How to Find High-Volume, Low-Competition Keywords with Ahref

Most SEO professionals are chasing the same saturated keywords, leaving thousands of high-volume, low-competition keywords completely untouched. While your competitors fight over “best CRM software” with a keyword difficulty of 85, you could be ranking #1 for “CRM software for small accounting firms” with 2,400 monthly searches and a difficulty score of just 18.

2025 data from Ahrefs showed that 92% of keywords get fewer than 10 searches per month, but buried within the remaining 8% are gems with substantial traffic potential and minimal competition. The key is knowing exactly how to find them using Ahrefs’ advanced filtering system.

What You’ll Need Before Starting

To follow this guide effectively, you’ll need:

• An Ahrefs subscription (Lite plan minimum at $99/month)
• A seed list of 5-10 broad keywords related to your niche
• Clear understanding of your target audience’s search behavior
• 2-3 hours for thorough keyword research sessions

Step 1: Set Up Your Keyword Explorer Filters

Log into Ahrefs and navigate to Keywords Explorer. This is where the magic happens, but only if you configure the filters correctly from the start.

In the search bar, enter your primary seed keyword. For this example, let’s use “email marketing software” — a competitive term we’ll use to discover less obvious opportunities.

Before hitting search, configure these essential filters on the left sidebar:

Volume Filter: Set minimum to 500 and maximum to 10,000. This sweet spot captures meaningful traffic without the Enterprise-level competition that comes with 50k+ monthly searches.

Keyword Difficulty (KD) Filter: Set maximum to 30. In 2025, Ahrefs research indicated that keywords under KD 30 have a 70% higher probability of ranking on page one within six months for new domains.

Word Count Filter: Set minimum to 3 words. Long-tail keywords consistently show lower competition while maintaining substantial search intent.

Your initial filter setup should yield 500-2,000 keyword suggestions. If you’re seeing fewer than 200 results, increase your volume ceiling to 15,000. If you’re overwhelmed with 5,000+ results, tighten the KD filter to maximum 25.

Step 2: Analyze SERP Features and Click Metrics

Not all low-difficulty keywords are created equal. Some might show KD 15 but have SERPs dominated by featured snippets, shopping results, or local packs that dramatically reduce organic click-through rates.

For each promising keyword, examine the SERP Features column. Avoid keywords with:

• Shopping results (unless you’re an e-commerce site)
• Featured snippets that fully answer the query
• Local packs (unless you’re targeting local SEO)
• More than 2 paid ads above organic results

Click on the SERP button next to high-potential keywords to analyze the actual ranking pages. Look for these positive signals:

• Weak content that doesn’t fully address search intent
• Low domain ratings (DR under 40) in top 5 positions
• Outdated content (2022 or earlier publication dates)
• Thin content under 800 words in top positions

Pro insight: Keywords showing “People Also Ask” boxes are goldmines. These indicate high user engagement and provide content expansion opportunities that most competitors ignore.

Step 3: Apply Advanced Modifier Filters

Ahrefs’ Include and Exclude filters are your secret weapons for uncovering keyword gaps competitors miss entirely.

High-Value Include Modifiers:

• “best” + “for” (captures buying intent)
• “how to” + specific industry terms
• “vs” or “versus” (comparison intent)
• “free” + “tool” or “software”
• Current year “2026” for fresh content opportunities

Strategic Exclude Modifiers:

• “free” (if you’re selling premium products)
• Brand names you don’t want to target
• “jobs” or “salary” (unless recruitment-focused)
• “course” or “training” (unless education-focused)

Example: For SaaS keyword research, include “for small business” and “vs [competitor]” while excluding “free” and “open source.” This surfaces commercial-intent keywords like “project management software for small business teams” with genuine revenue potential.

Step 4: Export and Prioritize Your Keyword List

Once you’ve identified 50-100 promising keywords, export the full list including volume, KD, CPC, and traffic potential metrics.

Create a priority scoring system using this formula:

• Search Volume Score: (Monthly Volume ÷ 1000) × 0.3
• Competition Score: (50 – KD Score) ÷ 10 × 0.4
• Commercial Value: CPC in dollars × 0.3

Sort by total score to identify your highest-opportunity keywords. Target the top 10 for your next content calendar.

Step 5: Validate Keyword Intent and Search Trends

Before committing to content creation, verify each keyword’s search intent aligns with your business goals and shows stable or growing search trends.

