{"id":1508188,"date":"2022-08-18T08:58:34","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T12:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/?p=1508188"},"modified":"2022-08-29T12:20:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T16:20:10","slug":"seo-how-to-assess-keyword-difficulty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/seo-how-to-assess-keyword-difficulty","title":{"rendered":"SEO: How to Assess Keyword Difficulty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Identifying keywords for organic search rankings is easier now than a decade ago owing to advanced tools. A key factor in choosing a keyword is competition \u2014 the number and quality of sites already ranking for that term.<\/p>\n

How can we know if a keyword is worth the effort?<\/p>\n

I’ll address that question in this post.<\/p>\n

Keyword Difficulty<\/h3>\n

All leading search-engine-optimization platforms offer a competition metric \u2014 a method of filtering keyword lists according to the difficulty of ranking on page 1 of Google.<\/p>\n

Semrush suggests<\/a> selecting keywords with difficulty below “14” as they are the easiest to rank for. Semrush uses multiple factors for that metric but most are likely related to backlinks \u2014 the number and authority of linking pages.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Semrush includes “SERP-related qualities” for each keyword when calculating its difficulty. For example, a keyword that generates a featured snippet is relatively more difficult, per Semrush.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>

Semrush suggests keywords with a metric of 14 or below. Keywords that produce featured snippets are relatively more difficult. Click image to enlarge.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Ahrefs, another platform, recommends<\/a> keywords with a difficulty below “10.”
\nTo calculate, Ahrefs counts the number of referring domains linking to the top-ranking pages. No other calculation is needed, Ahrefs asserts.<\/p>\n

On SE Ranking, keywords below a “9” difficulty are “Surefire” and “10-19” are “Effortless.” Hence both should be doable for newer sites. SE Ranking relies<\/a> on its internal evaluation of ranking pages’ domain authority<\/a> when calculating keyword difficulty.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot

On SE Ranking, keywords with a difficulty below “9” are “Surefire” and “10-19” are “Effortless.”<\/p><\/div>\n

WebCEO has a more transparent approach for identifying keywords with higher demand and lower competition: the “Keyword Effectiveness Index.” It’s calculated<\/a> by dividing the search volume (demand) by the number of Google search results (supply).<\/p>\n

A query with a relatively higher KEI has a higher demand and lower supply and is thus easier to rank for.<\/p>\n

I appreciate the openness in calculating KEI \u2014 no hidden formulas. But double-check KEI’s conclusions on other platforms nonetheless.<\/p>\n

For example, take the query “best email client for windows 10”:<\/p>\n