Getting Found Online: Understanding Keyword Difficulty

[This transcript has be edited for clarity]

Jacob:

Hello, Jeff. Welcome to another episode of the Human Friend Digital Podcast.

Jeffrey:

Hello, Jacob. Today, I think we are discussing keyword difficulty.

Okay, so let’s start from the very beginning—a very good place to start. Can you explain what it means? Like, when we do an analysis for somebody’s website, what do the keyword scores represent?

Jacob:

So, there’s the SEMrush score of keyword difficulty, but there’s also the general concept of keyword difficulty.

Jeffrey:

Cool. Okay, let’s split that up.

Jacob:

On SEMrush, it’s a metric that measures the SEO effort required for your content to rank organically in the top 10 results on Google for a certain keyword.

Jeffrey:

Okay, so break that down. What does that mean?

Jacob:

Organically means it’s not in the paid results—it’s in the top 10. Those are the first 10 results you see. The difficulty depends on how competitive your keyword is. Think of it as a horse race, where the keyword is the race you’re entering. How tough is your competition?

Jeffrey:

So, what you’re saying is it’s about the difficulty of all your competitors in that space.

Jacob:

Exactly. Let’s say you want to check that yourself. SEMrush gives a score of 0, which means it’s very easy with no competition, up to 100, where you’re competing with sites like Wikipedia. It’s like those chess tournaments in The Queen’s Gambit—at the local level, it’s easy for her to win, but as she progresses to national and international levels, it gets harder. That’s how keyword difficulty works. If your competition doesn’t know what they’re doing, it’s easier to rank.

Jeffrey:

Right. So, certain industries have lower or higher keyword difficulty scores, depending on how competitive they are.

Jacob:

Exactly. In industries like engineering, where people may not focus much on SEO, you might find low keyword difficulty scores. But in industries like SEO, where everyone knows what to do, almost every keyword has a high difficulty score.

Jeffrey:

Okay, so how can someone check keyword difficulty themselves without a tool like SEMrush?

Jacob:

You can do a basic check by Googling a keyword and looking at the search results. Let’s take “cat tree,” for example. If you Google it, you’ll see a mix of ads, product listings, and information panels. These features make it harder to rank because you need to compete in all those areas.

Jeffrey:

Who ranks at the top for “cat tree”?

Jacob:

The top result is HappyandPolly.com. They have a massive website with tons of content about cat trees, including products, FAQs, and reviews. If you want to compete with them, you have to match that level of content.

Jeffrey:

So, they fill up a lot of space with the keyword “cat tree,” which is why they rank higher.

Jacob:

Exactly. They’re taking advantage of everything on the search results page, from product listings to FAQs. If you want to rank, you’ll have to compete with that.

Jeffrey:

So, is it possible for a new business to enter the market for “cat tree”?

Jacob:

Yes, because the keyword difficulty score for “cat tree” is only 29, which is low. There’s room for new businesses to enter, but they need to focus and put in the effort to compete with bigger companies like PetSmart and Petco.

Jeffrey:

But those big companies are doing a million things, while a small business can focus on one specific niche.

Jacob:

Exactly. Niche marketing makes it easier to rank. The more focused your niche, the lower the keyword difficulty score usually is. For example, if you wanted to compete for something like “SEO marketing,” the difficulty score is 97, which is really high. But if you focus on a niche like “cat trees,” it’s easier.

Jeffrey:

Do you have an example of a keyword with a really high difficulty score?

Jacob:

Sure. “SEO marketing” has a difficulty score of 97, which is like competing with Google. It would actually be easier for me to start a cat tree business and rank for that than to rank for “SEO marketing agency.”

Jeffrey:

Got it. But you can still check keyword difficulty by Googling and looking at the competition.

Jacob:

Yes, but tools like SEMrush help you assess things like link profiles, which are harder to check on your own.

Jeffrey:

What do you mean by link profiles?

Jacob:

Let’s say someone links to Cat Tree King on their blog. Every legitimate link from a credible source improves your site’s link profile and ranking. But spammy links from irrelevant or shady sites can hurt your profile.

