Keyword difficulty is a score that estimates how hard it will be for your website to rank on page one for a specific search term.
It helps you judge competition before you spend time writing or rebuilding a page. Most SEO tools show difficulty on a 0 to 100 style scale, where higher numbers usually mean the current top results have stronger backlink profiles, stronger brands, and deeper content that has already earned trust over time.
Two quick clarifiers: keyword difficulty is not a Google metric, and it is not a promise. Each tool calculates it differently, so treat it as a directional gauge, not a pass or fail test. A “hard” term can still be winnable if your page matches what searchers want, your local trust is strong, and you can earn links and mentions that matter in your market.
What keyword difficulty actually measures
In practice, difficulty is mostly a proxy for how entrenched the current winners are. If the top results are national brands, major directories, or pages with lots of quality links pointing at them, you will usually need more time, stronger content, and more authority to compete. If the top results include local businesses with average websites and thin pages, you may have a realistic opening even when the score looks “medium.”
How we use it for local businesses in Orlando
For service businesses in Central Florida, difficulty is most useful for picking battles. Broad searches like “dentist Orlando” or “personal injury lawyer Orlando” are often crowded, while tighter searches like service plus neighborhood, service plus urgency, or service plus a specific problem can convert better and be more reachable. Also, difficulty scores usually reflect organic results, not the Google Map Pack, so local visibility can move faster than the score suggests when your Google Business Profile and service pages are strong.
- Start with buyer-intent terms (service + city, service + neighborhood, emergency, same-day, cost, near me).
- Check difficulty, but also open the results and look at who ranks: local businesses, brands, directories, or forums.
- Pick a mix: a few easier wins for the next 30 to 90 days, plus one or two tougher targets you build toward.
- Match the page type to intent (service page for “hire me” searches, guide for “teach me” searches).
- Measure progress in Google Search Console so you can expand from what is already getting impressions.
If you’re new to the basics, start with our SEO keywords explanation so the scores have context.
When you’re ready to build a short list that fits your services and service area, our how to choose the right keywords for SEO guide walks you through the filters we use with clients.
If you want us to turn difficulty scores into pages that bring calls and booked appointments, our SEO services work focuses on the terms you can realistically win in your local market, not vanity rankings.
