Definition
What Is Keyword Difficulty?
Keyword difficulty is a score from 0 to 100 that estimates how hard it would be to rank on page 1 of Google for a given keyword. The higher the number, the…
Keyword difficulty is a score from 0 to 100 that estimates how hard it would be to rank on page 1 of Google for a given keyword. The higher the number, the more established the competition already ranking for it.
Every keyword you might target already has pages competing for it. Keyword difficulty compresses that competitive landscape into a single number so you can decide, at a glance, whether a term is worth pursuing now or better left until your site is stronger.
The score is calculated primarily from the strength of the pages currently ranking — their backlink profiles, domain authority, and how well their content matches the query. A keyword where page 1 is full of high-authority domains scores high; one where thin or outdated pages rank scores low, signalling an opening.
Difficulty is always relative to your own site. A term with a difficulty of 40 is a realistic target for an established brand and a waste of effort for a three-month-old blog. Read it alongside search volume and your own domain strength, never in isolation.
The practical play for most teams is to start with low-difficulty, decent-volume terms to build topical authority, then graduate to harder keywords as the domain earns the authority to compete for them.
Examples
- “Best CRM software” scores high (70+) — page 1 is dominated by review sites with enormous backlink profiles.
- “How to segment an email list for a SaaS trial” scores low (single digits) — a long-tail query few strong pages target directly.
- A difficulty of 40 might be a green light for a five-year-old domain and a red one for a new site with no backlinks.
Common questions
What is a good keyword difficulty score to target?
There's no universal number — it's relative to your domain. New sites should aim for terms under ~20; established domains can compete for 40–60. Always weigh it against search volume and your own authority.
Is keyword difficulty a Google metric?
No. It's calculated by SEO tools (each with its own model), not published by Google. Treat it as a directional estimate of competition, not an exact figure.
How is keyword difficulty different from competition in Google Ads?
Google Ads “competition” measures how many advertisers bid on a keyword (a paid-auction signal). Keyword difficulty measures how hard it is to rank organically. A term can be cheap to bid on yet hard to rank for, and vice versa.
Allable's Keyword Research scores difficulty for you
Stop eyeballing the SERP. Allable pulls the live difficulty score for every keyword it finds, next to volume and intent, so you can filter a whole list down to the terms you can actually win.
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