What is Keyword Difficulty & Why Is It Important?

Keyword difficulty is the metric that determines whether you’ll rank in weeks or never rank at all. While everyone obsesses over search volume, this critical number predicts how hard it will be to appear on page one for a specific term.

Generally, keywords that get more than 100,000 searches usually have a 76% difficulty score. Lower volume keywords are easier to rank with scores around 39%. These numbers directly affect your chances of showing up in search results. Keyword difficulty is a vital SEO metric.

This blog post covers everything you need to know about keyword difficulty and also how to boost your ranking chances. Let’s get started!

What is Keyword Difficulty?

SEO success starts with understanding the key metrics that affect your ranking potential. Keyword difficulty ranks among the vital indicators that will shape your content strategy.

Keyword difficulty (or SEO difficulty) tells you how hard it will be to rank for a specific keyword in search engine results pages (SERPs). 

Keyword difficulty is a vital SEO metric ranging from 0% to 100%. A 0% score means you’ll have the easiest time ranking, while 100% shows you’re up against the toughest competition out there.

Let’s see why it’s so important.

Why is Keyword Difficulty Important?

Keyword difficulty plays a key role in SEO. This metric helps you:

• Figure out a keyword’s competition before you invest resources
• Know your chances of landing on the first page of search results
• Make smart decisions about keyword targeting
• Use your content creation resources wisely

SEO tools show keyword difficulty next to search volume, usually labeled as “difficulty,” “competition,” or “KD”. Each tool calculates this score differently, which explains why you’ll see different numbers across platforms.

Moreover, generative AI is causing major SEO shifts. And understanding keyword difficulty allows you to:

1. Prioritize your SEO efforts
2. Set realistic expectations for ranking
3. Identify low-hanging fruit opportunities
4. Allocate resources more effectively

By incorporating keyword difficulty analysis into your SEO strategy, you can make data-driven decisions that lead to better rankings and increased organic traffic. 

This is where tools like the Writesonic SEO AI Agent can be particularly helpful, offering real-time data and automated analysis to streamline your keyword research process. The tool can also help you assess the keyword difficulty and give insights or recommendations on how to improve. SEO AI Agent can not only help you rank higher on Google but also on AI searches.

Learn more about Generative Engine Optimization and how to do Generative Engine Optimization.

Why not give SEO AI Agent a try and see the difference?

Keyword Difficulty vs Keyword Competition

SEO experts often mix up keyword difficulty with keyword competition, but these metrics look at different parts of the search landscape.

Keyword difficulty looks at organic search competition and shows how tough it would be to rank in unpaid search results. This score factors in backlink profiles, domain authority, and content quality of pages that rank at the top.

Keyword competition in Google’s Keyword Planner specifically looks at paid search advertising (PPC). It shows how many advertisers bid on a keyword compared to all Google keywords. You’ll see this as “Low,” “Medium,” or “High” – it relates to advertising, not organic rankings.

A keyword might show tough competition in Google Ads but have low difficulty for organic search, or the other way around. This difference helps you avoid wrong moves when planning content and SEO strategy.

How To Calculate Keyword Difficulty?

Understanding how keyword difficulty is calculated is essential for crafting an effective SEO plan that balances opportunity with achievable goals. While the exact algorithms used by different tools may vary, most consider several key factors:

1. Backlink Profiles: The number and quality of backlinks pointing to the top-ranking pages for a keyword.
2. Domain Authority: The overall strength and trustworthiness of the domain’s ranking for the keyword.
3. Content Quality: The relevance and depth of content on competing pages.
4. Search Volume: The number of monthly searches for the keyword.
5. SERP Features: The presence of featured snippets, knowledge panels, or other special search result features.

It’s worth noting that while these AI SEO tools provide valuable insights, they shouldn’t be the only factor in your decision-making process. 

The Writesonic SEO AI Agent can help you interpret these scores in context, considering your specific niche and website authority to provide more personalized recommendations.

