{"id":141873,"date":"2022-05-09T02:21:22","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T07:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=141873"},"modified":"2025-12-15T11:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:25:10","slug":"keyword-difficulty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-difficulty\/","title":{"rendered":"Keyword Difficulty: How to Estimate Your Chances to&nbsp;Rank"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intro-txt\">It\u2019s easy to find keywords that can bring lots of traffic to your website. What\u2019s harder is to predict your chances of ranking for&nbsp;them.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To help solve this problem, SEO tools like Ahrefs give keywords a \u201cdifficulty\u201d score from 0 to&nbsp;100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the truth is that these scores aren\u2019t foolproof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So in this post, I\u2019m going to outline the benefits and shortcomings of the Keyword Difficulty metric, as well as break down what other things professional SEOs look at when estimating their chances to rank for a given keyword.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"What is Keyword Difficulty?\" data-section=\"kd-definition\">\n<h2>What is Keyword Difficulty?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Keyword Difficulty (KD) is an SEO metric that estimates how hard it would be to rank on the first page of Google for a given keyword. It is measured on a scale from 0 to 100, with the latter being the hardest to rank&nbsp;for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"952\" height=\"633\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-overview-for-best-womens.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs Keywords Explorer overview for &quot;best womens hiking boots&quot; showing Keyword Difficulty of 6 (Easy, approximately 7 referring domains needed to rank in top 10)\" class=\"wp-image-194105\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-overview-for-best-womens.png 952w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-overview-for-best-womens-639x425.png 639w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-overview-for-best-womens-768x511.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 952px) 100vw, 952px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>However, when many SEO professionals use the term \u201cKeyword Difficulty,\u201d they\u2019re sometimes referring to the broader concept of ranking difficulty\u2014not a particular metric in a particular SEO&nbsp;tool.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Keyword Difficulty still matters because links still matter?\" data-section=\"kd-matters\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-141873-_96jba49x8xdk\"><\/a>Keyword Difficulty still matters because links still matter<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Google <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7403893733496147968\/\">still relies on link-based signals like PageRank<\/a> to rank search results, so knowing the backlink strength of top-ranking pages is still one of the best predictors of how hard a keyword is to&nbsp;win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LLMs are increasingly using link graph data too, so assessing link authority is arguably only growing in importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1094\" height=\"442\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/linkedin-post-by-mark-williams-cook-stating-that-g.png\" alt=\"LinkedIn post by Mark Williams-Cook stating that Google still uses a modified version of PageRank, LLMs have been buying link graph data, and it's still hugely important for ranking documents\" class=\"wp-image-194106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/linkedin-post-by-mark-williams-cook-stating-that-g.png 1094w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/linkedin-post-by-mark-williams-cook-stating-that-g-680x275.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/linkedin-post-by-mark-williams-cook-stating-that-g-768x310.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1094px) 100vw, 1094px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Keyword Difficulty scores distill that into a simple benchmark that shows you how much backlink strength you\u2019ll need to compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They\u2019re a quick and easy way to judge which keywords are realistically within reach and worth investing in.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Keyword Difficulty as a metric\" data-section=\"kd-metric\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-141873-_vc7h2x1jdygu\"><\/a>Keyword Difficulty as a metric<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Almost every keyword research tool has a Keyword Difficulty score. These tools all use the same 0-100 scale, but each one calculates it differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you check the Keyword Difficulty of the same keywords in different SEO tools, the numbers will vary quite substantially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"866\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/keyword-difficulty-comparison-table-across-four-se.png\" alt=\"Keyword Difficulty comparison table across four SEO tools (Ahrefs, Moz, Semrush, KWFinder) for three keywords: &quot;disposable face mask&quot; (72, 63, 68, 46), &quot;best backpack&quot; (42, 47, 79, 50), and &quot;bike tire pump&quot; (13, 45, 56, 39)\" class=\"wp-image-194107\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/keyword-difficulty-comparison-table-across-four-se.png 866w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/keyword-difficulty-comparison-table-across-four-se-680x141.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/keyword-difficulty-comparison-table-across-four-se-768x160.