What’s your simplest strategy for finding low-competition keywords?

[CliveOwens]

Free keyword tools give me crazy high difficulty scores for basic words. How do you find those hidden, easier keywords that real people search for?

 

[eHarper]

I use difficulty scores only as a filter, then inspect the actual search results. Start with a specific problem plus modifiers such as ‘for beginners,’ ‘without,’ ‘alternative,’ or a location or use case. If the first page contains forum posts, thin listicles, outdated pages, or weak matches to the query, that is usually a better opportunity than the tool score suggests. I also check Search Console impressions for phrases where an existing page already ranks on page two, since those can be faster wins. The key is choosing a query you can answer more completely and directly than the current results.