Jeffrey:

So, a good link profile helps your chances of ranking high for certain keywords.

Jacob:

Exactly. That’s why tools like SEMrush are useful. Without them, it’s more of a guessing game.

Jeffrey:

Okay, so keyword difficulty tells you how much work you need to put in to rank.

Jacob:

Yes. If you’re competing with sites that have 1,000-word articles, you’ll need to write similar content in length and quality. It’s not enough to write 100 words and hope to rank.

Jeffrey:

So, if you want to compete, you have to match or surpass what others are doing.

Jacob:

Exactly. It’s like any competition—if you want to win, you have to do better than your competitors.

Jeffrey:

Right. And that’s where keyword difficulty comes into play.

Jacob:

Yes, when we do SEO strategies, we look at keyword difficulty to understand what we’re up against and how much effort it will take to rank.

Jeffrey:

And that helps set expectations for how long it will take to rank.

Jacob:

Exactly. If you’re targeting keywords with difficulty scores above 80 or 90, you need to be prepared for a long-term commitment. But if your keywords have lower scores, it will likely be easier to rank.

Jacob:

Yes, it’s an assessment to know the work you’re going to need to do. If you’re targeting a lot of keywords with difficulty scores below 50 or 40, you’ll probably have an easier time than other SEO projects because you’re not going after wildly difficult words. It all depends on what you’re trying to show up for and what industry you’re in.

A good thing to keep in mind is long-tail keywords. Have we talked about long-tail yet?

Jeffrey:

I don’t think so. Even working with you beyond just the podcast, I don’t think I’ve heard this term before.

Jacob:

Long-tail refers to the length of the keyword phrase. For example, “SEO” is a short keyword, but if we add to it, like “SEO digital marketing,” and then “SEO digital marketing agency,” and then “SEO digital marketing agency Cincinnati, Ohio,” we’re increasing the tail. The longer the tail, the lower the competition and keyword difficulty score usually is.

Jeffrey:

Right. Okay.

Jacob:

I’ll put that into SEMrush right now: “Digital Marketing Agency Cincinnati.” The whole long-tail phrase didn’t show up exactly in SEMrush’s search tool, but people do search for it. A good example would be “Cincinnati SEO company.” We’re adding to the keyword to make it more niche. We’re not going after the international chess competition anymore—we’re aiming for the local level.

Jeffrey:

It was in, maybe it was in Cincinnati anyway.

Jacob:

Yeah, and I was just looking at it—everything with “SEO Cincinnati” in the phrase is scoring below 30 in keyword difficulty.

Jeffrey:

So, if you’re trying to be more niche-oriented, you can rank higher.

Jacob:

Yes, you can rank higher, easier, by being a big fish in a small pond. The more localized you get, the smaller the competition. For example, in big cities like New York or LA, it might be tougher, but in smaller cities, it’s much more achievable.

Jeffrey:

So if your initial keyword difficulty seems high, you can modify it by being hyper-specific or hyper-localized.

Jacob:

Exactly, and that’s what long-tail keywords are all about. It’s also good for blog post topics. Long-tail keywords tend to have less volume but can rank better. I think of them like solar panels—one won’t give you a lot of energy, but a whole field of them can.

Jeffrey:

I have one more question for you, though. Does keyword difficulty—on one of our previous podcasts, we talked about cost per click—are those two things correlated? Keyword difficulty and cost per click?

Jacob:

Yeah, to a certain degree. But not always. Cost per click is a better judgment of value than it is of competition.

Jeffrey:

Okay.

Jacob:

For instance, I’m looking at—you know, I have that Cincinnati SEO thing pulled up here. Cincinnati SEO company today, cost per click is $24.34 per click. Versus if I go a little bit down, Cincinnati SEO expert is $9.42 per click.

Jeffrey:

Okay, and so what are the difficulties of those two?

Jacob:

20 versus 22.

Jeffrey:

Oh, okay. So it can be highly variable. Okay, understood.