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why it is important to understand how exactly the ranking difficulty is calculated by your SEO tool of choice. Only then can you make informed decisions based on&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How we calculate Keyword Difficulty at Ahrefs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Here at Ahrefs, we use a simple method for calculating KD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We pull the top 10 ranking pages for your keyword and look up how many websites link to each of&nbsp;them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The more links the top-ranking pages for your keyword have, the higher its KD&nbsp;score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Very simple and very actionable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone wp-image-194108\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1071\" height=\"695\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/serp-overview-table-for-best-womens-hiking-boots.png\" alt=\"SERP overview table for &quot;best womens hiking boots&quot; with Domains column highlighted showing the number of unique referring domains for each ranking page\n\" class=\"wp-image-194108\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/serp-overview-table-for-best-womens-hiking-boots.png 1071w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/serp-overview-table-for-best-womens-hiking-boots-655x425.png 655w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/serp-overview-table-for-best-womens-hiking-boots-768x498.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1071px) 100vw, 1071px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Keyword Difficulty in Ahrefs is based on linking domains to top-ranking pages.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Keyword Difficulty in Ahrefs is an <strong>absolute metric<\/strong> \u2014not a relative one\u2014scored from 0 to 100 based on the backlink profiles of top-ranking pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a straightforward benchmark:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>KD 0-5 \u2013 Top-ranking pages barely have any backlinks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>KD ~50 \u2013 Top-ranking pages have a couple of hundred backlinks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>KD 90+ \u2013 Top-ranking pages have thousands of backlinks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, the score tells you how hard it is for the <em>average<\/em> website to rank, but it doesn\u2019t account for <em>your<\/em> specific website\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think of the KD Score like the <strong>speed limit<\/strong> on a highway. The sign might say \u201c70 MPH\u201d (High Difficulty), which applies to everyone. But your <em>personal<\/em> difficulty depends on the car you\u2019re driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are in a Formula 1 car (High Authority\/High Topical Relevance), 70 MPH feels effortless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re on a bike (New Domain\/Low Authority), reaching that speed is impossible, regardless of what the sign says. The sign is accurate, but ultimately your vehicle determines the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should always interpret the KD score through the lens of your own \u201cPersonal Keyword Difficulty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-141873-_6gbps64haozz\"><\/a>Personal Keyword Difficulty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your site has a higher <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/domain-rating\/\">Domain Rating<\/a> or stronger topical authority than the average found on the SERP, the \u201ceffective\u201d difficulty is likely far lower for your site than tools might suggest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the flip side, if you\u2019re a new player, even mid-range scores will require extra effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Essentially, Ahrefs\u2019 Keyword Difficulty score is the baseline, and your site\u2019s authority provides the context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a way to quickly get a better idea of your \u201cPersonal Keyword Difficulty\u201d scores using the <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.ahrefs.com\/docs\/mcp\/reference\/introduction\">Ahrefs MCP.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just copy and paste <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1Zbci5ZmP4D7Xi-k1t275WLHvWDZH3zfUlZjBAR0nskA\/edit?usp=sharing\">this prompt I\u2019ve built<\/a> into Claude, with the Ahrefs MCP switched on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"614\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2025-12-15-at-11.55.05-614x425.png\" alt=\"Prompt for Ahrefs MCP to build a Personal Keyword Difficulty score\" class=\"wp-image-194126\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2025-12-15-at-11.55.05-614x425.png 614w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Screenshot-2025-12-15-at-11.55.05.png 734w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It takes multiple factors into account, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Baseline Keyword Difficulty (I.e. KD in Ahrefs)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your site\u2019s topical authority for your chosen keyword (e.g. how many other keywords you rank for in the same \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-clustering\/\">Parent Topic\u201d cluster<\/a>, and their associated traffic)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your site\u2019s Domain Rating versus other SERP competitors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your page\u2019s URL Rating (for existing content within that \u201cParent Topic\u201d cluster) compared to other SERP competitors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"730\" height=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/personalized-keyword-difficulty-breakdown-for-ai.png\" alt=\"Personalized Keyword Difficulty breakdown for &quot;AI search optimization&quot; showing Base KD at 40% (18.8 points), Topical Authority at 30% (-2.4 points advantage), Domain Rating at 20% (5.5 points advantage), and Page Authority at 10% (-0.9 points advantage), resulting in final score of 38\" class=\"wp-image-194110\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/personalized-keyword-difficulty-breakdown-for-ai.png 730w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/personalized-keyword-difficulty-breakdown-for-ai-666x425.png 666w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/personalized-keyword-difficulty-breakdown-for-ai-260x166.png 260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Claude then weights those factors, to develop a \u201cPersonalized Keyword Difficulty\u201d score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"808\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/personalized-keyword-difficulty-analysis-table-for.png\" alt=\"Personalized Keyword Difficulty Analysis table for ahrefs.com comparing Standard KD versus Personalized KD for keywords including &quot;AI search optimization&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-194109\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/personalized-keyword-difficulty-analysis-table-for.png 808w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/personalized-keyword-difficulty-analysis-table-for-680x343.