The method is straightforward: compare the keywords and topics a set of competitors rank for against your own coverage, then isolate the terms where they appear and you don't. Tools like Ahrefs or Semrush make this concrete, but the real work is judgement — which gaps are relevant, commercially useful and realistic to win.
Gaps aren't only missing pages. They can be thin pages that under-serve a topic, questions your existing content doesn't answer, or subtopics that would complete a cluster. Filling them systematically strengthens topical authority — the density of relevant coverage that helps a whole section rank.
The output should be a prioritised content plan, not a raw keyword dump. This connects directly to avoiding cannibalization (one page per intent) and to evergreen planning. It's a core input to how I scope keyword research and content strategy.
