Keyword Difficulty Checker
Check keyword difficulty for up to 5 keywords at once and find terms you can rank for. A 0 to 100 score from the pages already ranking. Free, no signup.
Enter keywords to check difficulty
Up to 5 keywords, one per line or comma-separated
What keyword difficulty measures
One score per keyword, with a label, from the strength of the pages already on page one.
Difficulty score, 0 to 100
How hard it is to reach page one for the term, from the backlink profiles and authority of the pages already ranking. Higher means harder.
Competition levels
Easy up to 29, Medium to 49, Hard to 69, Very Hard above. The labels are cut-offs on the same score, not separate measures.
What the score implies
A higher score means the ranking pages have more and stronger links. Easy terms may need few; Hard terms need a domain with comparable authority.
Five at a time
Up to five keywords per check, scored side by side, with the easiest of the set called out.
Keyword data from DataForSEO's index, US English. Difficulty from the backlink profiles of ranking pages.
How this keyword difficulty checker works
What the score measures, where it comes from, and how to pick a target.
What keyword difficulty measures
Keyword difficulty is an estimate of how hard it is to reach the first page of Google for a term. The index behind this checker looks at the pages currently ranking in the top results for the keyword in US English and scores the strength of their backlink profiles: how many domains link to them and how strong those domains are. The stronger the incumbents, the higher the score. It runs from 0 to 100, and higher means harder.
What it does not measure
Difficulty is about links, because links are the part of ranking that can be read from outside. It does not score content quality, search intent, freshness or the fit between the query and your page. A keyword with a low score and the wrong intent for your page is still hard. A keyword with a high score where every incumbent is a thin forum thread can be easier than it looks. Read the results page itself before you commit to a term.
How to read the score
Match the label to your domain's standing. A new site with few referring domains should start with Easy terms. A site with an established link profile can work in Medium. Hard and Very Hard need a domain whose authority is already comparable to the pages that rank. The checker takes five keywords at once so you can compare variants of a term side by side, and it names the easiest of the set.
Difficulty and domain authority
The two numbers answer opposite sides of one question. Difficulty asks how strong the ranking pages are. Domain authority asks how strong your domain is. Run the domain authority checker on your own domain, then target keywords whose difficulty sits at or below that standing. An expired domain with a real link history starts closer to the harder terms, which is the reason people look for one, and the directory lists them with that history shown.
When the lookup fails
Difficulty scores come from a third-party keyword index that we query live. When that index does not answer, the page says so under the form and shows nothing. It never shows a cached or guessed score. The backlink checker, domain authority checker and expired domain checker do not use that index and are unaffected.
Frequently asked questions
What is keyword difficulty?
Keyword difficulty estimates how hard it is to rank on page one of Google for a term. Scores run from 0 to 100. A higher score means the pages already ranking have stronger backlink profiles, so more authority is needed to join them.
How do I check keyword difficulty for free?
Enter up to five keywords above, one per line or comma-separated. No signup, no card, and no usage cap beyond a per-visitor rate limit.
What keyword difficulty should I target?
It depends on your domain's authority. A new site should target Easy terms, scored 0 to 29. An established site can aim for Medium, 30 to 49. Hard and Very Hard, 50 and above, need a domain whose link profile is already comparable to the pages that rank.
How is keyword difficulty calculated?
The index looks at the pages ranking in the top results for the keyword and scores the strength of their backlink profiles: how many domains link to them and how strong those domains are. Stronger incumbents mean a higher score. The data comes from DataForSEO.
How can I rank for high-difficulty keywords?
Build authority on your domain first. Publish pages worth linking to, earn links from sites in your field, and check your standing with the domain authority checker as it grows. Starting from an expired domain with a real link history shortens that path, and the directory lists them with the history shown.
Browse expired domains with backlinks
Harder terms need a domain with authority behind it. The directory lists expired domains with backlinks, with referring domains, archive history and authority shown before the name.