{"id":9559,"date":"2023-05-19T13:52:31","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T13:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/"},"modified":"2023-05-19T13:52:31","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T13:52:31","slug":"keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Keyword difficulty in SEO guide: Everything you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Keyword difficulty isn\u2019t one of SEO\u2019s hottest topics or latest trends. But it is a powerful metric when you understand its potential. <\/p>\n<p>It can help you to make educated decisions about your prospects of ranking for specific terms, allowing you to make tactical choices that underpin your SEO strategy.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what keyword difficulty means for SEO, how the score is measured and tips for using it to get better results.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#What_is_keyword_difficulty\" >What is keyword difficulty?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#What_does_the_score_tell_you\" >What does the score tell you?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Where_do_you_find_it\" >Where do you find it?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Tools_to_check_keyword_difficulty\" >Tools to check keyword difficulty<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Ahrefs\" >Ahrefs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#How_is_it_calculated\" >How is it calculated?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Semrush\" >Semrush<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#How_is_it_calculated-2\" >How is it calculated?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Moz\" >Moz<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#How_is_it_calculated-3\" >How is it calculated?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Sistrix\" >Sistrix<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#How_is_it_calculated-4\" >How is it calculated?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Is_keyword_difficulty_good_or_bad\" >Is keyword difficulty good or bad?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#What_is_highlow_keyword_difficulty\" >What is high\/low keyword difficulty?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#What_is_a_good_keyword_difficulty\" >What is a good keyword difficulty?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Factors_to_consider_when_looking_for_a_good_keyword\" >Factors to consider when looking for a good keyword<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#How_do_I_choose_keyword_difficulty\" >How do I choose keyword difficulty?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#But%E2%80%A6_are_keywords_still_important_for_SEO\" >But\u2026 are keywords still important for SEO?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#How_to_find_low-difficulty_keywords\" >How to find low-difficulty keywords<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Adding_search_qualifiers\" >Adding search qualifiers<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Looking_for_the_long_tail\" >Looking for the long tail<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-22\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Getting_ahead_of_trends\" >Getting ahead of trends<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-23\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Why_is_keyword_difficulty_important\" >Why is keyword difficulty important?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-24\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Its_strategic\" >It\u2019s strategic<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-25\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#It_helps_us_make_decisions_%E2%80%93_lots_of_them\" >It helps us make decisions \u2013 lots of them<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-26\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#It_helps_us_to_be_smarter_with_our_limited_resources\" >It helps us to be smarter with our limited resources<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-27\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#It_can_help_you_manage_expectations\" >It can help you manage expectations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-28\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/19\/keyword-difficulty-in-seo-guide-everything-you-need-to-know\/#Managing_keyword_competition_in_your_SEO_campaigns\" >Managing keyword competition in your SEO campaigns<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_keyword_difficulty\"><\/span>What is keyword difficulty?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Keyword difficulty is a metric that quantifies how competitive a keyword is and, therefore, how challenging it\u2019s likely to be to rank for it. It is displayed as a value from 1 (low competition) to 100 (extremely high competition).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_does_the_score_tell_you\"><\/span>What does the score tell you?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Keyword difficulty in SEO tells you how difficult it\u2019s likely to be to rank for a particular keyword in relation to the strength of the competition. However, there\u2019s no standard for calculating the difficulty or competition to rank for a particular keyword.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Various tools measure it differently, and scores can vary significantly based on which one you use.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re interested in this, it\u2019s worth checking out Backlinko\u2019s research into <a href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/hub\/seo\/keyword-difficulty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">keyword difficulty scores across different SEO tools<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most tools factor the strength and number of referring domains pointing to the top ranking results in the search engines into their calculation, but many use additional metrics too.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_do_you_find_it\"><\/span>Where do you find it?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There are a variety of different SEO tools that provide a keyword difficulty checker.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It is usually found in the keyword research function of a tool and displayed alongside the search volume metric, labeled <em>difficulty<\/em>, <em>competition<\/em> or <em>KD<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tools_to_check_keyword_difficulty\"><\/span>Tools to check keyword difficulty<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To check the competition for keywords at scale, you will likely need a paid keyword research tool. Here are some of the most well-known:<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ahrefs\"><\/span>Ahrefs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Navigate to <em>Keywords Explorer<\/em> and you can begin your search. The difficulty score is clearly labeled and color-coded along with descriptive text to help you understand the difficulty level.