Keyword difficulty analysis is a crucial skill for any SEO professional. It helps you determine how hard it is to rank for a given keyword or phrase in the search engines.
By understanding the level of competition and the factors that influence it, you can optimize your content and strategy accordingly.
But how do you measure keyword difficulty? What tools and metrics should you use? And how do you use the results to improve your SEO performance?
In this blog post, we will answer these questions and more. We will explain what keyword difficulty is, why it matters, and how to measure it using various methods and tools.
We will also share some tips and best practices on how to use keyword difficulty analysis to boost your SEO rankings and traffic.
Let’s get started!
What is Keyword Difficulty and Why Does It Matter?
Keyword difficulty, also known as keyword competition, is a measure of how hard it is to rank for a specific keyword or phrase in the organic search results.
It is influenced by several factors, such as:
- The number and quality of competing pages for the keyword
- The authority and relevance of the competing domains and pages
- The search intent and user behavior of the keyword
- The search engine algorithm and ranking factors
Keyword difficulty matters because it helps you assess the feasibility and profitability of targeting a keyword.
It helps you answer questions like:
- How much effort and resources will it take to rank for this keyword?
- How likely am I to outrank the existing competitors for this keyword?
- How much traffic and revenue can I expect from ranking for this keyword?
By answering these questions, you can prioritize your keywords based on their difficulty and potential value.
You can also tailor your content and SEO strategy to match the level of competition and the user intent for each keyword.
How to Measure Keyword Difficulty Using Keyword Research Tools?
One of the easiest and most common ways to measure keyword difficulty is to use keyword research tools.
These tools provide various metrics and indicators that help you estimate the level of competition and the ranking difficulty for a keyword.
Some of the most popular keyword research tools are:
Each tool has its way of calculating and displaying keyword difficulty, but they usually use a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 means very easy and 100 means very hard.
They also provide other useful information, such as:
- The search volume and trend of the keyword
- The cost-per-click (CPC) and the estimated value of the keyword
- The top-ranking pages and domains for the keyword
- The backlink profile and the domain authority of the competitors
- The keyword difficulty score and the ranking difficulty for the keyword
To measure keyword difficulty using keyword research tools, you need to follow these steps:
Enter your keyword or phrase in the tool’s search box and Select your Target Country and Language (if necessary).
Review the Keyword Difficulty Score and the ranking difficulty for the keyword. The higher the score, the harder it is to rank for the keyword. The ranking difficulty is usually expressed as a color-coded label, such as easy, medium, hard, or super hard.
Analyze the other metrics and indicators provided by the tool, such as the Search Volume, CPC, Value, Top-Ranking Pages, and Backlink Profile. These will help you understand the level of competition and the potential value of the keyword.
Compare the keyword difficulty and the other metrics with your own website’s Authority and Relevance. This will help you determine how realistic and profitable it is to target the keyword.
Repeat the process for other keywords that you want to measure and compare.
How to Measure Keyword Difficulty Using Manual Methods?
Another way to measure keyword difficulty is to use manual methods. These methods involve analyzing the search engine results page (SERP) and the competing pages for a keyword using your own eyes and judgment.
Some of the manual methods that you can use are:
SERP analysis: This method involves looking at the SERP for a keyword and evaluating the number and quality of the results. You can use the following criteria to assess the difficulty of a keyword:
The number of results: The more results there are, the more competitive the keyword is.
The type of results: The more diverse the results are, such as images, videos, featured snippets, etc., the more difficult the keyword is.
The authority of the results: The higher the authority of the domains and pages that rank for the keyword, the harder the keyword is.
The relevance of the results: The more relevant the results are to the keyword and the user intent, the more difficult the keyword is.
Competitor analysis: This method involves looking at the top-ranking pages for a keyword and evaluating their content and SEO factors. You can use the following criteria to assess the difficulty of a keyword:
The content quality: The better the content quality of the competing pages, the more difficult the keyword is.
The content length: The longer the content length of the competing pages, the more difficult the keyword is.
Content optimization: The more optimized the content of the competing pages is for the keyword and the user intent, the more difficult the keyword is.
The backlink profile: The stronger the backlink profile of the competing pages, the more difficult the keyword is.
To measure keyword difficulty using manual methods, you need to follow these steps:
- Enter your keyword or phrase in the search engine and look at the SERP. Use the SERP analysis criteria to evaluate the difficulty of the keyword.
- Click on the top-ranking pages for the keyword and look at their content and SEO factors. Use the competitor analysis criteria to evaluate the difficulty of the keyword.
- Compare the difficulty of the keyword with your own website’s authority and relevance. This will help you determine how realistic and profitable it is to target the keyword.
- Repeat the process for other keywords that you want to measure and compare.
How to Use Keyword Difficulty Analysis to Improve Your SEO Performance
Once you have measured the keyword difficulty for your target keywords, you can use the results to improve your SEO performance. Here are some tips and best practices on how to use keyword difficulty analysis to boost your SEO rankings and traffic:
Prioritize your keywords based on their difficulty and value. Focus on the keywords that have low to medium difficulty and high value.
These are the keywords that are easier to rank for and have more potential to drive traffic and revenue.
Optimize your content and SEO strategy for each keyword. Create high-quality, relevant, and engaging content that matches the user intent and the search engine algorithm for each keyword.
Use the best SEO practices, such as keyword placement, title tags, meta descriptions, headings, internal links, etc., to optimize your content for each keyword.
Build backlinks and authority for your website and pages. Acquire high-quality, relevant, and natural backlinks from other authoritative and trustworthy websites that link to your content and pages.
This will help you increase your website’s authority and relevance, which will improve your chances of ranking for your target keywords.
Monitor your keyword rankings and traffic. Track and measure your keyword rankings and traffic using tools such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or other SEO tools.
Analyze your performance and identify the keywords that are driving the most traffic and conversions. Adjust your content and SEO strategy accordingly to maintain or improve your results.
Conclusion
Keyword difficulty analysis is a vital skill for any SEO professional. It helps you determine how hard it is to rank for a specific keyword or phrase in the search engines. By understanding the level of competition and the factors that influence it, you can optimize your content and strategy accordingly.
To measure keyword difficulty, you can use various methods and tools, such as keyword research tools, SERP analysis, and competitor analysis. These methods and tools provide different metrics and indicators that help you estimate the difficulty and the value of a keyword.
To use keyword difficulty analysis to improve your SEO performance, you need to prioritize your keywords based on their difficulty and value, optimize your content and SEO strategy for each keyword, build backlinks and authority for your website and pages, and monitor your keyword rankings and traffic.
We hope this blog post has helped you understand what keyword difficulty analysis is and how to measure it. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. We would love to hear from you!