Content Gap Analysis Checklist

Free editable Content Gap Analysis Checklist. Copy, personalize, or download the Word .docx template from UNmiss.

Use this checklist to run a content gap analysis from start to finish without missing a step. Each variant is one phase of the run, written as boxes you tick as you go, so a first-timer can follow the same process an experienced SEO would. Work through the phases in order the first time; on later runs you can jump straight to the phases that changed. Fill in the labeled fields with your own domains, thresholds, and owners.

6 ready-to-use variants

Phase 1: Define Scope

Set the goal and boundaries before you touch any data so the analysis stays focused.

Goal: agree what this analysis is for and where it starts and stops.

Tick before moving on

  • ☐ Write the business goal in one line: [More demos / more sales / more local leads]
  • ☐ Name the site section in scope: [Blog / product / whole site]
  • ☐ Decide the ranking threshold that counts as "covered": top [20]
  • ☐ Set a minimum monthly volume to keep: [50]
  • ☐ Set a maximum keyword difficulty you'll target: [40]
  • ☐ Name the owner of this analysis: [Owner]

Done when: anyone reading the scope line could tell what a "good" gap looks like for this project.

Phase 2: Choose Competitors

Pick the right sites to compare against so the gaps you find are real and reachable.

Goal: select 2–3 sites that genuinely compete for your keywords, not just the biggest brands.

Tick each competitor check

  • ☐ List candidates that keep appearing for your target searches: [Domains]
  • ☐ Confirm each one competes for the same intent, not a different audience
  • ☐ Drop any site so large you could never realistically match it
  • ☐ Keep at least 1 competitor of similar size to your own site
  • ☐ Record the final 2–3 domains: [competitor-a.com], [competitor-b.com]

Done when: your shortlist is sites you could plausibly out-rank on specific topics.

Phase 3: Export & Clean Data

Pull the keyword data and scrub it before comparing, so matches don't silently break.

Goal: get clean, comparable keyword exports for you and each competitor.

Tick each data step

  • ☐ Export your own ranking keywords from [SEO tool]
  • ☐ Export each competitor's ranking keywords from the same tool
  • ☐ Remove brand and navigational queries from every list
  • ☐ Trim whitespace and standardize capitalization so keywords match exactly
  • ☐ Confirm volume and difficulty columns are present and numeric
  • ☐ Note the export date so future refreshes compare like for like

Done when: every list has the same columns and no stray formatting that would break a lookup.

Phase 4: Find the Gaps

Cross-reference the lists to isolate what competitors cover and you don't.

Goal: label every competitor keyword as Missing, Weak, or Covered on your side.

Tick each matching step

  • ☐ Look up each competitor keyword against your own ranking list
  • ☐ Mark keywords you don't rank for at all as "Missing"
  • ☐ Mark keywords you rank for below the threshold as "Weak"
  • ☐ Filter out everything already "Covered"
  • ☐ Spot-check 5 flagged gaps by hand to confirm the matching is right
  • ☐ Save the raw gap list before you start cutting it down

Done when: you have a clean list of Missing and Weak keywords with volume and difficulty attached.

Phase 5: Prioritize

Cut the gap list down to the keywords actually worth writing for.

Goal: turn a long gap list into a short, ranked shortlist.

Tick each prioritization step

  • ☐ Drop keywords below your minimum volume or above your max difficulty
  • ☐ Remove anything that doesn't fit your product, service area, or audience
  • ☐ Score the rest by volume relative to difficulty, favoring winnable terms
  • ☐ Tag each survivor with search intent: [Informational/Commercial/Transactional]
  • ☐ Group related keywords into clusters one page could cover
  • ☐ Confirm the top [Number] gaps are ones you can act on this quarter

Done when: you have a ranked shortlist of clusters, not a raw dump of keywords.

Phase 6: Plan & Hand Off

Turn the shortlist into assigned, dated work a writer can pick up.

Goal: convert prioritized gaps into briefed, owned content tasks.

Tick each handoff step

  • ☐ Decide the format for each cluster: [Guide / comparison / tool / landing page]
  • ☐ Assign one named owner per piece: [Owner]
  • ☐ Set a realistic publish date for each: [Date]
  • ☐ Note the internal links each new page should send and receive
  • ☐ Add the shortlist to your content calendar or backlog
  • ☐ Schedule a recheck date to confirm gaps closed: [Date]

Done when: every prioritized gap has an owner, a date, and a home in your workflow.

How to use this template

  1. Work through Phase 1 to set the goal, scope, and thresholds before touching any keyword data.
  2. In Phase 2, choose 2–3 competitors that genuinely compete for your keywords and record their domains.
  3. In Phase 3, export your keywords and each competitor's, then clean whitespace and remove brand terms.
  4. In Phase 4, cross-reference the lists and label each keyword Missing, Weak, or Covered.
  5. In Phase 5, filter by volume, difficulty, and fit, then score and cluster the remaining gaps.
  6. In Phase 6, choose a format, owner, and date for each cluster and add it to your calendar.
  7. Tick every box in a phase before moving to the next so nothing is skipped on the first run.
  8. Set a recheck date and rerun the relevant phases in a few months to confirm the gaps closed.

Pro tips

  • Don't skip Phase 1: without a written goal and thresholds, every later phase turns into guesswork about which keywords count.
  • Clean the data before you match: most 'missing' matches that turn out wrong come from stray spaces or capitalization, not real gaps.
  • Prioritize by fit before volume; a high-volume keyword that doesn't match what you sell is a distraction, not an opportunity.
  • Treat the recheck box as mandatory, not optional: an analysis you never revisit can't tell you whether the work actually paid off.

Frequently asked questions

How long does one full run take?

For a first pass on a small site, a focused day is usually enough. Most of the time goes into cleaning exports and prioritizing, not the matching itself. Later runs are faster because your scope, thresholds, and competitor list are already set from the previous round.

Can I skip phases if I've done this before?

Yes, once. On repeat runs you can jump to Phase 3 and reuse your existing scope and competitor list. Still glance at Phase 2 occasionally, though, because your real competitors shift over time and a stale list quietly narrows the gaps you'll ever find.

How many competitors should Phase 2 end with?

Two or three is the sweet spot. One competitor gives a narrow view, while five or more floods the analysis with noise and terms you'll never realistically target. Pick the sites that keep showing up for your keywords and are close enough in size to be beatable.

What if Phase 4 flags hundreds of gaps?

That's normal and it's exactly why Phase 5 exists. A big raw list isn't a to-do list. Filtering by volume, difficulty, and business fit usually cuts it to a manageable shortlist, and clustering related keywords shrinks it further into a handful of pages worth writing.

Do I need a spreadsheet to follow this?

A spreadsheet makes the matching and scoring in Phases 3 to 5 far easier, but the checklist itself is tool-agnostic. What matters is that each phase gets completed in order. You can run the logic in any spreadsheet or SEO tool you already use.

How is the recheck in Phase 6 supposed to work?

Set a date a few months out, then confirm whether the pages you published now rank for the gap keywords you targeted. Some will, some won't. The recheck tells you which gaps truly closed and feeds an honest priority list for your next run.