Semrush recently analyzed their 20 billion query database to determine which keywords have the lowest competition in Google’s search engine.
This was done to identify underused phrases, so companies could find gems for their keyword research.
They also considered the negative side of keywords with high competition. To find out how search engines are used and the most common phrases.
We have taken the main findings from the study into consideration for ecommerce sellers in the UK as well as the US.
Don’t be alarmed if your niche isn’t on the list. Here are some tips to help you find the competition for keywords.
Study of Keyword Competition in Semrush: Key Findings
US
- These buyer keywords have the lowest competition in the US and the highest search volume.
- The US’s transactional keywords with the lowest competition and highest search volume are’Amazon Buy Online‘, and’Buy Baby Online.
- The products with the greatest competition were laptops and TVs, cars in the US, beds, face masks, toilet paper, and TVs in the UK.
- Apple, Google and Zillow were the most well-known brands in America.
Both the UK and US had similar price queries, but they were focused on brand-name electrical goods like Playstation, Airport, iPhone, Xbox and Airport.
The UK was quite different to the US. You can see that the monthly search volumes (MSV), were much lower in the UK than they are in the US. Additionally, there were significantly more service-based phrases like SEO and Accountancy , and TikTok.
UK
- These are the transactional keywords that have the lowest competition and the highest search volume in the UK:’Best Affordable Cordless Vacuum’ and Best Affordable TV.
- The most competitive products were cordless vacuums and cars/vehicles as well as bungalows, cars/vehicles andin-the-UK gym clothes.
- In the UK, the most popular brands were Amazon, Right Move and Tesco.
Below is a list of keywords with the highest and lowest competition via the UK and the US.
Near me searches
Semrush’s study demonstrates how important “near me” searches are.
COVID-19 had a significant impact on the number searches that Google does for “near me”. Because people couldn’t travel far due to restrictions, buyers started looking for goods close to their homes.
These searches are still relatively low in competition but have a high search volume due to the pandemic. This is encouraging. This modifier is used in the US to rank the 4th and 6th most searched phrases.
The UK has 2 phrases in the top 10. The #1 spot is occupied by the “near me” modifier.
UK vs. US
Low Competition
Google searches in the UK and USA were markedly different.
Affordable was Semrush’s top-performing modifier for the US market. It was found in 7 of 10 searches that were high volume/low competition.
It was only used twice in the UK. They had a wider range of modifiers to meet low competition in the UK, with “cheap”, the most used modifier with 10.
High Competition
The affordable modifier is a great choice in the US but it’s completely ineffective in the UK. The word “affordable” was in every high-competition phrase in the UK’s top 10.
The US modifier with the highest value is the modifier
Keyword Research Tools
We recommend two tools to help you determine which keyword modifiers are most effective for your industry: the Semrush Keyword Research tool and the Google Keyword Planner.
These tools allow you to:
- Find new keywords to help you find keywords that are related to your business
- Search for new keywords to find search volumes and their differences over time
- Bid estimation – Allows you to plan your budget using estimates from clicks
- Plan: Work ahead and plan future campaigns by grouping keywords together
Google Keyword Planner can be used for free. Only create or use an existing Google Account is required.
The screen below will appear. Click ” Switch To Expert Mode“. This will allow you to bypass advertising goals and enable you to begin keyword research.
Semrush, a paid-for tool, starts at $99.95 per month. The investment is worth it as you get all the functionality of Google Keyword Planner, plus a few extra add-ons.
- Organic Research: Analyze which pages and keywords are most effective for your competitors
- Keyword Gap: Compare your keyword list with your competitor to identify which keywords are most valuable and where you can gain the advantage
- Organic Traffic insights The “not-provided keyword list” from Google Analytics can be so frustrating that you can see what these keywords are here
Semrush Magic Tool
We’ll show you how to find low-competition keywords in Semrush’s keyword planner tool, even if the products you sell are not on Semrush’s list.
The keyword magic tool is available within Semrush. You can enter any keyword or phrase you want, and the country you wish to target.
Let’s start with the keyword “garden furniture” to see how searches are conducted in the UK. We want to first highlight the most important areas when you do keyword research.
How to filter keywords
Questions Filtering by garden furniture questions gives you a great set of keywords that can be used in blog posts. Video content like “How to make garden furniture out of pallets” could be great for your target market.
Related This gives keywords that are related to your keyword and a relevancy score. This is a great way to identify new products and ideas you may not have thought of.
Remove Keywords You may need to delete keywords from your list that are “free” or brand names such as “Argos”.
By volume The left-hand menu allows you to add keywords by entering the number in your monthly volume. You may only want phrases that include sets of garden furniture sets if you are selling them.
Semrush includes MSV and Cost per Click (CPC) in their study. These can all be found in the table that you will find when you do your search. You will also find:
Trend This shows how interested a search has been over the past 12 months. This is especially useful if you have seasonal items
Competitive Density This will tell you how competitive your keyword is if you run Google Ads.
SERP Features If you are looking to rank for specific keywords, it is worth checking if they offer SERP features. This will let you know if there is a FAQ for the term, video or an image package. Keywords with multiple SERP features should be targeted.
Results is the number URLs that can be found for this search. This number is more competitive than the others.
Semrush Keywords with low competition
After you’ve filtered keywords and identified some keywords that are closely related, it’s time for the low competition keywords.
Keywords can be sorted by the difficulty Semrush considers them to be.
It’s worth also adding a volume filter. It’s not a good idea to have keywords that rank but aren’t searched for. Add a filter to control volume.
Once this is done, we now have a very useful and tangible list. Here are 10 keywords which are “very easy to rank for” and receive at least 1000 searches per month.
These phrases have a lot of SERP features and there is a clear trend.
Last Thoughts
Semrush’s results were taken in March 2021. This really shows how COVID-19 affects searcher intent. It is clear that local businesses are important.
COVID-19’s impact will, hopefully, have a long-term positive impact on local businesses’ revenue and sales.
Ecommerce is experiencing a boom as a result. It is important to find high-volume keywords with low competition. Semrush is a great tool that can help you do this.
We have compiled a short explanation of modifiers and the differences in US and UK language.
US
Low competition = Affordable
High competition = Buy
UK
Low competition = low prices
Low competition = Affordable
