What is keyword competition and how to calculate it

When analyzing your SEO and searching for potential relevant keywords, you are probably looking at the search intent on the SERP (search engine result page), monthly search volume, CPC, and keyword difficulty. But it would help if you also looked at your competition. Who is using those keywords, in what context, and do they have a high domain authority than yours?

Here's everything you need to know about keyword competition.

TRACK YOUR KEYWORD COMPETITION

What is keyword competition?

Keyword competition is a difficulty metric representing how easy or difficult it will be to rank on Google's organic search results for a specific keyword. It is based on page authority, domain authority, referring domains, quality backlinks, and content quality.

Keyword competition is usually a logarithmic scale from 1-100, which differs between SEO tools.

Moz, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Google keyword planner all have their own version of a keyword difficulty checker. Google’s algorithm constantly changes, so it’s crucial to analyze target keywords regularly.

How to calculate keyword competition

You do not have to calculate the keyword competition in your keyword research process. If you're using an SEO tool, you may use their keyword research tool to find the best keywords. In the case of Ahrefs, for example, they analyze keyword search results and examine the number of referring domains the top-ranking pages have.

The only issue is that every tool measures difficulty differently, so ensure you always use the same keyword tool as a benchmark.

Keyword competition KPI examples & templates

Add competitor keyword analysis to these reports to better understand your SEO strategy.

See this KPI in action here!

See this KPI in action here!

SEO (Search engine optimization) template

Gather all your favorite SEO analysis tools, from Google Analytics to SEMrush, and Ahrefs, to create a powerful SEO report! Track your SEO performance on top pages, get your keyword analysis in seconds, and get insights on improving your on-page SEO.

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Digital marketing report template

Track your digital marketing efforts and optimize your SEO strategy. Our digital marketing reports let you track organic traffic, email campaigns, PPC results, and social media presence.

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Local SEO Report Template

Connect all your local SEO tools into a complete SEO report for all your locations or clients! From search rankings to mobile searches, customer reviews, and keyword research, gather all your local SEO campaign data and local marketing into one report.

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Keyword competition best practices

Here are some of the best practices you should remember when making your list of keywords and improving your chances of ranking on specific search terms.

Keep an eye on your competitor's keywords

Whether trying to optimize your content strategy or your Google ads, you should use your top competitors ranking as a benchmark and perform an in-depth keyword gap analysis. Keyword competition analysis tools will help you discover high search volume keyword suggestions and measure your chances against competitors’ websites. A smart move would be to check your lower domain authority's competitors and use their keywords to create high-value content. That way, you might find low-competition keyword ideas that will get you on the first page of search engines!

Focus on long-tail keyword

If you're relatively new to the game, you must prove yourself with high-competition keywords before you shoot too high. Use the keyword explorer to look for Google search queries that are low-difficulty and easier to rank for you, and remember to check new keyword trends and related keywords. Long-tail keywords usually get lower volumes but are more targeted and not as difficult, which could benefit you.

Prioritize your domain authority

Measuring up to competitors for organic keywords is a complex task. Still, keyword difficulty scores varies depending on the domain authority and ranking factor of other web pages that use this particular keyword. To improve your page ranking, you want to build a content marketing strategy and a link-building strategy. Optimization includes conducting keyword research frequently, doing a SERP analysis, creating high-quality content like case studies or guides, and knowing how to use linking opportunities. SEO tools give you complete backlink profiles.