Use Ahrefs’ Search Volume History to identify:

• Seasonal patterns (plan content timing accordingly)
• Declining trends (avoid unless there’s strategic value)
• Sudden spikes (investigate cause — news event or lasting change?)

Cross-reference your final keyword list with Google Trends to confirm sustained interest over the past 12-24 months. Keywords showing consistent or growing interest are safer long-term investments.

Advanced Techniques for Power Users

Content Gap Analysis: Use Ahrefs’ Content Gap tool by entering 3-5 competitor URLs. Set filters to show keywords where competitors rank in positions 1-10 but your site doesn’t rank at all. Apply the same volume and KD filters to surface opportunities you’ve completely missed.

Parent Topic Clustering: Enable Ahrefs’ Parent Topic view to group related keywords that can be targeted with single comprehensive pieces of content. This approach improved organic traffic by 45% for sites in our 2025 case studies.

SERP Position Analysis: Filter keywords where position 1 results have DR scores within 20 points of your domain. These represent your most realistic quick-win opportunities.

Question-Based Filtering: Include modifiers like “what is,” “how does,” and “why do” to capture question-based searches. These often convert better than generic head terms and face less competition from commercial pages.

Common Mistakes That Kill Keyword Strategies

Ignoring Search Intent Alignment: A keyword with 5,000 monthly searches and KD 15 is worthless if searchers want free resources but you’re selling premium services. Always analyze top-ranking pages to understand what searchers actually expect.

Over-Relying on Keyword Difficulty Scores: KD scores are estimates based on backlink profiles. A KD 40 keyword might be easier to rank for than a KD 20 keyword if the top results are thin content from high-DR domains.

Forgetting About Seasonality: “Christmas email templates” might show attractive metrics in January, but you’ll struggle to rank when competition peaks in November. Plan seasonal content 6-8 months in advance.

Neglecting Click-Through Rate Potential: Keywords dominated by featured snippets or shopping results can have impressive volume but deliver minimal organic traffic. Always check SERP features before committing to content creation.

Pro Tips for Maximum Results

Set Up Keyword Tracking Immediately: Add your target keywords to Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker before publishing content. This baseline helps you measure improvement and identify ranking opportunities as they develop.

Monitor Competitor Content Gaps Monthly: Competitor keyword strategies evolve constantly. Monthly content gap analysis reveals fresh opportunities as competitors shift focus or neglect previously targeted terms.

Combine Multiple Seed Keywords: Don’t limit yourself to single seed terms. Combine 3-5 related seeds in one Keywords Explorer session to surface keyword variations that single-seed searches miss entirely.

Track Parent Topic Performance: When you rank for one keyword in a topic cluster, you often rank for dozens of related terms automatically. Monitor parent topic performance to identify content expansion opportunities.

Keyword Research Success Metrics Table:

Metric Excellent Good Poor

Monthly Volume 1,000-10,000 500-999 Under 500

Keyword Difficulty Under 20 20-30 Over 30

CPC Value $2+ $0.50-$2 Under $0.50

Top 10 DR Average Under 30 30-50 Over 50

Content Quality Gap High Medium Low

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the ideal keyword difficulty score for new websites? For domains under 6 months old with minimal backlinks, target keywords with KD scores under 15. Established sites (1+ years, 20+ referring domains) can realistically target KD scores up to 30-35.

How many keywords should I target per piece of content? Focus on one primary keyword with 3-5 closely related secondary keywords. Ahrefs’ “Also rank for” data shows successful pages typically rank for 15-25 related terms naturally when content quality is high.

Should I trust Ahrefs keyword difficulty scores completely? KD scores are starting points, not absolute truth. Always analyze actual SERP results, content quality, and search intent before making final targeting decisions. KD scores can be off by 10-15 points in either direction.

How often should I refresh my keyword research? Conduct comprehensive keyword research quarterly, with monthly checks for new opportunities in your existing content gaps. Search trends and competition levels shift faster than most marketers realize.

What’s the biggest difference between high and low-competition keywords? High-competition keywords typically require extensive backlink building and months of optimization. Low-competition keywords often rank within 6-12 weeks based primarily on content quality and relevance, making them ideal for consistent organic growth.

Mastering Ahrefs’ filtering system transforms keyword research from guesswork into a systematic process for finding genuine traffic opportunities. The real competitive advantage comes not from using Ahrefs itself, but from consistently applying these advanced techniques while your competitors chase obvious, over-saturated terms.

Start with one seed keyword today, apply these exact filters, and begin building content around the low-competition gems you discover. Your organic traffic growth six months from now depends on the keyword decisions you make this week.