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_it_calculated\"><\/span>How is it calculated?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Ahrefs CMO Tim Soulo <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-difficulty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">explains<\/a> in detail:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere at Ahrefs, we use a simple method for calculating KD. We pull the top 10 ranking pages for your keyword and look up how many websites link to each of them. The more links the top-ranking pages for your keyword have, the higher its KD score. Very simple and very actionable.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Semrush\"><\/span>Semrush<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In the <em>Keyword Overview<\/em> section of Semrush, you\u2019ll find their difficulty metrics. There\u2019s also a <em>KD<\/em> column in keyword reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_it_calculated-2\"><\/span>How is it calculated?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Semrush uses SERP analysis, keyword analysis and a score weighting based on locality. You can read the full details <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/blog\/most-accurate-keyword-difficulty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Moz\"><\/span>Moz<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The keyword explorer in Moz gives you an immediate score that\u2019s easy to find and interpret.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_it_calculated-3\"><\/span>How is it calculated?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In their <a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/help\/keyword-explorer\/keyword-metrics\/difficulty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">help section<\/a>, Moz explains:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeyword Difficulty in Keyword Explorer takes into account the Page Authority (PA) and Domain Authority (DA) scores of the results ranking on the first page of Google for the given query, as well as modifying intelligently for projected click-through rate (CTR) of a given page. Keyword Difficulty puts more weight on higher-ranking, more visible pages, and less weight on lower-ranking, less visible pages. The formula also accounts for newer pages on powerful domains that may have DA scores but have not yet been assigned PA values. The scores roughly correspond to a weighted average of the PA of the top 10, and the other inputs (DA, homepages, query term use, etc.) modify that weighted average.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sistrix\"><\/span>Sistrix<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Head to <em>Keywords<\/em> in the top navigation to reach the keyword explorer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Enter a seed term or a list of terms. You\u2019ll reach an overview page if you use a seed term, and the difficulty score is displayed for that specific term.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Drill down into a keyword list under <em>Contains all keywords<\/em> to reach a table with competition and keyword difficulty.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_is_it_calculated-4\"><\/span>How is it calculated?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Sistrix <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sistrix.com\/faq\/how-is-the-competition-level-calculated\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">states<\/a> they use \u201ca number of values\u201d to calculate their difficulty score. They go on to say:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAround 15 values \u200b\u200bfor each keyword are regularly analysed and summarised in this key figure. These are quite intuitive metrics such as the number of searches, but also more complex observations such as the number of start pages (not sub-pages) in the top 10.<\/p>\n<p>The value has a logarithmic structure. In practice, this means that an increase in the competition key figure by 10 points represents roughly twice as intense competition in the SERPs for this keyword.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As you might expect, each tool is tight-lipped on what exactly goes into its calculation. Each approach is quite different, which explains the varying scores.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick tip:<\/strong> Pick a tool for each project and stick to it. Don\u2019t mix data from different tools, as you won\u2019t be comparing like-for-like when it comes to keyword difficulty.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-inline-form border py-2 px-1 my-2\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 col-xl-4 pe-md-0 pb-2 pb-lg-0\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-7 col-xl-6  pe-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"form-nl-inline\">\n<div class=\"row g-0\">\n<div class=\"form-group col-12 col-lg-8 mb-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4 col-xl-4 mb-0\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<p>Processing\u2026Please wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-dark inlineButton w-100 rounded-0 font-weight-bold\">SUBSCRIBE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-2 col-xl-2 ps-1\">\n<p class=\"text-center mb-0\"><a class=\"nl-terms\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/termsofuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">See terms.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_keyword_difficulty_good_or_bad\"><\/span>Is keyword difficulty good or bad?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Keyword difficulty in itself is neither good nor bad. It\u2019s simply information. <\/p>\n<p>OK, if you have a brand new site to launch with a small budget and all the keywords that are relevant to you have extremely high competition, that&#8217;s bad. But that\u2019s also pretty lousy business planning.<\/p>\n<p>Having an understanding of keyword competitiveness is undoubtedly good. Appreciating how it can work for you gives you a head start on the competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_highlow_keyword_difficulty\"><\/span>What is high\/low keyword difficulty?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In general terms, a high-difficulty keyword has a lot of competition, making it more challenging to rank highly in the organic search results. <\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll likely find some brand names you recognize ranking for high-difficulty terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, let\u2019s take the keyword \u201ciphone 14.\u201d Sistrix gives it a competition score of 67% in the U.S.:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>The SERPs look like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Up against Apple, CNN and Wikipedia, we can see that ranking in the top 10 would be a challenge for smaller brands.