What to expect in this guide
When it comes to SEO, everyone’s chasing the big wins. But here’s the thing: not all success stories start with a complete overhaul.
Sometimes, the smartest move is going after the low-hanging fruits – those overlooked opportunities that require minimal effort for maximum return.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to find these easy wins by identifying the best keyword opportunities hiding in plain sight. This approach is your shortcut to better rankings – faster.
What are low-hanging fruits in SEO?
Low-hanging fruits are the quick wins. These are the keywords and content opportunities that are already within your reach – pages that rank on page two or three, keywords with decent search volume but low competition, or existing content that just needs a bit of love to move up the SERPs.
They’re worth targeting because:
- They’re faster to rank for. You’re already part of the conversation – just not loud enough.
- They offer strong ROI. Less effort, lower cost, but tangible impact.
- They improve user journeys. Often these pages are already attracting interest and just need optimising to convert better.
What makes a keyword a good opportunity?
Not all keywords are created equal. A “good” keyword opportunity ticks several boxes:
- Current position: Are you ranking for it already? Page two or three is ripe for improvement.
- Search volume: Is there enough demand to warrant attention?
- Keyword difficulty (KD): How competitive is it? Can you realistically rank?
- Click-through rate (CTR): Are users clicking through when they see your page?
- Relevance: Will it bring in the right traffic and contribute to your business goals?
Put simply, a good keyword opportunity is one that’s visible, valuable, and achievable.
Introducing our keyword opportunity analysis 👋
Our keyword opportunity analysis is a simple yet powerful method we’ve developed to identify the keywords that offer the most value.
By combining data from tools like Ahrefs and Google Search Console, we create a clear, actionable picture of where your site can quickly climb the rankings.
It takes the guesswork out of SEO by highlighting keywords you’re already halfway there with – so you can focus your time and energy where it counts.
What’s an opportunity score?
We use a custom formula to calculate an opportunity score, combining key metrics like current position, search volume, keyword difficulty, CTR and relevance.
This score helps us pinpoint which keywords are primed for quick SEO wins. Instead of spreading efforts thin, you can zero in on the opportunities that are already within reach.
How to conduct a keyword opportunity analysis
At Bulldog, we use a consistent, data-driven method to sniff out these opportunities. It’s part art, part science, and all about delivering results. Here’s how to do it:
What you’ll need 🛠
- Ahrefs paid account (or similar keyword tool)
- Google Search Console
- Website with a reasonable amount of rankings
- Confidence in Google Sheets
1. Download the opportunity analysis
Firstly, you’ll need a sheet to put all of your research in. Luckily, we have a keyword opportunity analysis template that you can make a copy of.
Keyword opportunity analysis template 📋
Make a copy to get started!
2. Pick your domain
Choose a site that’s already ranking for a decent spread of keywords – yours or a competitor’s. More pages and data = better analysis.
The keyword opportunity analysis can currently hold up to 25,000 keywords. Keep this in mind when selecting the website.
3. Gather your data
Use the following tools:
- Ahrefs: Head to Organic Keywords and export all keyword data.
- Google Search Console: Export performance data for the last 12 months.
Together, they give you a clear view of what you’re ranking for and how those keywords are performing.
4. Input the data
Use our keyword opportunity analysis spreadsheet with separate tabs for each tool:
- Paste Google Search Console data into the ‘Search Console’ tab.
- Paste Ahrefs data into the ‘Ahrefs’ tab (note: KD = keyword difficulty, position = ranking).
5. Set your thresholds
Start by setting a search volume threshold – 5,000 is a solid ballpark for many industries, but this isn’t a one-size-fits-all metric.
Some niches (like finance or ecommerce) naturally have higher search volumes, while others (like B2B SaaS or specialist services) may see strong ROI from much lower-volume keywords. The key is to consider context – are those 500 monthly searches from highly engaged, bottom-of-funnel users? If so, that’s still a win.
Next, look at your current ranking position. Pages sitting in positions 6–20 are in what we call the opportunity zone. They’re already showing up, which means Google sees them as relevant- but they’re just not quite strong enough to break into the top spots.
6. Paste & clean up
Copy all keywords from the ‘Ahrefs’ tab and paste them into column A in ‘Keyword Opportunities’. Then, filter this ‘Sort Z to A’ in cell B1.
Then, copy the URLs from the ‘Ahrefs’ tab and paste them into column A on ‘URL Opportunities’.
Once the keywords and URLs are in the right place, it’s time to do some basic cleanup:
- Remove duplicates.
- Filter out irrelevant keywords.
- Sort by opportunity (highest to lowest).
Now you’ve got a shortlist of high-potential keywords paired with target URLs.
7. Filter & analyse
To take the cleanup one step further, it’s now time to remove any irrelevant keywords. Ask yourself:
- Is this keyword relevant to what we offer?
- Is the page optimised for it already?
- Do we have authority in this area?
To delete the keyword, right click on the row and select delete.
Bonus tips: Going deeper with keyword opportunities
- Look at CTR anomalies: Are some pages getting low clicks despite ranking well? That’s a sign your metadata might need a refresh.
- Group keywords by intent: Separate informational from transactional. Not all traffic is created equal.
- Use competitor gaps: What’s working for your competitors that you’re not targeting yet?
Turn data into strategy
Now that you’ve got a list of low-hanging fruits, you’ve got options:
- Update existing content with better titles, keyword use, and internal linking.
- Build backlinks to nudge promising pages higher.
- Create new content that targets keyword clusters from your findings.
The point is: Don’t let valuable keywords gather dust. They’re already in your orchard—time to start picking.
Once the foundation is there, SEO doesn’t have to be hard!
We’re all about making SEO simpler, not scarier. By identifying and targeting your best keyword opportunities, you can generate real results without reinventing the wheel.
You don’t need to chase the top of the tree when there’s perfectly good fruit within reach.
Next in the series: Optimising your content to boost quick results 🚀