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/personalized-keyword-difficulty-analysis-table-for-768x387.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/personalized-keyword-difficulty-analysis-table-for-400x200.png 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 808px) 100vw, 808px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This essentially inflates or decreases the base Keyword Difficulty depending on your site\u2019s performance and authority across the relevant topic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the keyword \u201cAI search optimization\u201d our Personal Keyword Difficulty dropped by 9 points\u2014meaning it should, in theory, be easier for us to&nbsp;rank.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s because we already have a strong URL Rating, a DR well above competitors, and existing visibility for related keywords across the same Parent Topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once Claude has analyzed all of your Ahrefs data, it\u2019ll suggest actionable recommendations\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"725\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/claude-personal-keyword-difficulty-data-summary.png\" alt=\"Claude &quot;Personal keyword difficulty&quot; data summary showing parent topic cluster &quot;ai search engine optimization&quot; with 3 keywords ranked from cluster, 1 unique URL, approximately 0 monthly visits target domain traffic, weighted average UR of 8.0, and top competitors including Google (DR 99), Salesforce (DR 92), Reddit (DR 95), and Search Engine Land (DR 91)\" class=\"wp-image-194111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/claude-personal-keyword-difficulty-data-summary.png 725w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/claude-personal-keyword-difficulty-data-summary-619x425.png 619w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 725px) 100vw, 725px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As any SEO worth their salt knows, backlinks aren\u2019t the only ranking factor. If you want to properly gauge your chances of ranking for a given keyword, you need to go further and do a more thorough analysis of the&nbsp;SERP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of&nbsp;which\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Keyword Difficulty as a concept\" data-section=\"kd-concept\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-141873-_ti4ogqyyzei\"><\/a>Keyword Difficulty as a concept<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Nobody knows exactly how Google ranks pages. But we do know the main things that matter for ranking well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And by analyzing those \u201cmain things,\u201d SEOs can get a pretty good idea of what it takes to rank on Google for a given keyword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So here\u2019s how to do&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Figure out how many backlinks you\u2019ll need<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Backlinks act as votes, which tell Google that a given page is more valuable than any other page on the same topic. So, as a general rule, if you want to rank in the top 10 search results for a given keyword, you\u2019ll have to acquire as many backlinks as the current top-ranking pages have (if not&nbsp;more).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a> , we actually have a text hint right under our KD score that tells you an approximate number of backlinks you\u2019ll need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"952\" height=\"633\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-overview-for-best-womens-1.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs Keywords Explorer overview for &quot;best womens hiking boots&quot; showing Keyword Difficulty of 6 (Easy, approximately 7 referring domains needed to rank in top 10)\n\" class=\"wp-image-194112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-overview-for-best-womens-1.png 952w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-overview-for-best-womens-1-639x425.png 639w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-overview-for-best-womens-1-768x511.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 952px) 100vw, 952px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Two important caveats here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The hint says \u201cto rank in the top 10,\u201d which means that getting as many (or more) backlinks as your competitors won\u2019t guarantee that you\u2019ll rank #1. But there\u2019s a very good chance that you\u2019ll rank somewhere in the top&nbsp;10.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The sheer quantity of backlinks can often be misleading because some backlinks cast a stronger vote than others. So this number is merely an estimation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>To properly estimate the strength of the backlink profiles of the top-ranking pages, you\u2019ll have to review all their backlinks manually, i.e., do <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/backlink-audit\/\">a backlink audit<\/a> of these&nbsp;pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a> , we\u2019ve created a handy shortcut for this, since each number in the \u201cSERP Overview\u201d links to its respective backlink report in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a> :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone wp-image-194113\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1071\" height=\"695\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/serp-overview-table-for-best-womens-hiking-boots-1.png\" alt=\"SERP overview table for &quot;best womens hiking boots&quot; with Backlinks and Domains columns highlighted\n\" class=\"wp-image-194113\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/serp-overview-table-for-best-womens-hiking-boots-1.png 1071w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/serp-overview-table-for-best-womens-hiking-boots-1-655x425.png 655w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/serp-overview-table-for-best-womens-hiking-boots-1-768x498.