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Broadly speaking, low difficulty means that the competition isn\u2019t as fierce. You might find less relevant results and may spot some niche websites that aren\u2019t household names.<\/p>\n<p>Now let\u2019s switch that earlier example to a term with much lower difficulty \u201chow to turn off iphone 14.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>The competition level is just 33%. You\u2019re still up against some big names, but you can also see some in there that you might not recognize.<\/p>\n<p>This shows that if you create some really useful and relevant content, you might have a shot at ranking fairly well.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>When you\u2019re looking at keyword competition, everything is relative.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is why I love using color scales to review a keyword list. It helps to visualize the highs and lows in relation to the dataset you&#8217;re working from.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve drawn up a list of keywords you&#8217;re interested in for a new page or piece of content, you can look at the difficulty spread across the whole list.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_a_good_keyword_difficulty\"><\/span>What is a good keyword difficulty?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This is where things get tricky. A \u201cgood\u201d keyword difficulty is a sweet spot relative to all the other considerations you have to make.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The best approach is to gather all the relevant information, including competition scores, and use this all to make strategic decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no easy task, but the more frequently you do it, the more you learn.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Factors_to_consider_when_looking_for_a_good_keyword\"><\/span>Factors to consider when looking for a good keyword<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There are various considerations to make when assessing a keyword\u2019s viability. It\u2019s a balance between the following:<\/p>\n<p>Search volume.<\/p>\n<p>Your site\u2019s current strength in the market.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The strength of your backlink profile.<\/p>\n<p>How competitive a term is in relation to other terms you <strong>could<\/strong> target (difficulty).<\/p>\n<p>How well your content can fulfill search intent.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll come to your decisions by weighing up these factors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_choose_keyword_difficulty\"><\/span>How do I choose keyword difficulty?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When you\u2019re reviewing difficulty scores, it\u2019s not a case of choosing a number or a specific difficulty level. It\u2019s simply a useful metric to help you understand the playing field.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Difficulty scores are a small but important part of choosing keywords for SEO. My process is as follows:<\/p>\n<p>Enter my seed keyword into an SEO tool that provides search volume and keyword competition or difficulty metrics.<\/p>\n<p>Select all the relevant keyword options and save them in a list.<\/p>\n<p>Export the list to Google Sheets or Excel.<\/p>\n<p>Sort by search volume (highest first).<\/p>\n<p>Format the search volume and keyword difficulty columns with color scales.<\/p>\n<p>Use the color scales as visual clues to spot keywords with high(er) search volumes and low(er) difficulty scores.<\/p>\n<p>Pick out one or two primary and a handful of secondary keywords you\u2019re most interested in.<\/p>\n<p>Review the search intent for this refined list, look at what currently ranks and be honest with yourself about whether you plan to create a page that will fulfill that search intent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Remove any keywords from your refined list that don\u2019t line up with search intent.<\/p>\n<p>Always keep the domain you\u2019re working on in mind. If you\u2019re a big brand with a high authority site, you might not need to be as concerned with keyword competition as a small to medium-sized business that needs to seize every opportunity to gain ground in the SERPs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You should be left with a qualified list of target keywords to help you focus your content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example of how I use color scales to visualize the opportunities:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Here, \u201cwall stickers for kids\u201d looks like an interesting opportunity with a relatively high search volume (for my current dataset) and relatively low difficulty.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Without keyword research, I might have assumed that \u201cwall stickers\u201d was the obvious term to go after, but it&#8217;s <strong>much<\/strong> more competitive and has a slightly lower search volume. <\/p>\n<p>So assuming my range is for kids, I\u2019ve found a possible target keyword here.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"But%E2%80%A6_are_keywords_still_important_for_SEO\"><\/span>But\u2026 are keywords still important for SEO?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There&#8217;s a much higher focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-reiterates-guidance-on-ai-generated-content-write-content-for-people-392840\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AI<\/a>, machine learning, <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/seo-guide-large-language-models-413227\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">natural language processing<\/a> and voice search today, and even Google Analytics has hidden a lot of its keyword data (not provided).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So you\u2019re probably wondering why it\u2019s even worth all this time and effort considering a keyword difficulty score.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, keywords are still vitally important. This type of research gives you insight into what your target market is looking for and how they search for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This can be interesting, surprising and even amusing at times! There\u2019s no filter when we search as we have a level of anonymity that allows direct and honest questions to be asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It also informs you about what your competition views as important and how you might be able to outsmart them or spot an opportunity they haven\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Keyword research can help you uncover new opportunities for products, product ranges or content. <\/p>\n<p>Without regularly checking what people are searching for, you could miss out on new trends that initially have lower difficulty because the competition hasn&#8217;t caught up yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>How you create good, helpful and authoritative content to satisfy these queries is a different question, but understanding your marketplace in the SERPs is a step you should never miss.