Discover what keyword difficulty means in SEO, how the score is determined, and practical ways to use it for better outcomes.
While keyword difficulty isn’t the trendiest SEO topic, it remains a vital metric once you understand its value.
It helps you evaluate your chances of ranking for certain search terms, enabling smarter and more strategic SEO decisions.
What is Keyword Difficulty?
Keyword difficulty is a measurement that indicates how competitive a keyword is and how hard it may be to rank for it. Scores generally range from 1 (easiest) to 100 (toughest competition).
What Does the Score Represent?
In SEO, keyword difficulty reflects the effort required to rank for a keyword compared to the strength of competing websites. There isn’t a universal formula for calculating this, so scores may differ across SEO tools.
Most tools assess factors like the authority and number of backlinks pointing to top-ranking pages, though many also include other ranking signals in their evaluations.
For deeper insights, you can review Backlinko’s analysis of how different tools calculate keyword difficulty scores.
Where Can You Find Keyword Difficulty?
Several SEO platforms include a keyword difficulty checker.
You’ll typically find it within the keyword research section of a tool, shown alongside search volume data and labeled as difficulty, competition, or KD.
Popular Tools to Measure Keyword Difficulty
To analyze keyword competition in detail, a paid SEO tool is often required. Below are some of the leading options:
Ahrefs
Head to the Keywords Explorer to begin your search. The difficulty score appears clearly, using both colors and descriptive text to make the level of competition easy to understand.
How Ahrefs Calculates KD
Tim Soulo, CMO of Ahrefs, explains:
“At Ahrefs, we use a straightforward approach. We take the top 10 ranking pages for your keyword and review how many unique websites link to each. The more backlinks those pages have, the higher the keyword difficulty score. It’s simple and practical.”
Semrush
In Semrush, keyword difficulty can be viewed in the Keyword Overview dashboard, as well as in the KD column across keyword reports.
How Is Keyword Difficulty Calculated?
Semrush
Semrush bases its difficulty score on SERP evaluation, keyword data analysis, and weighted scoring influenced by location. Full details are available in their documentation.
Moz
Moz’s Keyword Explorer provides a clear, easy-to-understand score.
According to Moz’s help section:
“Keyword Difficulty in Keyword Explorer factors in the Page Authority (PA) and Domain Authority (DA) of sites ranking on the first page of Google. It also adjusts intelligently for the projected click-through rate (CTR) of each result. More emphasis is placed on higher-ranking, highly visible pages, while less weight is given to results lower down. The system also accounts for newer pages on authoritative domains that may have DA but lack PA scores. Essentially, it works like a weighted average of the PA of the top 10 results, with DA, homepage presence, and query usage refining that average.”
Sistrix
In Sistrix, you can access the Keyword Explorer via the navigation menu. Enter a single seed keyword or a group of terms to view the overview page, which displays the keyword difficulty score. By narrowing down to Contains all keywords, you can see a detailed table showing competition and difficulty metrics.
Sistrix explains their method as follows:
“Roughly 15 factors are analyzed for each keyword, from search volume to more complex aspects such as the number of homepages (rather than subpages) in the top 10 results. The score follows a logarithmic scale, meaning a 10-point increase indicates about double the level of competition in the SERPs.”
As expected, tools do not disclose their full formulas, and since each uses its own methodology, the scores often differ.
Pro Tip: Choose one SEO tool for a project and remain consistent. Mixing data from different platforms will give you misleading comparisons since the scoring systems are not the same.
Is Keyword Difficulty Good or Bad?
Keyword difficulty itself is neutral—it’s simply a measurement.
If you’re launching a new website with limited resources and your target terms all show very high competition, that could be problematic. But that’s more of a strategic planning issue than a fault of the metric.
On the positive side, knowing the competitiveness of keywords is extremely valuable. Understanding how to apply keyword difficulty to your strategy gives you an edge over competitors.
What Is High or Low Keyword Difficulty?
In simple terms, a keyword with high difficulty has heavy competition, which makes it harder to rank in organic search results.
For example, the keyword “iPhone 14” carries a 67% competition score in the U.S. (Sistrix). Competing against giants like Apple, CNN, and Wikipedia means smaller sites will find it tough to break into the top 10 results.
On the other hand, a low-difficulty keyword suggests less intense competition. You might notice niche websites or less authoritative domains ranking. For instance, the phrase “how to turn off iPhone 14” has just a 33% difficulty score. While big names still appear, smaller sites also have a chance, making it more realistic for well-crafted, relevant content to rank.
Ultimately, keyword competition is relative—using color-coded scales in spreadsheets can help visualize which terms are harder or easier within your chosen set of keywords.
What Is a Good Keyword Difficulty?
There’s no single “perfect” difficulty score. A good keyword difficulty depends on context—balancing competition, search volume, and your site’s authority. The key is to use the data as guidance, then make strategic decisions. Over time, experience makes this process easier.
Factors That Influence Keyword Viability:
- Search volume potential
- Your site’s current authority
- The quality and strength of your backlinks
- Relative competition among other keywords you could target
- How effectively your content meets search intent
How to Choose Keyword Difficulty
You don’t simply pick a number—it’s about using keyword difficulty as one metric within a broader process. A sample workflow could look like this:
- Enter a seed keyword into an SEO tool that shows search volume and difficulty.