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1071px) 100vw, 1071px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Click these numbers (in the highlighted columns) to manually review backlinks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Look for \u201cCracks\u201d in the&nbsp;SERP<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Because KD scores represent the average Referring Domains of the top-ranking pages, they can sometimes hide specific weaknesses in the search results that you can exploit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A high KD score usually means the top pages have many backlinks, but it doesn\u2019t tell you if those pages actually <em>satisfy<\/em> the&nbsp;user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To enhance your keyword strategy, look for \u201ccracks\u201d in the SERP that Keyword Difficulty doesn\u2019t account for, such&nbsp;as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Content freshness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Are the top results outdated (e.g., posts from 2019 with no updates)? Stale content is often easier to outrank\u2014even when it has strong backlinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To check this, head to the \u201cSERP Overview\u201d in Keywords Explorer for your target keyword. Then click on the arrow dropdown, and hit \u201cInspect\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will bring up the Page Inspect tool where you can check on when the article was last updated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1155\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/side-by-side-comparison-in-the-page-inspect-tool-i.jpg\" alt=\"Side-by-side comparison in the Page Inspect tool in Ahrefs Site Explorer showing content update from December 8, 2025 to December 9, 2025 for &quot;I Tried 9 AI SEO Tools&quot; article, with calendar heatmap highlighting the update date and visible text changes between versions\" class=\"wp-image-194114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/side-by-side-comparison-in-the-page-inspect-tool-i.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/side-by-side-comparison-in-the-page-inspect-tool-i-680x383.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/side-by-side-comparison-in-the-page-inspect-tool-i-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/side-by-side-comparison-in-the-page-inspect-tool-i-1536x866.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In this example for the keyword \u201cAI SEO\u201d I can see the #1 ranking page was only updated a few days ago, and gets regular \u201cModerate\u201d updates throughout the year\u2014which likely makes it a tough one to&nbsp;beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Low DR brands<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Are there forums or low-authority blogs ranking among the giants?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a low-authority site has managed to rank, it\u2019s a strong signal that the \u201cgiants\u201d aren\u2019t satisfying the intent perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Omid Ghiam, founder of Marketer Milk, actually factors this into his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketermilk.com\/blog\/how-to-do-keyword-research\">SEO and AEO keyword research<\/a>. Using DR filtering in Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, he finds keywords that only show low DR brands in the SERPs (e.g. DR &lt;15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1833\" height=\"1021\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-interface-showing-the-lo.jpg\" alt=\"Ahrefs Keywords Explorer interface showing the &quot;Lowest DR&quot; filter panel set to find keywords with at least one ranking position with Domain Rating up to 15 in top 10, displaying results for AI-related tool keywords\" class=\"wp-image-194115\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-interface-showing-the-lo.jpg 1833w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-interface-showing-the-lo-680x379.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-interface-showing-the-lo-768x428.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-keywords-explorer-interface-showing-the-lo-1536x856.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1833px) 100vw, 1833px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"small\"><div class=\"quote-content\"> The main filter we first want to play with is the <strong>Lowest DR<\/strong> filter. This will allow us to find keyword ideas where the pages that rank for that keyword have a really low DR (domain rating). In theory, if those pages are ranking for that specific keyword, we can also rank for it (with a better piece of content, that is). I like to make the lowest DR to something like 10 or 15, in the top 5 or 10 results on the first page of Google.<\/div><div class=\"quote-info clearfix\"><div class=\"quote-photo\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Omid Ghiam\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Omid-Ghiam.jpeg\"><\/div><div class=\"extra-box\"><span class=\"quote-author\">Omid Ghiam,<\/span> <span class=\"quote-author-job\">Founder, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketermilk.com\/blog\/how-to-do-keyword-research\" target=\"_blank\">Marketer Milk<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>\u201cFluffy\u201d content<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes high-authority sites rank simply because of their domain strength, even if their content is 1,000 words of filler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are prime targets for you to outrank with high-value, concise content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Review the \u201cauthority\u201d of your competitors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned, you want to assess the authority of your SERP competitors. This includes checking factors like DR, URL rating, and ownership of content clusters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A high website authority can indirectly contribute toward a higher ranking on Google:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A. Internal links<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>High authority means that a given website has lots of strong pages. And the page that you see ranking on Google may be receiving lots of \u201clink juice\u201d from such pages, making it a high-authority page too (even in the absence of backlinks from other websites).