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A focused keyword list helps you keep your eye on the opportunities and forms the backbone of your overall strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_find_low-difficulty_keywords\"><\/span>How to find low-difficulty keywords<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You can filter or sort any dataset by keyword difficulty to find low-competition keywords. <\/p>\n<p>But if you want to begin your search by looking for keywords that are easier to rank for, here are a few methods you could also try:\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Adding_search_qualifiers\"><\/span>Adding search qualifiers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Refine your broad search by adding qualifiers. You can add words like \u201cfor,\u201d \u201cto\u201d and \u201cvs\u201d to narrow down the options. You\u2019ll get some more specific phrases, and usually, the difficulty score will be lower.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Looking_for_the_long_tail\"><\/span>Looking for the long tail<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>By their nature, <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/long-tail-keywords-seo-tips-392307\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">long-tail queries<\/a> tend to be more detailed, specific and lower competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Because their search volumes are lower, there\u2019s usually some low-hanging fruit for long-tail keywords.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Getting_ahead_of_trends\"><\/span>Getting ahead of trends<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Using tools like Google Trends, Pinterest Trends, TikTok Trends and Exploding Topics, look out for new areas of interest in your niche.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you identify these early enough, the competition will likely be lower. There\u2019s always a gamble here, though.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You can never be sure which trends will stick or how quickly the competition will catch on, potentially displacing your position in the SERPs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_keyword_difficulty_important\"><\/span>Why is keyword difficulty important?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are so many reasons keyword difficulty is an essential metric in SEO:<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_strategic\"><\/span>It\u2019s strategic<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Keyword difficulty is really important because it allows us to think strategically. As time-poor SEOs, we want to make the biggest impact with our work. <\/p>\n<p>Understanding the competition in the SERPs quickly and efficiently provides a huge help with that.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"It_helps_us_make_decisions_%E2%80%93_lots_of_them\"><\/span>It helps us make decisions \u2013 lots of them<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>We can evaluate whether to spend a lot or a little effort on new content based on the level of competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We can decide not to use any resources on trying to rank highly for certain keywords and gain recognition for highly competitive product ranges by other means like PPC, email or other forms of advertising.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We can choose whether to focus our efforts on-page or off-page.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"It_helps_us_to_be_smarter_with_our_limited_resources\"><\/span>It helps us to be smarter with our limited resources<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>When used as part of our strategy, keyword difficulty helps us to work smarter, not harder.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a metric that helps us narrow down large amounts of data quickly and understand our opportunities quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"It_can_help_you_manage_expectations\"><\/span>It can help you manage expectations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Sharing this metric with stakeholders can also help you to communicate more effectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Having something quantifiable that demonstrates you\u2019ll have to work harder or allocate more resources can help you secure the provision you need.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Discussing this measure upfront can aid understanding, helping managers or business owners visualize why ranking for certain keywords is more challenging and might take longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Managing_keyword_competition_in_your_SEO_campaigns\"><\/span>Managing keyword competition in your SEO campaigns<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While I\u2019m a huge advocate for collecting and reviewing keyword difficulty metrics, it\u2019s also important not to get too hung up on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As we\u2019ve seen, each tool measures this notion in a different way. Keyword competition is more of a concept than an exact science.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I like to see this data as a signpost, not an instruction.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s there to help us make informed decisions at scale. You can read the signs and still choose to take a different turn.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, if something looks too difficult, but it\u2019s a key part of your product range or service provision, go for it anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It might just take a little longer to get to the place you\u2019d like to be, but at least you\u2019ll know what to expect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/keyword-difficulty-seo-427048\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keyword difficulty in SEO guide: Everything you need to know<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Keyword difficulty isn\u2019t one of SEO\u2019s hottest topics or latest trends. But it is a powerful metric when you understand its potential. It can help you to make educated decisions about your prospects of ranking for specific terms, allowing you to make tactical choices that underpin your SEO strategy. Here\u2019s what keyword difficulty means for SEO, how the score is measured and tips for using it to get better results. What is keyword difficulty? Keyword difficulty is a metric that quantifies how competitive a keyword is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9559\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}