Jacob:

Yeah, because it’s going to be about what do I want to bid for and who’s bidding for that space and is the bidding driving it up. So you could find—like, let me go back and see if I can double-check “digital marketing.” And you get that 90 up again. SEO marketing agency on a national level is cost per click $19.82. So even cheaper, a little bit.

Jeffrey:

Then it is, then local.

Jacob:

Yeah, then the local one. But that’s because probably my local area.

Jeffrey:

Everyone’s competing for that same ad word or that same keyword.

Jacob:

Yes. And that can, like you said, drive the cost per click up. If a lot of people are doing it, it’s not perfect, but they correlate a little bit. So like, “What is SEO marketing?”—that’s an information-based term that has a keyword difficulty score of 89 and a cost per click of $1.35.

Jeffrey:

Right, because no one’s buying it. They’re just looking for it.

Jacob:

Exactly. So, they can correlate a little bit, but most of the time it’s more of a value mentality around that keyword. Like if I’m looking for a tire store near me, right? I’m looking to buy tires today. So there might be a lot more value in that. Like, I’m ready to buy. I’m in a different mindset than if you were searching for tires in general, which might have a very high keyword difficulty but a low cost per click.

Jeffrey:

Right, because it’s just informational.

Jacob:

Yeah, I’m not ready to buy right now.

Jeffrey:

You’re just looking for tires.

Jacob:

Yeah, maybe I’m looking at like, who has the coolest treads on tires?

Jeffrey:

You’re looking at the Michelin star system.

Jacob:

Wait, isn’t that for restaurants?

Jeffrey:

Yeah, it is, but it was created by the Michelin tire company, which is completely hilarious to me—that’s how we rate restaurants in the world.

Jacob:

Wait a second—

Jeffrey:

Did you not know this?

Jacob:

I thought Michelin was just somebody named Michelin who made tires.

Jeffrey:

It’s the same Michelin.

Jacob:

That’s odd. Is it the same Michelin?

Jeffrey:

And the reason why is because, uh, back—I mean, I guess mid-20th century—Michelin, you know, I’m not going to get the story correct, so I’m not going to say it, but—

Jacob:

I’m looking at it right now.

Jeffrey:

The Michelin tire company and the Michelin restaurant rating system are the same. It’s the same Michelin.

Jacob:

Oh my gosh, I’m reading it right now, yeah. The Michelin tire founders and French industrial brothers, André and Édouard Michelin, compiled the first Michelin guide in 1900 with the aim of creating a demand for automobiles and, therefore, the need for Michelin tires.

Jeffrey:

Oh yes, trying to get people out in the world.

Jacob:

To go visit different restaurants that aren’t near where they live, so they have to drive to get there, and by driving, they’ll buy tires. I mean, it’s completely…

Jacob:

That’s some good marketing right there.

Jeffrey:

It’s ridiculous, but yeah, it’s effective, I guess.

Jacob:

I mean, when—

Jeffrey:

And now it’s the standard that we judge restaurants by. So, good for them.

Jacob:

Talk about brand recognition.

Jeffrey:

Yeah, but the thing is, it’s kind of a failure as brand recognition because so many people don’t realize it’s the Michelin tire company.

Jacob:

Do they not own it anymore?

Jeffrey:

I don’t know. But if they wanted people to recognize the Michelin star system and equate it with the Michelin tire company, they failed at that, because you didn’t realize that, and I didn’t realize it until I started working in the restaurant industry. But yeah, it’s the tire company.

Jeffrey:

All right, so Jacob, any final thoughts?

Jacob:

My final thoughts would be, if you want to figure out keyword difficulty without a tool, you’ve got to start Googling it, look directly at your competition. Think of it like a race. They’re the people you want to beat. And if they look really good and they’re doing a great job, you should just assume that keyword difficulty is kind of high.

Jeffrey:

Right.

Jacob:

Anyway, that’s my takeaway from today. Jeffrey, do you have any questions?

Jeffrey:

No, I think we covered everything I wanted to talk about. We’re going to link to these SEO services at the bottom of our page. All right, Jacob, it was good talking to you today.

Jacob:

Thank you.

Jeffrey:

Yeah, adios.

Jacob:

Bye.