Check Keyword Difficulty

What is the Keyword Difficulty Checker?

A keyword difficulty checker is an online tool that evaluates how challenging it is to rank on the first page of search engine results (SERPs) for a specific keyword. It instantly gathers search results data and uses its algorithms to estimate the ranking difficulty for any keyword. In this case, we’re using data from the extensive Semrush Keyword Difficulty Tool, to bring you free access to a smaller set of useful data.

Understanding keyword difficulty in SEO

Every website has its own dream keyword list, aligned with its specific needs and niche. But your competitors are vying for those same keywords, with only 10 prime spots available on a SERP. If you create content for your dream keywords without first assessing how difficult they are to rank, you risk investing time and effort into creating content that may not be the best first-choice strategically.

That’s where keyword difficulty comes into play. Understanding how hard it will be to rank for keywords allows you to create a more targeted content strategy, improving your chances of ranking higher.

Keyword difficulty is an important SEO metric that factors in the competitiveness of a keyword, the number of high-authority websites already ranking for it, and the quality of their content and backlinks.

Highly difficult keywords have a lot of competition and are often targeted by established sites with strong SEO foundations. On the other hand, low-difficulty keywords have less competition and offer smaller, younger sites a chance to rank higher and build traffic.

Understanding keyword difficulty can help you prioritize your SEO efforts. By targeting keywords that fit with every growth stage of your website, you can maximize your potential to drive organic traffic.

Practical use cases for the Keyword Difficulty Checker Tool

Let’s walk through some real-life scenarios for how you can get the most out of our Keyword Difficulty Checker Tool. 

Identify quick-win keywords for new pages

When launching new pages, focus on low-difficulty keywords that are less saturated by high-authority competitors. You’ll have a better chance of quickly building relevant traffic with these opportunities without investing too much time or resources. 

Use the Keyword Difficulty Checker Tool to:

• Focus on low-competition keywords with decent search volume for better ROI
• Identify niche keywords that are hyper-relevant to your website. Even if they have low search volume (20-30 searches/month), they can attract more valuable, qualified leads than those with higher traffic but less relevant terms.
• Rank faster for less competitive but highly relevant keywords so you can speed up site visibility and your site’s authoritative presence.

For example, instead of targeting a broad and competitive term like “dog toys,” focus on a less competitive long-tail variation such as “plush dog toys for aggressive chewers.” This keyword may be more relevant to your audience than the generic “dog toys” keyword, and you stand a much higher chance of quickly ranking for the term. You can build momentum and drive traffic to new pages faster, setting the groundwork for long-term SEO success. 

Refine your content strategy with actionable data

Keyword difficulty scores can help shape your content strategy. Gain insight into which types of content have the highest chance of ranking for a keyword and know if (or when) to target more competitive keywords. 

Here are ways to refine your content strategy with the Keyword Difficulty Checker Tool:

• Prioritize high-impact content for moderate-difficult keywords with strong search intent and high volume. To maximize your chances of ranking well for a competitive keyword, analyze the top SERP results and identify which types of content perform the best. From blog posts, landing pages, or other content types, focus your efforts on creating the most valuable content for these keywords. 
• Optimize existing content to improve rankings for keywords they may already be ranking for. Instead of starting from scratch, you can target a handful of new keywords per page and tweak existing content to better align with their search intent. 
• Strategically plan new content to strike a healthy balance between targeting easier opportunities for quick wins and heavier content lifts for higher-impact keywords.

Improve ad campaign targeting

Keyword difficulty isn’t an SEO metric reserved for just organic search. Use it to help plan your PPC and ad campaigns, too. 

The Keyword Difficulty Checker Tool can help you improve your ad campaign targeting in the following ways:

• Reduce overspending by avoiding overly competitive, high-cost-per-click keywords in exchange for lower-cost-per-click keywords that can still deliver value
• Align keywords with intent by comparing difficulty scores and search intent insights. Use this data to identify high-intent keywords with relatively low difficulty so your ads reach an audience likely to convert.   
• Adapt and iterate by continually reviewing which keywords you’re targeting and how their difficulty score, cost per click, search intent, or search volume has changed. Identifying new low-cost opportunities or shifting budget to better-performing keywords helps drive consistent results. 

By using keyword difficulty to inform your ad targeting, you can create more effective PPC campaigns, reduce costs, and drive higher-quality traffic to your site.

We have only just scratched the surface of valuable insights available with Semrush keyword difficulty data,  which you can find in the full Keyword Overview Tool, as well as the multiple applications for your SEO and growth strategies. Check out the range of other keyword data tools available in the Semrush Keyword Research Toolkit.