- Collect all relevant terms into a keyword list.
- Export the list into Google Sheets or Excel.
- Sort by search volume, then apply color scales to both search volume and difficulty.
- Identify high-volume, lower-difficulty keywords.
- Select one or two primary keywords and a few supporting ones.
- Check the search intent of those terms and compare with current top-ranking results.
- Eliminate keywords that don’t align with intent or your content goals.
- Keep your website’s authority in mind—larger brands can compete for tougher terms, while smaller sites should focus on opportunities with lower barriers.
The outcome should be a refined, qualified list of keywords that helps guide your content strategy.
Are Keywords Still Important for SEO?
With today’s emphasis on AI, machine learning, natural language processing, and voice search—and the fact that Google Analytics hides much of its keyword data—you might question whether keyword research is still worthwhile.
The answer is yes: keywords remain crucial. Studying them reveals what your audience is searching for and how they phrase their queries. Sometimes the results are surprising or even amusing, since users ask search engines questions without filters or hesitation.
Keyword research also provides insight into your competitors’ priorities and can uncover opportunities they’ve missed. It may even spark ideas for new content, products, or services. Regularly monitoring search behavior helps you spot emerging trends, often with low difficulty before competitors catch up.
While creating quality, authoritative content is what truly drives rankings, understanding keyword difficulty and search intent forms the foundation of any effective SEO strategy. A focused keyword list keeps your efforts aligned and opportunity-driven.
How to Find Low-Difficulty Keywords
- Filter by keyword difficulty: Most SEO tools allow you to sort results by difficulty, quickly highlighting easier opportunities.
- Use search qualifiers: Add words like for, to, or vs to a broad search to uncover more specific phrases that typically carry lower competition.
- Target long-tail queries: Longer, detailed search terms often come with lower difficulty and provide valuable “low-hanging fruit.”
- Leverage trend tools: Platforms like Google Trends, Pinterest Trends, TikTok Trends, and Exploding Topics can help identify rising topics early. Getting in before the competition can give you an edge, though not every trend will last.
Why Is Keyword Difficulty Important?
There are several reasons why keyword difficulty is a vital SEO metric:
1. It Enables Strategic Thinking
Keyword difficulty helps SEOs prioritize their efforts. With limited time and resources, focusing on opportunities that deliver the greatest impact is essential. Quickly understanding the competition in the SERPs allows for smarter planning.
2. It Supports Better Decision-Making
Difficulty scores guide decisions on how much effort to invest in creating new content. Sometimes it makes sense to avoid chasing extremely competitive keywords and instead pursue visibility through PPC, email marketing, or other channels. It also helps determine whether focus should be on on-page or off-page strategies.
3. It Optimizes Resource Allocation
By filtering vast datasets into manageable insights, keyword difficulty allows marketers to target opportunities efficiently and work more intelligently rather than harder.
4. It Helps Manage Expectations
Sharing keyword difficulty data with stakeholders makes it easier to communicate challenges. Having a measurable metric shows why certain keywords will take more effort and time to rank for, helping secure buy-in and resources.
Managing Keyword Competition
While keyword difficulty is valuable, it shouldn’t be treated as absolute. Each tool calculates it differently, so consider it a guiding signal rather than a strict rule.
At times, even if a keyword looks tough, it may be central to your business offering. Pursuing it is still worthwhile—you’ll just be better prepared for the time and effort required.
FAQs on Keyword Difficulty in SEO
Q1. What does keyword difficulty mean in SEO?
Keyword difficulty is a metric that shows how competitive a keyword is and how challenging it may be to rank for it in search results.
Q2. How is keyword difficulty calculated?
Different SEO tools use different formulas. Most commonly, it is calculated by analyzing factors such as the number and quality of backlinks, domain authority, and the competitiveness of the top-ranking pages.
Q3. What is considered a low keyword difficulty score?
Generally, a score closer to 0–30 indicates low competition, making it easier for smaller or newer websites to rank.
Q4. What is considered a high keyword difficulty score?
A score above 70 typically suggests very strong competition, often dominated by high-authority domains and well-established brands.
Q5. Which tools can I use to check keyword difficulty?
Popular tools include Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, Sistrix, and Ubersuggest. Each calculates keyword difficulty differently.
Q6. Is keyword difficulty the only factor in choosing keywords?
No. You should also consider search volume, search intent, your site’s authority, and content relevance when deciding which keywords to target.
Q7. Can low-difficulty keywords still drive good traffic?
Yes. Low-difficulty keywords often come in the form of long-tail queries. They may have lower search volumes but can bring in highly targeted traffic.
Q8. Should I avoid high-difficulty keywords altogether?
Not necessarily. If a keyword is essential to your business or brand, you can still pursue it—it may just take more time, resources, and strategy to rank.
Q9. How often should I check keyword difficulty?
It’s a good practice to review keyword difficulty regularly, especially when planning new content or refreshing your SEO strategy, as competition levels can change over time.
Q10. Why do keyword difficulty scores vary between SEO tools?
Each tool uses its own formula and weighting factors (such as backlinks, domain authority, or CTR predictions), which leads to different difficulty scores for the same keyword.
