Keyword Difficulty

Why It Matters

Keyword difficulty helps prioritize which keywords to target based on your site's authority. Targeting keywords too difficult wastes resources, while targeting only easy keywords limits growth. Finding the right balance maximizes ROI and ranking success rates.

How It Works

SEO tools calculate difficulty by analyzing top 10 ranking pages for domain authority, page authority, backlinks, content depth, and on-page optimization. Higher scores indicate stronger competition requiring more authority and effort to outrank.

Use Cases

• A new site targets keywords with difficulty under 30, achieving page 1 rankings within 3 months
• An established site with DA 50 focuses on difficulty 40-60 keywords, balancing achievability with traffic potential
• A blogger uses difficulty scores to prioritize content calendar, tackling easier keywords first for quick wins

Best Practices

• Match keyword difficulty to your domain authority - target difficulty scores 10-20 points below your DA
• Start with lower difficulty keywords (under 30) for new sites to build initial authority
• Combine difficulty with search volume and intent for comprehensive keyword prioritization
• Use multiple tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz) as difficulty scores vary between platforms
• Target long-tail variations of difficult keywords to capture related traffic more easily
• Reassess difficulty as your domain authority grows to tackle progressively competitive terms