Tasks

Focus on the changes that will have the biggest impact first. Use a numerical scale to rank tasks based on factors like revenue potential, competitive edge, and ongoing maintenance needs. For example, you could score tasks as high (800–1,000), medium (400–700), or low (0–300).

Here’s what to consider when setting priorities:

• Search volume potential
• Relevance to your sales funnel
• Your team’s capacity
• Opportunities to outpace competitors

Make sure your priorities align with the research you’ve already done, so every update addresses a real need.

Create a Content Schedule

A well-thought-out timeline helps you stay on track and measure progress. For instance, a RivalFlow AI case study from March 2025 showed that structured planning can lead to noticeable ranking improvements [35].

Key elements of an effective schedule:

• Use AI tools like MarketMuse to decide the order of updates.
• Set realistic deadlines that account for research, writing, and review time.
• Use a content calendar to monitor progress.
• Adjust priorities as you evaluate performance data.

"We see 4x-10x more traffic with pieces we optimize with MarketMuse."
– Zoe Hawkins, Principal Content Manager, Sumo Logic [21]

Tools such as SpyFu, Ahrefs, and RivalFlow AI can simplify your planning process. They help you balance immediate fixes with long-term strategies, ensuring consistent organic growth.

Conclusion

Main Points

Content gap analysis turns your content strategy into a structured, data-focused approach. By following the 12-step checklist, regular reviews - like quarterly audits [38] - help keep your content aligned with what your audience needs and your business goals. This also supports steady SEO improvements.

These steps provide a clear path for making immediate changes that can boost your results.

Next Steps

To put content gap analysis into action:

• Plan quarterly audits with tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs to identify new opportunities [36].
• Track key metrics, such as rankings, organic traffic, conversions, and engagement.
• Refine your strategy by analyzing buyer's journey data and performance trends.

"Conducting a content gap analysis is key to finding holes in your existing content strategy so you can be sure to create new content assets that generate traffic and funnel users to the point of purchase." – Alex Valencia, Co-Owner at We Do Web Content [37]

Use the checklist as a reference while you work through these steps. For quick results, focus on improving content that's already performing well [39].