Debug: upstream API calls (click to expand)
How it works
The Keyword Difficulty Checker scores how hard it is to rank for a keyword on a 0 to 100 scale. It does this by reading the strength of the pages that already rank: we pull Google's live top 10 results for your keyword and location, then look up the Domain Authority of each ranking page from our own domain index.
The score is a position-weighted average of Domain Authority. Each of the top 10 results contributes its Domain Authority, but the higher positions count for more (position 1 weighs the most, position 10 the least), because outranking the pages at the very top is what actually matters. We map that weighted average onto a 0 to 100 score and a plain-English band: Very Easy (0 to 20), Easy (21 to 40), Medium (41 to 60), Hard (61 to 80), Very Hard (81 to 100).
What a low score means. A low score means the current top 10 are weak (low Domain Authority), so there is realistic opportunity to rank with good content and a few quality links. A high score means strong, established domains hold the page, so ranking is a longer, more resource-heavy play.
Honest limitations. Difficulty is our own read of the competition, not a Google metric and not a guarantee. It is built from Domain Authority, which is a Moz metric (from our database), not a Google ranking signal. If fewer than two of the top 10 results have a Domain Authority in our index, we show "Not enough data" rather than guess. Content quality, search intent, and on-page SEO still decide whether you actually rank.
Sync, single-keyword. Each check runs against live Google search results and takes roughly six seconds. The keyword's search volume, CPC, competition, and 12-month trend (shown as you type) come straight from Google's Keyword Planner via the Keywords Everywhere API.
Plan caps. Each difficulty check consumes one unit from a daily budget shared across our other SERP-using tools. Free / anonymous gets 10 checks per day; paid plans scale up to 200 on Platinum.
What you'll see
- Difficulty score (0 to 100)
- The headline number: the position-weighted average Domain Authority of the pages in the live top 10, mapped to a 0 to 100 scale. Higher means harder to rank. Shown with a colored bar (green for easy through red for very hard) and a plain-English band.
- Difficulty band
- Very Easy (0 to 20), Easy (21 to 40), Medium (41 to 60), Hard (61 to 80), Very Hard (81 to 100). "Not enough data" appears when fewer than two of the top 10 have a Domain Authority in our index.
- Weighted DA / Average DA / Strongest DA
- The supporting stats behind the score: the position-weighted average (what the score is built on), the simple mean of the available Domain Authorities, and the single strongest competitor's Domain Authority.
- Rank
- The position of each page among the organic results in Google's live top 10.
- Page / Domain
- The exact ranking URL and its host (www-stripped). Click a page to open it in another of our tools (Organic Ranking Checker, Backlinks Checker, Website Traffic Checker, Top Pages Finder) for deeper analysis.
- Domain Authority (DA)
- Moz's prediction of how well a domain ranks, on a 0 to 100 logarithmic scale. This is the metric the difficulty score is built from. In the table, higher Domain Authority is tinted red (a tougher competitor to beat) and lower is tinted green.
- Page Rank (PR)
- A modeled score derived from Google's original PageRank algorithm, computed independently, on a 0 to 10 scale. A useful second opinion alongside Domain Authority.
- Spam Score
- Moz's measure of how many spam signals a domain shows (0 to 100). 0 to 30 is clean, 31 to 60 medium, 61+ high-risk.
- Estimated Traffic
- Monthly organic visits we estimate the ranking URL receives across every keyword it ranks for. A high-traffic page ranking for your keyword is a strong overall competitor.
Frequently asked questions
What is keyword difficulty?
Keyword difficulty is an estimate of how hard it would be to rank on the first page of Google for a given keyword. Our score, 0 to 100, reads the strength of the pages already ranking: we pull the live top 10 Google results for your keyword and location, look up the Domain Authority of each ranking page, and combine them into a single number. A low score means the current top 10 are weak, so there is realistic opportunity. A high score means strong, established sites hold the page.
How is the difficulty score calculated?
We fetch the live top 10 results from Google for your keyword and chosen location, then look up the Moz Domain Authority (DA) of each ranking page. The score is a position-weighted average of those DAs: the top spots count for more (position 1 weighs the most, position 10 the least), because outranking the pages at the top is what actually matters. We then map that weighted average onto a 0 to 100 scale and a plain-English band (Very Easy through Very Hard). Results whose domain is missing from our index are skipped; if fewer than two of the top 10 have a DA, we say "Not enough data" rather than guess.
Is keyword difficulty a Google ranking factor?
No. Difficulty is our own read of the competition, not something Google publishes or uses. It is built from Domain Authority, which is a Moz metric (sourced from our database), not a Google signal. Treat the score as a planning aid: it tells you how strong the incumbents are, so you can prioritise keywords where you have a realistic shot. It is not a promise that you will or will not rank.
What is a good keyword difficulty score to target?
It depends on your own site's authority. A brand-new site should look for Very Easy and Easy keywords (roughly 0 to 40), where the pages ranking now are beatable with solid, well-targeted content. An established site with strong backlinks can compete for Medium and Hard keywords. Very Hard keywords (81 to 100) are dominated by very strong domains and are usually a long-term play. The honest move is to balance difficulty against search volume: a Very Easy keyword with real volume is the sweet spot.
What does a low difficulty score mean?
A low score means the pages currently ranking in the top 10 have low Domain Authority, so the competition is weak and there is genuine room to rank. It does not guarantee a top spot, content quality, search intent, and on-page SEO still matter, but it does mean you are not fighting a wall of high-authority sites. Low-difficulty keywords with decent search volume are the best early wins for a growing site.
How accurate is the difficulty score?
The score is only as good as the Domain Authority coverage for the pages ranking. For mainstream keywords most of the top 10 are in our index and the score is reliable. For very niche or brand-new keywords, some ranking domains may be missing, which is why we show how many of the 10 results had a DA and mark the score "Not enough data" when fewer than two do. Domain Authority is also a modeled metric from Moz, so treat the score as directional, a strong signal of relative competition rather than an exact measurement.
How does location affect difficulty?
The top 10 Google shows can differ by country, state, or city, especially for queries with local intent. Because the difficulty score is built from whichever pages actually rank at your chosen location, picking a more specific location gives you a more locally-relevant score. Start typing a country, state, or city in the location box and pick from the dropdown. Cost is the same regardless of how specific the location is.
Where do the search volume and CPC numbers come from?
When you type a keyword we also show its monthly search volume, CPC, competition, and 12-month trend. That data comes straight from Google's Keyword Planner via the Keywords Everywhere API, the same source most professional SEO tools use. The numbers are Google's average monthly searches over the trailing 12 months. The difficulty score itself is separate: it is computed from the Domain Authority of the ranking pages, not from this volume data.