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">B. Familiar brand<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>When shown a list of search results, people often prefer familiar websites. This behavior ends up reshuffling the SERPs since Google has its own \u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_AQ9UDqES80\">Click probability model<\/a> \u201c, which uses SERP CTR data to assess user satisfaction and inform re-ranking. That\u2019s how \u201cfamiliar websites\u201d often tend to rank high, and benefit from compounding awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Investigate the search intent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your ability to address the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/search-intent\/\">search intent<\/a> is crucial for ranking well on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In case you\u2019re unfamiliar with the term, search intent is basically the expectation that searchers have. Google\u2019s goal is to fulfill people\u2019s expectations when they perform a search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can better understand intent when you review the top-ranking pages for a keyword, and analyze what searchers get from&nbsp;them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To do this, head to the SERP Overview report in Keywords Explorer and hit \u201cIdentify intents\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will give you a breakdown of the intent of each ranking result, so you can understand what kind of content searchers are looking to&nbsp;find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1192\" height=\"1144\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-serp-overview-for-backlink-checker-query.jpg\" alt=\"Ahrefs SERP overview for &quot;backlink checker&quot; query showing top 8 ranking pages with Intent sidebar highlighting two dominant search intents: &quot;Free Backlink Checking Tools&quot; (58%) and &quot;SEO Tool Exploration&quot; (20%), plus &quot;Backlink Analysis&quot; (20%)\" class=\"wp-image-194116\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-serp-overview-for-backlink-checker-query.jpg 1192w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-serp-overview-for-backlink-checker-query-443x425.jpg 443w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-serp-overview-for-backlink-checker-query-768x737.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1192px) 100vw, 1192px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can tell from the example above, ~60% of the top-ranking pages for the keyword \u201cbacklink checker\u201d are \u201cfree backlink checking tools\u201d, so this is the dominant search intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The remaining 40% belongs to paid or more \u201ccomprehensive\u201d backlink checking tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, if you try to target this keyword with a blog article or a landing page, it won\u2019t&nbsp;work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know this for a fact because we actually tried&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1168\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-organic-traffic-graph-showing-successful-se.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs organic traffic graph showing successful search intent optimization with annotation &quot;Nailed the search intent&quot; pointing to inflection point where traffic begins steady growth from around 150K to over 600K monthly visits between 2018 and 2025\" class=\"wp-image-194117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-organic-traffic-graph-showing-successful-se.png 1168w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-organic-traffic-graph-showing-successful-se-680x275.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/ahrefs-organic-traffic-graph-showing-successful-se-768x311.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1168px) 100vw, 1168px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Above is the graph of organic search traffic to <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/backlink-checker\">our backlink checker page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Originally, we had just a simple landing page explaining that Ahrefs has a backlink checker tool, and offering people to sign up for our paid&nbsp;trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No matter how much we optimized that page, it never ranked higher than #8 for that keyword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then we studied the pages that were outranking us and realized that all of them were free online tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as soon as we converted our landing page into a free tool, it shot up to #1 for the keyword \u201cbacklink checker\u201d and started ranking high for many other relevant keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1181\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/before-and-after-comparison-of-ahrefs-backlink-ch.jpg\" alt=\"Before and after comparison of Ahrefs' Backlink Checker landing page redesign, showing the original landing page version, and the updated tool page\" class=\"wp-image-194118\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/before-and-after-comparison-of-ahrefs-backlink-ch.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/before-and-after-comparison-of-ahrefs-backlink-ch-576x425.jpg 576w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/before-and-after-comparison-of-ahrefs-backlink-ch-768x567.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/before-and-after-comparison-of-ahrefs-backlink-ch-1536x1134.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>So, in short, browse the top-ranking pages and figure out what exactly people expect to get from&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Gauge the quality of content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The famous <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/skyscraper-technique\/\">Skyscraper technique<\/a> has led lots of content marketers astray by suggesting that a longer and more detailed article equals a better article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But just making your article longer doesn\u2019t necessarily make it better. A better article is one that provides more value in less time (and without boring you to&nbsp;death).