Introduction

As a small team with limited resources, it might be tricky to beat your competitors on Google. Most big-budget brands know the power of content marketing and have started long before you dreamt of creating your brand. They’ve got marketing and advertising money to spend and a colony of SEO experts that know how to crack the nuts of Google’s algorithm/s to rank quickly. So how do you beat these competitors on SERPs? How do you have a glimpse of the light and get a share of the traffic in your field, even as a startup with a small team?

Why Low-Difficulty Keywords are Worth Your Time

Low-difficulty keywords are like mustard seeds. They look intangible in the eyes but have the inherent capacity to grow and produce mind-blowing results. This article will discuss why low-difficulty keywords are worth your time, the factors that affect keyword difficulty, and how to find rich keywords with low difficulty. Most importantly, we will examine the different keyword scoring systems of SEO tools and which is the best to follow.

Factors that Affect Keyword Difficulty

Low-difficulty keywords are easy to rank for on search engine result pages. You don’t necessarily need a high domain authority website or to build many links to rank for these keywords. These keywords have lower search volume than high-competition keywords, but they are specific and targeted to a particular search intent which can result in higher click-through rates.

Number of Users Searching for a Keyword

The number of users searching for a keyword automatically affects its difficulty. Logically, everybody wants a keyword with high search volume because ranking for these keywords equals generating more traffic to their sites. That’s why keywords with hundreds of thousands of search volumes have relatively high KD.

Link Profile and Reputable Websites

One of Google’s checklists for ranking websites on SERPs is the authenticity and reliability of the site, otherwise known as link profile. Reputable websites won’t link to dubious or low-quality websites. For instance, an authoritative website will only provide links to other sites with similar value quality. A strong link profile is the outcome of links to these websites. Link profiles are one of Google’s methods for assessing a website’s or webpage’s quality.

Number of Sites Targeting the Keyword

Aside from a keyword’s search volume, the number of sites targeting it also affects its difficulty. Google aims to provide its users with relevant, unique, and accurate information. That’s why content quality is a major ranking factor. The quality of content available for a particular keyword affects its difficulty. It is much easier to rank for a keyword if none of the sites targeting it provides high-graded content.

Quality of the Model Page

Firstly, a high-quality model page optimized for a particular keyword can increase the keyword difficulty because it signals to search engines that the competition for that keyword is high. On the other hand, a low-quality model page can decrease the keyword difficulty. A low-quality page may need to be optimized for a particular keyword and require a strong backlink profile or high domain authority.

Benefits of Targeting Low-Difficulty Keywords

Easy to Rank For

Low-difficulty keywords are escalators that effortlessly take you up the search engine result pages. You may need to build a small number or no link to get page ranking.

Specific and Highly Converting

Here is a significant mistake most brands make; they ignore low-difficulty keywords because of their low search volume forgetting that they have a specific search intent and are highly converting. We created this article and ranked it on the first page of SERP rankings within a few days.

Access to Long-Tail Variations

When you target low-difficulty keywords, you can easily find long-tail variations that are easier to rank for and relevant to your audience.

Less Competitive and Cost-Effective

Low-difficulty keywords are less competitive. You don’t have to spend more on paid ads.

Better ROI

You don’t want to wait the donkey years to see results as a new business. Therefore, you need a strategy that can quickly fly you over the hurdles of your competitors, seek out a small percentage of the overall market share, and produce a better ROI. That’s where low-difficulty keywords come in! They are easy to rank for and require less effort and budget to produce results.

Increases Click-Through Rates and Organic Traffic

Most low-difficulty keywords are long-tail keywords. And you know these keywords are specific and targeted to a particular audience. Most importantly, they satisfy a clear search intent. When your pages’ click-through rates increase, the result is an increase in your website’s traffic. However, your conversion level will now depend on the quality of your content and how tailored your CTAs are. Even though low-difficulty keywords are low volume, optimizing them perfectly will increase your site’s organic traffic and convert your targeted audience.

How to Find Low-Difficulty Keywords

Every SEO expert knows Google is the first go-to center for keyword research, especially low-difficulty long-tail keywords. Google is an archive of relevant keywords, but you must be strategic in fetching them out to access them. Here are some places to access these keywords:

1. Google’s Autocomplete

Input your keyword into Google’s search bar, and it automatically gives you a list of related keywords, mostly low-difficulty.

2. People Also Ask Segment

You can get a list of low-difficulty keywords from the “People Also Ask” segment.

3. Related Searches Segment

You can access a list of low-difficulty keywords by analyzing the “Related Searches” segment of search engine result pages.

4. Keyword Research Tools

There are a lot of keyword research tools out there to find low-difficulty keywords. These platforms have their standard metrics for calculating the difficulty of a keyword. You can try a few tools: Google Keyword Planner, Keyword Tool, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, Longtailpro, and more.

Keyword Difficulty Scoring Systems of SEO Tools

There are several SEO tools out there with different keyword-difficulty scoring systems. Undeniably, it can be frustrating trying to choose the best tool with an accurate scoring system. To help things out, we got insights from SEO experts on three platforms – LinkedIn, Qwoted, and Helpab2bwriter. We requested SEO experts’ opinions on the keyword research tool with the best keyword-difficulty scoring system. Here’s what they had to say:

• “Many of them are third-party compound metrics, and they won’t tell you how the calculation is done, and even the main players give vastly different results.” – Mark Williams-Cook, Founder of AlsoAsked

• “There isn’t a single keyword tool out there with 100% reliable data on keyword difficulty. It’s best to combine one or two tools with your analysis of SERPs for that keyword, to assess how difficult it would be to target.” – Kate Smoothy, Owner at Webhive Digital

• “Throughout my career, I have seen that SEMRush has the best keyword difficulty data.” – Joe Karasin, Owner Karasin PPC

• “Ahrefs seems to have the most accurate data; most professional SEOs in my friend’s group agree with this.” – Angelo Sorbello, Founder of Linkdelta.com

• “SEMrush has one of the more accurate scoring systems regarding keyword difficulty.” – Steph Andrusjak

• “It is important to remember that keyword research tools may have different scoring systems for determining keyword difficulty. While some tools may use a numerical score or a traffic light system, others may use a percentage or a letter grade.” – Rachel Macfarlane, Content Marketing Strategist at Redfox Visual

• “I usually just defer to Ahrefs whenever I want to have a quick indicator of competitiveness for each keyword. Ahrefs’ keyword difficulty metric is only based on links, so it’s simple enough.” – Mervin Lance Calabia

While different tools may have their scoring systems, choosing the one that aligns with your specific goals and priorities is essential. The best approach is to familiarize yourself with several different scoring systems and determine which one works best for your particular use case.

Analyzing Competitor Keywords

Ignoring your competitors in your keyword research can result in a big blow! You can save time researching new keywords by analyzing ready-made keywords from your competitors. Most of your competitors know the power of low-difficulty keywords; you can get a bank of relevant keywords from them. For effectiveness, SEO competitive analysis tools give you access to keywords from your competitors.

Conclusion

Targeting low-difficulty keywords is a strategic approach for small teams with limited resources to rank on SERPs and get a share of the traffic. These keywords are easy to rank for, have specific search intent, and can result in higher click-through rates. By following the right keyword research strategies and using reliable SEO tools, you can find low-difficulty keywords that are relevant to your audience and optimize your content to increase organic traffic and conversions. So don’t underestimate the power of low-difficulty keywords in your SEO strategy – they can be the key to your success.