Use Hubspot-Style White Space Analysis to Win Search

Learning how Hubspot uncovers white space opportunity in search can help you find high-impact topics your competitors ignore, create better content, and grow organic traffic with less effort.

This guide translates the method behind Hubspot's white space process into clear, repeatable steps you can apply to your own SEO and content strategy.

What Is White Space in SEO?

White space is the gap between what people search for and what existing content actually covers. It shows up when:

• Search intent is only partially met
• Most results answer a different question than the query
• Content is thin, outdated, or overly generic
• Only one or two strong pages truly satisfy the user

Hubspot uses white space analysis to spot topics where a new, well-structured page could leapfrog older or misaligned content.

Why Follow a Hubspot White Space Approach?

A Hubspot-style approach to white space prioritizes user intent and topic quality over raw volume. This helps you:

• Find realistic ranking opportunities, not just high-volume dreams
• Create content that satisfies multiple related intents in one place
• Build topical authority around core problems your audience has
• Avoid wasting resources on saturated terms with weak potential

Instead of chasing every keyword, you focus on the ones with clear gaps and unmet needs, the same way Hubspot structures its topic research for scalable content programs.

Step 1: Collect Topic Ideas the Way Hubspot Does

Start with broad topics your product, service, or brand already covers. Then expand into strands of specific problems and questions, similar to how Hubspot maps topic clusters.

Gather Seed Topics

List 5–10 broad subjects that matter to your audience. For each, ask:

• What problem is this topic solving?
• What decisions does it influence?
• Where in the customer journey does it show up?

These seed topics become the foundation of your white space analysis.

Expand Into Specific Questions

Next, expand each seed into question-level ideas. Use:

• Customer interviews, sales calls, and support tickets
• Internal search data from your site
• Search suggestions and "People also ask"

Your goal is to build a list of questions people actually use in search. Hubspot's process heavily emphasizes this granular, real-world phrasing over generic short keywords.

Step 2: Analyze SERPs for Hubspot-Style Insights

Once you have a list of questions and topics, analyze the search results pages (SERPs) to find gaps.

Check Intent Alignment

For each query, open the top 5–10 results and ask:

• Are they answering the same question the searcher has?
• Are they speaking to the same audience and use case?
• Are they educational, transactional, or navigational?

Mark topics where most results are off-intent. These are prime white space opportunities, mirroring how Hubspot identifies misaligned results that leave the user under-served.

Evaluate Content Depth and Structure

Next, look at the depth and quality of the pages:

• Do they fully explain the concept from beginner to advanced?
• Do they include clear headings, steps, and examples?
• Are they recent and updated, or obviously outdated?

When you see thin listicles, surface-level answers, or fragmented content across many small posts, you're likely looking at a white space worth targeting.

Step 3: Score White Space Opportunities

To prioritize like Hubspot, create a simple scoring model that balances demand and difficulty with content gaps.

Build a Simple Scoring System

Give each topic a score for:

1. Search demand (low, medium, high)
2. Ranking difficulty (easy, moderate, hard)
3. Intent misalignment in SERPs (low, medium, high)
4. Content quality gaps (small, medium, large)

Topics with medium-to-high demand, moderate difficulty, and high gaps in current content should move to the top of your roadmap.

Look for Hubspot-Style Cluster Potential

Hubspot doesn't just target isolated keywords; it builds clusters. While scoring, note where:

• Several related questions share the same underlying concept
• You could create one comprehensive guide with multiple sections
• Follow-up articles could spin off from the main page

This ensures each white space topic helps grow a broader, interconnected content ecosystem instead of standing alone.

Step 4: Draft Content That Fills the White Space

Once you select your priority topics, it's time to write. Your goal is not to copy what's ranking, but to own the unanswered parts of the topic in the way Hubspot typically approaches cornerstone content.

Design the Page Around User Tasks

For each topic, clarify what the reader is trying to do:

• Understand a concept
• Compare options
• Follow a step-by-step process
• Choose a tool or vendor

Use this to outline the article structure. Make each heading answer a specific sub-question. Break complex explanations into short paragraphs and bullet lists for clarity.

Cover All Related Intents in One Place

When gaps are spread across multiple search intents, design the page to cover:

• Definitions and basics
• Use cases and examples
• Actionable steps or frameworks
• Metrics, templates, or checklists

This mirrors a Hubspot-style guide, where readers can go from beginner to confident practitioner without leaving the page.

Step 5: Optimize and Publish Like Hubspot

With your draft in place, apply on-page SEO and UX principles that align with how Hubspot structures high-performing content.

On-Page Optimization Essentials

• Include your primary topic in the title, slug, first paragraph, and at least one H2.
• Use descriptive, scannable headings that reflect real questions.
• Add internal links to related pages and cornerstone resources.
• Use short paragraphs and clear formatting for easy reading.

Most importantly, keep the focus on usefulness. Search engines reward pages that truly solve the user’s task, not just those that repeat the main keyword.

Monitor and Iterate

After publishing, track:

• Rankings for the main query and supporting variations
• Engagement metrics like time on page and scroll depth
• Conversions or micro-conversions (signups, downloads, demos)

Update the page regularly with fresher examples, new data, and additional sections where you see ongoing white space develop over time.

Example of Applying a Hubspot-Style Framework

Imagine you discover a gap around a niche topic in your industry. The SERP shows dated posts, misaligned intent, and thin content. Using the approach outlined here, you would:

1. Confirm the main search intent and audience.
2. Identify 5–10 related sub-questions from search suggestions and customer conversations.
3. Design a single, comprehensive guide that answers all of them clearly.
4. Optimize headings and structure so each section owns a small piece of white space.
5. Connect that guide to a broader cluster through internal links.

This is the same kind of pattern used on many large educational properties, including those influenced by the Hubspot methodology.

Going Deeper With White Space Strategy

If you want support building an entire content engine around white space opportunities, you can work with specialized consultants. For example, Consultevo helps teams operationalize research, topic scoring, and content production for scalable SEO growth.

To dive further into how a large-scale program approaches these ideas, study the original explanation on the Hubspot blog about white space opportunity: read the source article here. Use the framework above as a practical, step-by-step companion to that methodology so you can adapt it to your own site and audience.

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