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So here are some pointers that will help you gauge the quality of content that already ranks at the top for your target keyword:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Does it provide accurate and up-to-date information?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is it written by a subject matter expert?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does it contain unique information?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is it well-written?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is it properly formatted?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is it well-designed?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The first three are the most important ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google wants to provide its users with accurate information that comes from credible sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know that for a fact because the latest edition of its <a href=\"https:\/\/static.googleusercontent.com\/media\/guidelines.raterhub.com\/en\/\/searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf\">Search Quality Rater Guidelines<\/a> has lots of focus on the concept called <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/eeat-seo\/\">E-E-A-T<\/a> , which stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So instead of making your pages longer than those of your competitors, try investing in E-E-A-T.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"What is a good Keyword Difficulty to target?\" data-section=\"kd-target\">\n<h2><a id=\"post-141873-_tw0rewsnbd57\"><\/a>What is a good Keyword Difficulty to target?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As with many things in SEO, the answer is it depends:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>On the authority of your website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On your credibility in a given&nbsp;space.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On your ability to acquire backlinks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On whether you have the ability and\/or resources to cater to search intent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A good exercise that may help you get used to Ahrefs\u2019 KD metric is to look up the KD scores of the keywords that your website is already ranking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can do this by entering your website into Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a> and visiting the Organic keywords report:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"904\" height=\"823\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/word-image-141873-15.png\" alt class=\"wp-image-194119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/word-image-141873-15.png 904w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/word-image-141873-15-467x425.png 467w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/word-image-141873-15-768x699.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 904px) 100vw, 904px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This gives you a nice benchmark. But it\u2019s by no means a substitute for the process I\u2019ve outlined above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to accurately estimate your chances of ranking for a given keyword, you should thoroughly study the top-ranking pages and factor in your own skills and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And please don\u2019t shy away from targeting high-KD keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to many of the KD 70+ keywords that we rank for today, it took us four to five rewrites, lots of promotion, and many years of patience to get&nbsp;there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the sooner you \u201cattack\u201d a high-KD keyword that you really want to rank for, the sooner you\u2019ll get&nbsp;there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It would be quite awesome to have a Keyword Difficulty metric that could accurately predict your chances of ranking for a given keyword. But as you can probably tell by now, such a metric doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the only way for you to make the right SEO bets is by thoroughly studying the search results for the keywords that you want to rank&nbsp;for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope the process I\u2019ve outlined above is helpful for you. And if you have any further questions, feel free to ping me <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/timsoulo\">on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To help solve this problem, SEO tools like Ahrefs give keywords a \u201cdifficulty\u201d score from 0 to&nbsp;100. But the truth is that these scores aren\u2019t foolproof. So in this post, I\u2019m going to outline the benefits and shortcomings of the<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":141875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[328],"tags":[],"coauthors":[338,464],"class_list":["post-141873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-keyword-research","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Keyword Difficulty: How to Estimate Your Chances to Rank<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Keyword Difficulty (KD) is an SEO metric that estimates how hard it would be to rank on the first page of Google for a given keyword.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-difficulty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Keyword Difficulty: How to Estimate Your Chances to Rank\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Make the right SEO bets.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-difficulty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SEO Blog by Ahrefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ahrefs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"timsoulo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-09T07:21:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T16:25:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/fb_keyword_difficulty.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Soulo, Louise Linehan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Make the right SEO bets.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@timsoulo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ahrefs\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/keyword-difficulty\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/keyword-difficulty\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tim 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