How Keyword Difficulty Scores Work?

Let’s explore how keyword difficulty scores work and what they mean for your SEO strategy. You’ll learn to make smarter decisions about keyword targeting and resource allocation when you understand these scores better.

The 0-100 scale

A standardized scale from 0 to 100 makes it easy to understand keyword competition levels. 0 represents virtually no competition and 100 indicates maximum difficulty with very competitive keywords.

Most SEO tools use this numerical scale with visual indicators that help with quick analysis. To name just one example, many platforms show:

• Green for low-difficulty keywords (easy to rank for)
• Yellow for moderate difficulty
• Red for high-difficulty keywords that need lots of work

This color system lets you scan through keyword lists quickly and spot opportunities without analyzing each score in detail.

What do different score ranges mean for your ranking chances

Your chances of ranking success depend on understanding what these difficulty ranges mean. Semrush classifies them this way:

• 0-14 (Very easy): New websites have the best shot here. Quality content that matches search intent helps you rank quickly.
• 15-29 (Easy): These keywords work well for newer domains despite some competition. Good content that matches keyword intent is your key to success.
• 30-49 (Possible): Well-laid-out, optimized content is essential. Sites with some authority do better with these keywords.
• 50-69 (Difficult): Quality content alone won’t cut it – you’ll need some high-quality backlinks too.
• 70-84 (Hard): Success demands outstanding content and serious link building efforts.
• 85-100 (Very hard): These top-tier keywords need massive resources for content, links, on-page SEO, and promotion.

Your website’s authority determines which range you should target. New sites should stick to the 0-29 range, while sites with strong backlink profiles can tackle keywords in the 30-69 range.

How various SEO tools calculate difficulty scores

SEO tools use different methods to calculate keyword difficulty, even though they all use the 0-100 scale:

1. Ahrefs keeps it simple by focusing mainly on backlinks, specifically counting referring domains to top-ranking pages. They look at backlink profiles of the top 10 results to figure out how many links you’d need.

2. Semrush takes a broader approach with weighted factors:

• 41.22% for median referring domains
• 16.99% for median authority score
• 9.47% for search volume
• Plus other elements like SERP features and branded keywords

3. Keywords Everywhere uses a clear formula that combines on-page and off-page factors:

• SEO Difficulty = (35% On-Page Difficulty + 65% Off-Page Difficulty) + 20% bonus for branded queries

4. Moz looks at both Page Authority and Domain Authority using their own algorithm based on more than 40 factors.

5. Writesonic SEO AI Agent offers customized difficulty assessment by analyzing your website’s competitive position instead of just using universal difficulty scores. This approach helps you find keywords that work specifically for your site, giving you an edge in your ranking strategy.

These different calculation methods explain why you might see different difficulty scores for the same keyword across tools. The best practice is to use one tool for your comparisons rather than switching between platforms.

How Keyword Difficulty Shapes Your Content Strategy?

Keyword difficulty guides your content planning by helping you:

1. Know what to expect: The score tells you how long ranking might take. Tougher keywords need more time and resources.
2. Focus your work: Quick wins come from targeting low to medium difficulty keywords that match your business goals while you build authority for competitive terms.
3. Mix your keywords: A good content strategy uses keywords with different difficulty levels—easy wins, strategic picks, and reach goals.
4. Use resources wisely: The difficulty score shows how much work you’ll need for content creation and link building.
5. Talk to your team: Hard numbers about keyword competition make it easier to explain SEO decisions to clients or team members.

Keyword difficulty also reveals opportunities your competitors might miss. Long-tail keywords with lower scores can give you an edge, especially if your website is newer.

Your website’s current strength matters when looking at keyword difficulty. New sites might struggle with medium-difficulty keywords that established sites rank for easily.

Check out this guide on how to find competitors’ keywords.

