Finding High-Intent, Low-Competition Keywords

Hello! Welcome back to the "Go-to-Market Content Strategy" module.

In our last lesson, you created the strategic blueprint for your content. You learned how to map the customer journey using the TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU funnel, and you defined your core content pillars. Most importantly, you learned the crucial early-stage SaaS tactic of focusing on the bottom and middle of the funnel (BOFU/MOFU) to attract high-intent prospects and gain traction quickly.

Today, we move from strategy to data-driven action. Your strategic plan tells you to target solution-aware and product-aware buyers; now, you'll learn how to find the exact words and phrases these buyers are typing into Google. Your learning outcome for this lesson is to use Ahrefs Keyword Explorer or SEMrush to identify high-intent, low-competition keywords for content.

This process is the bridge between your content pillars and the articles, videos, and posts that will bring your first customers to your door.

Part 1: What Are High-Intent, Low-Competition Keywords?

The goal of keyword research isn't just to find popular terms; it's to find keywords that represent an intersection of two critical factors: user intent and your ability to compete.

High-Intent Keywords

"Intent" refers to the why behind a search query. In the last lesson, you learned about the different stages of awareness. High-intent keywords are those used by people who are deep in the "Solution Aware" and "Product Aware" stages—your MOFU and BOFU audiences.

As you can see from the reading, we can categorize keyword intent as follows:

• Informational (TOFU): Users are looking for information or answers. Example: "what is a sales pipeline?" These keywords are great for building awareness but have low purchase intent.
• Commercial/Investigational (MOFU): Users are researching and comparing solutions. They are actively looking to make a purchase soon. Examples: "best sales crm," "simple crm." These are high-intent keywords.
• Transactional/Navigational (BOFU): Users are ready to buy or are looking for a specific product page. Examples: "pipedrive pricing," "pipedrive vs hubspot." These are your highest-intent keywords.

For your goal of rapid scaling, your initial focus should be on Commercial and Transactional keywords.

Low-Competition Keywords

A keyword's competition is a measure of how difficult it is to rank on the first page of Google for that term. SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush quantify this with a metric called Keyword Difficulty (KD) or a similar score, typically on a scale of 0-100.

• Low KD (e.g., 0-20): Easier to rank for, often requiring fewer high-quality backlinks and less domain authority. These are ideal targets for a new SaaS.
• High KD (e.g., 70+): Extremely difficult to rank for, with search results dominated by established, high-authority websites.

As a new venture, your website will have low "domain authority." Targeting low-competition keywords is the most effective way to gain an initial foothold in search results.

Part 2: The Keyword Research Workflow

Let's walk through the practical, step-by-step process of finding your target keywords. Both Semrush and Ahrefs are industry-standard tools for this. While their interfaces differ slightly, the core principles and workflow are nearly identical.

Based on the video, here is a repeatable workflow you can use:

1. Brainstorm Seed Keywords: Start with broad, one- or two-word terms related to your content pillars. If your SaaS helps with social media scheduling, your seed keywords might be "social media," "content marketing," "twitter scheduling," etc.

2. Expand in a Keyword Tool: Enter your seed keywords into Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool or Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer. This will generate thousands of related keywords.

3. Filter for Your Sweet Spot: Now, apply filters to narrow down the list to high-intent, low-competition targets.

   • Set a Keyword Difficulty (KD) filter to a maximum of 20 or 30. This immediately removes highly competitive terms.
   • Filter by Intent to show "Commercial" or "Transactional" keywords.
   • Use an "Include" filter to find specific high-intent phrases like "best," "alternative," "vs," "review," "software," or "tool."

This is how you find the money-making keywords that will drive your first sign-ups.

Here's a visual example of finding comparison keywords, which are among the highest-intent searches you can target.

Part 3: Beyond the Metrics: The Human Element of Analysis

Keyword research tools are powerful, but they only provide data. Your job as a strategist is to interpret that data and make an informed decision. A low KD score doesn't automatically mean a keyword is a guaranteed win. You must manually inspect the search results.

When you look at the top 10 search results for a keyword, ask yourself these questions based on the video:

1. Can I match Search Intent? Look at the "3 C's":

   • Content Type: Are the top results blog posts, product pages, videos, or something else? You need to create the same type of content.
   • Content Format: Are they listicles ("Top 10 Tools..."), how-to guides, or comparison tables?
   • Content Angle: What is the main selling point? Is it "for beginners," "for small business," or "in 2024"?

2. Can I Genuinely Compete?

   • Look at the websites ranking on page one. Are they massive brands like Forbes, HubSpot, or Wikipedia? Even with a low KD score, displacing these giants is nearly impossible for a new site due to their immense brand equity and topical authority.
   • Conversely, if you see smaller blogs, forums (like Reddit or Quora), or other SaaS companies similar to yours on page one, it's a great sign that the keyword is truly low-competition.

Conclusion

You now have a complete, practical workflow for turning your strategic content pillars into a data-backed list of target keywords. This process ensures you're not just creating content blindly, but are laser-focused on topics that can attract customers who are ready to buy.

Key Takeaways:

• Your primary targets are high-intent (Commercial, Transactional) and low-competition (low KD) keywords.
• The workflow is: Brainstorm seeds -> Expand in a tool -> Filter by KD and Intent -> Manually analyze the SERPs.
• Manual analysis is non-negotiable. You must check the "3 C's" of search intent (Type, Format, Angle) and assess the true authority of the websites on page one.
• For early traction, focus on MOFU/BOFU keyword patterns like "best [software category]," "[competitor] alternative," and "[your brand] vs [competitor]."

Preview of the Next Lesson:

You've done the research and have a list of promising, high-intent keywords. What's next? In the following lesson, you will learn how to take these keywords and outline a series of content pieces, including 'competitor alternative' comparisons and use-case-focused articles. We will move from finding opportunities to designing the actual content that will win you customers.