Analyze the Ranking Webpage’s Stats
We collect the number of referring domains to each URL, Authority Score of the domains, and each URLs’ follow/nofollow ratio. We also note any SERP Features in the results.
Find Better Keywords with Precision
Build efficient SEO and content marketing campaigns with the most accurate keyword difficulty metric!
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Get the Most Accurate Estimations
The Semrush Keyword Difficulty metric helps you quickly find low-hanging fruit on both national and local levels.
Research Keywords
Use the Keyword Magic tool to hone in on the best keyword opportunities around your topic.
Analyze Competitors
Find keyword prospects to poach from the strategy of your competitors.
What Score Should You Look for?
The exact Keyword Difficulty score tells you how hard it would be to rank a webpage on the first page of Google for a particular keyword.
Low-Hanging Fruit
- Very easy = 0-14. These are the best opportunities to start ranking new webpages on Google as soon as possible.
- Easy = 15-29. These keywords have some competition but are still possible to rank for when you’re starting out. To be able to rank for these, you’ll need quality content focused on the keyword’s intent.
- Possible = 30-49. Slightly more competition. You’ll need well-structured and unique content appropriately optimized for your keywords.
Next-Level Challenges
- Difficult = 50-69. You’ll need to have some referring domains in addition to your well-structured, helpful and optimized content in order to compete here.
- Hard = 70-84. Even stiffer competition. These keywords will demand more effort in terms of getting referring domains in order to rank your well-optimized and helpful content among the top pages.
- Very hard = 85-100. The absolute hardest keywords to compete for, especially for a new website. These will demand a lot of SEO and content promotion efforts to eventually rank and acquire traffic.
How Semrush Calculates Keyword Difficulty
In three steps, our formula analyzes multiple data sets and parameters to calculate keyword difficulty with high precision.
Identify
Median Values
Median Values
To balance the formula and mitigate inflation due to outliers on the SERP, we identify the medians of each metric and weigh them accordingly.
Understand the Context of the Search Term
Finally, we examine characteristics of the keyword itself. If the keyword is branded or not, what the intent is behind the keyword, the keyword’s volume, and more.
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What Industry Professionals Think of Semrush Keyword Difficulty
“I took a look at the new KD scores for our keywords - amazing job! They are much more accurate now.”
“The new and improved @semrush KD metric definitely looks more realistic based on the difficulty of actually ranking for a given keyword. I’ve analyzed it based on websites that I’ve ranked and assessed my effort:rank ratio. Higher SV doesn’t always mean higher KD. Great work!”
“New Keyword Difficulty! Thanks @semrush for this MEANINGFUL KD%.”
“The calculation that takes into account the median # of backlinks & authority score PLUS the relative weight of links really helps nail down a more precise score. Thanks for putting the time and effort into this.”
“I like the updated keyword difficulty metric as it provides an additional help in prioritizing content efforts. Great job, Semrush!”