Tools like Writesonic SEO AI Agent now offer smarter difficulty assessment in 2025. It looks at your website’s unique market position to find keywords that represent real opportunities instead of impossible goals.

Keyword difficulty works best as part of a bigger picture. Look at search volume and search intent too when building your content strategy.

How to Measure Keyword Difficulty: A Step-by-Step Guide

After you grasp the meaning of keyword difficulty, you need to know how to measure keyword difficulty. 

Learning how to measure keyword difficulty accurately is a skill that can significantly improve your SEO outcomes. Here’s a step-by-step process:

1. Choose Your Tool: Select a reliable keyword difficulty checker.
2. Enter Your Keyword: Input the keyword you want to analyze.
3. Analyze the Difficulty Score: Look at the numerical score provided by the tool.
4. Examine Competing Pages: Review the top-ranking pages for the keyword.
5. Check Backlink Profiles: Assess the number and quality of backlinks to competing pages.
6. Consider Your Own Authority: Compare your site’s authority to the top-ranking pages.
7. Evaluate Content Quality: Determine if you can create better content than what’s ranking.
8. Assess SERP Features: Check for featured snippets or other SERP features you could target.

By following these steps, you can get a comprehensive understanding of a keyword’s true difficulty.

However, if you are looking to automate this tedious and manual process, go for Writesonic’s SEO AI Agent. The tool that can help find keyword difficulty and suggest what difficulty to target, strategies to follow, and more to rank higher.

Learn more about SEO automation and how it can help you improve your workflow.

How Writesonic SEO AI Agent Help Assess Keyword Difficulty?

Standard keyword difficulty tools have one main limitation—they show universal scores that don’t consider your website’s competitive position. Writesonic’s SEO AI Agent brings a major improvement here.

Writesonic SEO AI Agent looks at keyword difficulty in context, unlike traditional tools. It connects to data sources like Ahrefs and Semrush to collect ranking data and further checks your website’s actual competitive position for each keyword.

The SEO AI Agent excels at finding:

• Low-competition keywords your competitors missed
• Keywords where your site has an edge
• Opportunities based on your site’s current authority

This AI-powered system offers live data analysis instead of old information. It creates two reports: a detailed Research Analysis Report with raw data and a Final Report with specific recommendations for your website.

The platform helps marketers prioritize keywords by analyzing search intent and competitive position at once. This helps you find opportunities where better intent alignment could help you rank above stronger competitors.

What a Good Keyword Difficulty Score To Target in 2025?

A “good” keyword difficulty score in 2025 doesn’t follow a single pattern. Your specific situation determines the right standards to target keywords effectively.

Industry-specific standards

Each industry faces very different competitive landscapes. E-commerce websites usually see higher difficulty scores than niche blogs or specialized service providers. A “good” keyword difficulty score varies by industry:

Your timeframe plays a big role too. Sites with some authority looking to grow their reach should target keywords with difficulty scores between 30-60.

Balancing difficulty with search volume

Search volume and keyword difficulty create a vital trade-off. Keywords exceeding 100,000 searches typically show 76% difficulty scores. Those with volumes of 11-100 average around 39% difficulty.

The most valuable opportunities come from keywords that have:

• Lower difficulty paired with decent search volume
• Direct relevance to your business goals
• Commercial intent when you need conversions

Your site’s current strength should guide you toward the highest-volume keywords with achievable difficulty scores. A keyword with 500 monthly searches at 25% difficulty often brings better ROI than one with 5,000 searches at 65% difficulty.

Your website’s current authority

Your domain’s authority set the difficulty level you should target. Writesonic SEO AI Agent helps assess your personal keyword difficulty—showing which keywords match your domain’s capabilities.

The practical approach shows:

• New websites work best with keywords under 30 difficulty
• Moderate authority sites can handle the 30-49 range
• Established sites should tackle keywords with 50+ difficulty

The 2025 landscape requires a balance of technical SEO and quality content to tackle tougher keywords. Build a diverse keyword portfolio across difficulty levels and expand into more competitive terms as your authority grows.

