Most people know what keywords are, but understanding how to choose them can be a bit more mysterious. When presented with metrics like search volume, cost-per-click, and keyword difficulty, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
When it comes to keyword metrics, keyword difficulty is often the most challenging to interpret. So, what is it, and how does it factor into your SEO content strategy?
This article explains how keyword difficulty is calculated and how to use it to improve your website’s search visibility.
🔍 What Is Keyword Difficulty?
🔍 What Is Keyword Difficulty?
Keyword difficulty (KD) is a metric that estimates how challenging it would be to rank for a specific keyword. Some platforms refer to this as SEO difficulty or keyword competition.
A higher keyword difficulty score indicates stronger competition — meaning more effort is required to rank on the first page of Google’s search results.
Keyword difficulty is measured on a 0–100 scale:
Closer to 100 = more difficult to rank
Closer to 0 = easier to rank
⚙️ How Is Keyword Difficulty Calculated?
⚙️ How Is Keyword Difficulty Calculated?
Most SEO tools calculate keyword difficulty using several factors, such as:
The domain ratings of competing websites
The number and quality of backlinks pointing to those domains
The traffic share of top-ranking results
The Search Atlas platform uses a weighted formula that factors in:
The rating of ranking domains
The traffic share of those domains
Other nuanced data signals
Together, these help estimate the competitive strength of a keyword.
📈 Why Keyword Difficulty Matters in SEO
📈 Why Keyword Difficulty Matters in SEO
Keyword difficulty helps you compete in your own weight class.
If your competitors have much higher domain ratings, your content won’t perform as well — and will likely get buried in the SERPs. Keyword difficulty lets you identify keywords your site can realistically rank for, maximizing visibility, traffic, and conversions.
It also ensures you spend time and resources strategically, targeting opportunities that will actually generate results.
🧭 How to Choose the Best Keywords for Your Website
🧭 How to Choose the Best Keywords for Your Website
Choosing the right keywords is key to SEO success. When building your content strategy, consider:
Keyword difficulty
Search volume
CPC (Cost per Click)
Search intent
Step 1: Evaluate Keywords to Rank & Form a Winning SEO Strategy
Step 1: Evaluate Keywords to Rank & Form a Winning SEO Strategy
Start by identifying pillar topics and cluster content.
Pillar pages are long-form guides or category-defining pages focused on core aspects of your business.
Cluster content expands on smaller subtopics related to each pillar.
This structure helps Google assess your website’s semantic depth and topical relevance.
Example:
A spa website might have pillars like massage, skincare, and acupuncture. Each can be supported by cluster pages such as “benefits of hot stone massage” or “how facials improve skin tone.”
Once your pillars are set, use keyword research to find cluster opportunities.
Step 2: Perform Keyword Research
Step 2: Perform Keyword Research
Use the Keyword Discovery tool in your SEO suite. Enter a keyword, explore suggested terms, and refine results by location if you target specific regions.
Compare metrics like:
Search Volume (SV)
Keyword Difficulty (KD)
Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
Pay-Per-Click Difficulty (PPCD)
Choose keywords with difficulty scores lower than your domain rating or authority. Lower competition gives you a higher chance of ranking.
Step 3: Turn Research Into Keyword-Optimized Content
Step 3: Turn Research Into Keyword-Optimized Content
Use the SEO Content Assistant to optimize your selected keywords:
Go to the tool and click Create a New Article.
Enter your keyword in the Add Keyword field.
Review key metrics:
Search Volume (SV)
Keyword Difficulty (KD)
Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
Click the graph icon to open the full keyword report.
Add up to five target keywords per article and include Focus Terms to improve topical authority.
🧩 Keyword Difficulty Scale
🧩 Keyword Difficulty Scale
With the Keyword Researcher Tool, KD is color-coded by difficulty level:
KD Range | Difficulty |
0–25 | Easy |
26–50 | Average |
51–75 | Hard |
76–100 | Very Hard |
This helps you instantly gauge the competitiveness of each keyword.
🛠️ Keyword Difficulty Tools
🛠️ Keyword Difficulty Tools
There are many tools that calculate keyword difficulty differently, but most include:
Keyword overview dashboards
Keyword volume, KD, PPC, and competitor data
Geo-targeted KD metrics
Page authority and backlink analysis
Suggested keyword ideas and competitor keyword mosaics
Content optimization recommendations
Search Atlas Dashboard provides:
SEO Content Assistant – Optimize content for target keywords
Content Ideas – Plan engaging content
Content Researcher – Analyze keyword difficulty, competition, and ranking potential
Keyword Researcher – Streamline keyword discovery and analysis
🧰 Free Keyword Difficulty Tools
🧰 Free Keyword Difficulty Tools
Free options are also available, including:
Keyword Research Tool
SEO Content Assistant
These are great for early-stage keyword planning or testing.
✅ Keyword Difficulty & Your Website
With the right keywords, you can transform your content from underperforming to ranking on Google’s first page.
Keyword difficulty helps you find achievable opportunities, build authority, and master SERP visibility.
The Search Atlas Dashboard simplifies this process — making keyword difficulty metrics easy to understand and guiding you through every step of creating high-performing content in your niche.