Keyword difficulty checker

Data quality is one of SE Ranking’s core priorities, so we’re working hard to give you the most accurate SEO metrics possible. We refine our algorithms every day to improve how we calculate keyword difficulty.

We calculate keyword difficulty scores by analyzing the top 10 search results for any given keyword. We look at the authority of competing domains and the quality of their backlink profiles, updating the score over time as search results change. This ensures that the score you get reflects the real-world effort needed to break into top results.

Keyword difficulty has a decisive impact on your keyword choices. With our keyword difficulty checker, you can identify the terms you have a real shot at ranking for. It accurately assesses how much effort it would take you to outrank your competitors. This means no more wasting resources on overly competitive terms.

Yes! You can check the keyword difficulty of queries in the country you’re targeting. Before checking your keywords, choose the country you want to target from the dropdown menu. From there, we’ll analyze real search results from that location to provide accurate difficulty scores for your market.

We currently support 190 countries, with massive keyword databases across major markets. This includes 575M keywords in the USA, 473M in Canada, 739M in the United Kingdom, 426M in Spain, and many more.

The SE Ranking platform uses a 0-100 scale to measure keyword difficulty. A score of 100 means it’s extremely hard to rank for; this is generally because established sites already rank authoritatively for these keywords.

Choosing the right keyword difficulty to target ultimately depends on your site’s quality and authority:

• New sites should look for keywords with lower difficulty scores and work their way up as they build authority. Shooting for keywords with lower difficulty scores gives you a better chance of reaching users who look for what you offer. 
• Growing sites can aim for medium-difficulty keywords as they make backlink and content quality improvements.
• Established sites can compete for high-difficulty keywords. These can bring in more traffic, but you’ll need much higher quality referring domains and sophisticated content optimization to compete for them on SERPs.