4 Essential Elements in Keyword Difficulty Ranking

Search engine ranking is a crucial part of digital marketing campaigns. It is not easy to rank on the first page of Google. The competition is fierce, and keyword difficulty is rising. However, there are a few ways you can rank higher despite this.

Keyword ranking has always been an issue for SEOs, but it's becoming increasingly difficult with the changes in Google's algorithm. It's easy to find the keywords that can bring site traffic, but the chances of ranking are another story. Still, there are a few ways you can rank higher despite this. 

 

What is keyword difficulty? 

First, we need to understand what keyword difficulty means. Keyword difficulty is how difficult it is to rank for a keyword in a given search engine. It is usually measured on a scale of 0 to 100, the latter being the hardest. 

Keyword difficulty is an important metric to consider when creating an SEO strategy. Knowing how much competition you're up against for specific keywords is also important. Most keyword research tools have keyword difficulty scores. However, they calculate differently. That is why you should know how ranking difficulty is calculated by your chosen SEO tool. 

These tools also use several factors when measuring keyword difficulty, such as domain rating, content length, internal links, and relevancy, among a few. Keyword ranking tools will distribute the weight of these elements to create the keyword difficulty score. Other ways these tools can help with keyword ranking are the following: 

 

Number of backlinks 

To rank higher on search engine results, you must have backlinks to your content. Some keyword ranking tools suggest the number of backlinks you need to rank high on search results. 

 

Competitors' "authority" 

SEO experts believe that search engines prefer pages belonging to popular or "authoritative" websites. How well you will rank on search results depends on the internal links (better if from popular and authoritative websites) and how well-known your brand is.

 

Search intent 

Search intent is why people go online and type something in the search bar and satisfy their expectations. That is, to find answers to their queries and take the next action steps. Wonder what's in popular websites that make them authoritative and, well… popular? You can review these top-ranking pages for the given keyword and analyze what people get from them. 

 

Content quality 

It is said that a detailed and longer article is better, but it isn't always the case. A better article can be shorter but has all the information readers need in less time. Remember, not all people have the time and patience to read long articles that could bore them to death. 

Quality content should have the following elements: 

• Has accurate, unique, and up-to-date information 
• Written by a subject matter expert 
• Well-written, properly formatted, grammar-checked

 

Measuring keyword difficulty is important in search engine ranking, which is why keyword ranking tools are available to help you with that. But as mentioned, keyword ranking tools provide varying results. In this case, you can focus on the keyword you want to rank for, check the quality of your content, and choose trusted and authoritative links. Working with a digital marketing expert in Franklin, TN, also helps boost your online presence and achieve your marketing goals.