Keyword difficulty is a metric used to estimate how difficult it would be for your site to rank in the search engine results pages (SERPs). It is based on several factors, including the competition’s capabilities, market trends, and the audience’s interests. It is one of the most important aspects to consider when selecting keywords.
There are a number of different tools that calculate keyword difficulty. Some use a numeric score, while others use a percentage. While each tool has its own method for calculating keyword difficulty, they all base their scores on Google’s ranking factors. These factors include content relevance and backlinks.
Generally speaking, keywords with a low keyword difficulty score will be easier to rank for. This means that you can expect a quick return on your investment. On the other hand, keywords with a high keyword difficulty score will take more time and effort to rank for.
The best way to determine how hard it will be to rank for a particular keyword is to compare the search volume with the keyword difficulty score. If you have a keyword with a high difficulty score but low search volume, it may not be worth your while to create a piece of content around it. However, if the keyword is central to your business and has high search volume, it might be worth pursuing even if it’s more challenging.
Another factor that influences keyword difficulty is the type of search intent. Long-tail queries tend to have lower keyword difficulty scores than broad searches. This is because they are more specific and often reflect a deeper level of intent. By contrast, broad searches usually have higher search volume but also represent a broader range of search intents.
Finally, the domain authority of your website plays a role in how easy it will be for you to rank for a particular keyword. Moz and Ahrefs, for example, both use domain authority as part of their keyword difficulty calculations. While this is useful, it’s important to remember that domain authority is not a ranking factor for Google.