What is keyword difficulty? (and how to use it to gain SEO)
Keyword Difficulty (KD) is a metric that estimates how difficult it will be to rank a page in the top Google results for a specific keyword. It doesn't measure search volume, user intent, or business value. It just says, “How hard will it be to compete for this term?” And yes, it's an estimate. No tool has direct access to Google's algorithm, but current KD metrics — based on backlink analysis, domain authority, and competitor strength — are quite useful if you know how to interpret them. Let's see why!
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Multilingual NLP Will Grow
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Combining supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods
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Detecting fake news and cyber-bullying
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Remember: SEO is not a race for speed. It's a war of position. Choose your battles wisely, win them, and then advance.
How is it calculated?
Each tool does it in its own way, but the common denominator is the analysis of the results that are already in place.
For example:
- Ahrefs analyzes the backlinks of the first 10 pages and assigns a value from 0 to 100.
- Semrush evaluates the SEO strength of competitors and also gives a score from 0 to 100.
- Moz, Ubersuggest, SEOlyze and others have their own models, but they all point to the same thing: Measuring competition.
It's not the number itself that matters, but what's behind that number.
What is it really good for?
This is where many people get it wrong. It doesn't rule out keywords. It serves to prioritize strategies.
- If your site is new or has little authority, targeting keywords with KD 80+ is like trying to beat Messi in 1 vs 1 without training. You'll waste time and resources.
- If you have a domain with established authority, you can attack keywords with high KD... but only if your content and link building are up to the task.
KD helps you decide: do I attack now, later, or never?
💡 My tip: Don't choose keywords just because of their low KD. Choose keywords with KD appropriate to your current level... and then scale.
I've seen clients obsessed with “easy-to-position keywords”, ending up with keywords with no traffic, no conversion, no value. And I've seen others burn budgets on impossible keywords, without a previous growth strategy.
The key is balance.
Do this:
- Classify your keywords in 3 levels: Low (0-30), Medium (31-60), High (61-100).
- Start with those that are low in difficulty, but that have a clear volume and intention.
- Build authority with those initial victories.
- Then it attacks the stockings, and finally the highs.
It's like going to the gym: you don't start lifting 100 kg. You start with 20, you gain strength, and then you climb 💪
What NOBODY Tells You About Keyword Difficulty
Often, a keyword with KD 70 can be easier to position than one with KD 40.
Why?
Because KD measures competition, not the quality of competitors.
I have seen keywords with high KD dominated by pages with poor content, few quality backlinks, or poor technical structures. In those cases, with superior content and a good authority link, you can unseat them.
Don't blindly trust the number. Manually analyze the top 10.
Ask yourself:
- Is the content in the top positions really good?
- Do they have a lot of backlinks... or just a lot of junk links?
- Do your pages load fast? Are they well structured?
If the answer is “no”, you have a chance, even if the KD says otherwise.
To be clear
👉 The Keyword Difficulty is a guide, not a sentence.
👉 Use it to prioritize, not to discard.
👉 Combine it with manual competitor analysis.
👉 Scale strategically: from easy to difficult, not the other way around
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