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What is keyword difficulty?

Author:Semrush Team

1 min read

January 10, 2025

Keyword difficulty is a metric that shows how difficult it is to rank for a specific search term. A high keyword difficulty score often indicates strong competition, which can require more time and effort to achieve higher rankings.

Keyword difficulty scores help you select keywords you can realistically compete for. By focusing on terms with lower difficulty, you can see results faster and build momentum for your site, especially if your time or budget is limited.

However, keyword difficulty isn’t a universal metric. Different SEO tools and services each use their own methods to calculate keyword difficulty, so treat it as a guide rather than an exact measure. High-quality content and strong backlinks remain essential for climbing search results.

Further reading: How to Choose Keywords for SEO

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Semrush Team

The Semrush Team brings together AI visibility experts, SEO specialists, data analysts, and product practitioners to help businesses grow and manage their online visibility. We publish research, experiments, and practical guidance grounded in real data from the Semrush platform, covering search, content marketing, and the broader digital marketing landscape.

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