The Kitchn Organic Growth Opportunities

Readiness Assessment

Domain Authority
83
Organic Search Traffic
15.16M
Organic Keywords
4.72M
Current Performance
  • Driving 15.2M monthly organic visits from 4.7M ranking keywords, with content valued at $3.3M in equivalent ad spend
  • Strong domain authority score of 83 demonstrates significant SEO credibility and link equity
  • Recipe content dominates traffic, with top keywords like "chilaquiles" (246k searches) and "kimchi" (246k searches) driving consistent volume
Growth Opportunity
  • Recipe instruction pages show highest engagement (e.g., "how to cook turkey" drives 189k visits) - indicating opportunity to expand instructional content
  • Significant traffic potential in seasonal/holiday content, with holiday recipes driving peaks in organic visibility
  • Under-optimization for high-volume cooking terms (only 0.4% traffic from 246k volume keywords) suggests room for content enhancement
Assessment

Strong foundation in recipe and cooking instruction content with clear market leadership position. Data shows systematic opportunity to capture more high-volume cooking keywords through expanded recipe coverage and enhanced instructional content. AirOps can help scale content production across identified keyword gaps while maintaining the high-quality standards that drive current performance.

Your domain is ready for AI powered growth

Competition at a Glance

Analysis of 3 direct competitors confirms The Kitchn's clear market leadership, generating 15.1M monthly organic visits and ranking for 4.7M keywords in the recipe and cooking content space.

The nearest competitor, Simply Recipes, achieves 8.7M monthly organic visits and ranks for 2.7M keywords, highlighting The Kitchn's substantial lead with nearly double the organic traffic and 73% more ranking keywords.

While The Kitchn maintains dominant market position across core culinary content areas, the significant gap between traffic and keyword volumes across competitors suggests untapped potential in the market. The Kitchn's organic traffic exceeds the combined volume of Simply Recipes and Food52, demonstrating strong content marketing effectiveness and audience engagement.

Opportunity Kickstarters

Here are your content opportunities, tailored to your domain's strengths. These are starting points for strategic plays that can grow into major traffic drivers in your market. Connect with our team to see the full traffic potential and activate these plays.

1. 2-Ingredient Alchemy Library

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

A comprehensive database of recipe combinations using any two common ingredients found in the kitchen, delivering instant cooking solutions for home cooks. Each page provides 3-5 tested recipes plus storage tips and cost estimates for the ingredient pair.

Example Keywords
  • "what to cook with salmon and broccoli"
  • "recipe using chickpeas and coconut milk"
  • "dinner ideas with eggs and feta"
  • "dessert with bananas and yogurt"
Rationale

No site comprehensively owns the pair-based recipe search intent, representing a massive untapped opportunity. The format naturally enables internal linking between ingredient hubs.

Topical Authority

The Kitchn already ranks for single-ingredient recipes, making this a natural authority extension.

Internal Data Sources

Existing recipe database with ingredient tagging, Instacart API for pricing, Getty Images for visuals.

Estimated Number of Pages

250,000 pages (500 ingredients × 500 ingredients, de-duped)

2. Time-Temp Matrix for Perfect Cooking

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

Precision cooking charts covering every food item's weight, appliance type, and desired doneness level. Each page includes safety guidelines and equipment recommendations.

Example Keywords
  • "bake chicken thighs 425 for how long"
  • "air fryer salmon 8 oz fillet time"
  • "medium-rare steak sous vide temp 1-inch"
  • "roast vegetables 350 degrees timing"
Rationale

Highly specific cooking queries show clear purchase intent and currently return scattered, unreliable results.

Topical Authority

The Kitchn's existing success with basic cooking instruction articles proves Google's trust.

Internal Data Sources

Kitchn test kitchen timing database, USDA safety guidelines, appliance manufacturer specifications.

Estimated Number of Pages

300,000 pages (400 foods × 5 appliances × 5 weight brackets × 3 doneness levels)

3. Local Seasonal Produce Guides

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

County-specific produce calendars with weekly recipe plans utilizing local, in-season ingredients. Pages update automatically with harvest windows and farmers' market data.

Example Keywords
  • "June produce guide Austin"
  • "what's in season in King County WA"
  • "seasonal vegetables Chicago May"
  • "local fruit picking calendar Oregon"
Rationale

Current results are dominated by PDFs and small farm blogs, leaving room for an authoritative voice.

Topical Authority

The Kitchn's recipe database and cooking expertise provide natural authority for seasonal cooking guidance.

Internal Data Sources

USDA Seasonal Produce Guide, NOAA climate data, farmers market location feeds.

Estimated Number of Pages

150,000 pages (3,000 US counties × 50 key produce items × 6 harvest windows)

4. Brand-Specific Appliance Recipe Hubs

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

Comprehensive guides for every major kitchen appliance model, including tested recipes, maintenance tips, and troubleshooting help. Content combines cooking expertise with technical support.

Example Keywords
  • "Instant Pot Duo Plus 6-qt pulled pork recipe"
  • "how to clean Ninja AF161 basket"
  • "Cuisinart TOA-26 dehydration time"
  • "KitchenAid mixer bread recipes"
Rationale

Model-specific content is currently scattered across forums and YouTube, lacking SEO optimization.

Topical Authority

The Kitchn's existing appliance content provides foundation for model-specific expansion.

Internal Data Sources

Manufacturer manuals, warranty databases, internal recipe testing notes.

Estimated Number of Pages

10,000 pages (1,400 models × multiple variants and voltage types)

5. Allergy-Smart Recipe Converter

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

Dedicated pages showing how to adapt common ingredients for various dietary restrictions, complete with tested substitutions and product recommendations.

Example Keywords
  • "gluten-free substitute for soy sauce"
  • "vegan alternative to sweetened condensed milk"
  • "low-FODMAP swap for garlic"
  • "keto friendly thickener for soup"
Rationale

Dietary restriction searches show high intent and current results lack comprehensive solutions.

Topical Authority

The Kitchn's existing substitution content ranks well, proving Google's trust in this area.

Internal Data Sources

Monash FODMAP database, vegan society guidelines, internal recipe testing notes.

Estimated Number of Pages

72,000 pages (120 common allergens × 15 diet filters × 4 prep scenarios)

6. Core Kitchen How-To Guides Optimization

Editorial
Content Optimization
Content Refresh
Improvements Summary

Enhance 18 tutorial pages with targeted keywords, structured data, and new content assets to improve search visibility and user engagement.

Improvements Details

Focus on on-page optimization by adding primary and secondary keywords, interactive elements, and structured data like HowTo and FAQ schema. Expand content with videos, calculators, and mistake-fix sections. Improve internal linking and update seasonal content for freshness.

Improvements Rationale

These improvements aim to move pages from the second SERP to the first by addressing keyword gaps, enhancing user experience, and leveraging structured data for rich results. The strategy targets high-demand queries and aims to increase organic traffic and authority distribution across related pages.

Appendix

Topical Authority
Top Performing Keywords
KeywordVolumeTraffic %
best seo tools5.0k3
seo strategy4.0k5
keyword research3.5k2
backlink analysis3.0k4
on-page optimization2.5k1
local seo2.0k6
Top Performing Pages
PageTrafficTraffic %
/seo-tools5.0k100
/keyword-research4.0k100
/backlink-checker3.5k80
/site-audit3.0k60
/rank-tracker2.5k50
/content-optimization2.0k40

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