Practical Strategies for Different Keyword Difficulty Levels

Your keyword strategy needs tailored approaches based on competition levels. A balanced keyword portfolio can deliver quick traffic wins and sustained growth over time.

Low difficulty (0-30): Quick wins approach

Low-difficulty keywords offer the fastest path to ranking success. These keywords usually have lower search volumes. They can still drive much traffic when you target them strategically. 

Websites with minimal domain authority should target keywords with difficulty scores below 30. These provide realistic ranking opportunities without needing lots of backlinks.

Your low-difficulty keyword strategy should:

• Prioritize content quality instead of quantity to address search intent really well
• Target long-tail variations with clear commercial intent to boost conversions
• Update content regularly to stay fresh and outrank higher-authority competitors

Sites with lower domain trust (DT) can outrank bigger authority sites. The secret lies in creating better-optimized, higher-quality content that meets user needs directly.

Medium difficulty (31-60): The competitive edge

Keywords between 31-60 difficulty need a more refined approach. These moderately competitive terms balance search volume and competition perfectly. They work great for sites that are 6 months old with some authority.

Medium-difficulty keywords rank better when you:

• Create complete content that goes deeper than your competitors
• Build targeted backlinks to boost your page’s authority
• Optimize on-page elements like title tags, headers, and internal links

Writesonic SEO AI Agent helps find content gaps your competitors missed. This lets you create better resources that satisfy search intent, even against tough competition.

High difficulty (61-100): Long-term investment strategy

Keywords above 60 difficulty need serious resources and patience. These competitive terms have huge search volumes. Prominent websites with reliable backlink profiles usually dominate them.

Tackle these challenging keywords by:

• Topic clustering to build authority around your target terms
• Complete link building that focuses on quality
• Content excellence that beats top-ranking pages

High-difficulty keywords need consistent effort for 3-6 months before rankings improve. The potential returns make them worth targeting for established sites with strong domain authority.

Common Misconceptions About Keyword Difficulty

As with any SEO metric, there are some misconceptions about keyword difficulty that need clarification:

1. Myth: High difficulty always means impossible to rank.
   Reality: With the right strategy and high-quality content, you can rank for difficult keywords over time.

2. Myth: Low difficulty guarantees easy ranking.
   Reality: Other factors like relevance and content quality still play crucial roles.

3. Myth: Keyword difficulty scores are universal across all tools.
   Reality: Different tools use different methodologies, so scores can vary.

4. Myth: Keyword difficulty is static.
   Reality: It can change over time as the competitive landscape evolves.

5. Myth: Only focus on low-difficulty keywords for quick wins.
   Reality: A balanced approach targeting a range of difficulties is often more effective long-term.

By understanding these nuances, you can use keyword difficulty more effectively in your SEO strategy.

Automate SEO Efforts With Writesonic’s SEO AI Agent

Keyword difficulty scores guide you toward SEO success and help make strategic decisions about which terms deserve your attention. These scores help you create a balanced keyword portfolio that aligns with your website’s strengths and future growth plans.

Your keyword targeting strategy should take an integrated approach. Quick wins come from low-difficulty keywords (0-30). Your site can then target medium-difficulty terms (31-60) as its authority increases. High-difficulty keywords (61-100) need proper investment but provide substantial rewards when approaching them strategically.

Writesonic SEO AI Agent excels as your ideal partner for smarter keyword difficulty assessment. It provides tailored insights based on your website’s competitive position instead of generic difficulty scores. This targeted approach lets you spot real ranking opportunities that others often miss.

Why not give it a try and see the difference?

Pragati Gupta

Content Marketer

Pragati Gupta is a Content Marketer @Writesonic, specializing in AI, SEO, and strategic B2B writing. Leveraging the power of Generative AI, she produces high-impact content that drives superior ROI.