Understanding Keyword Competition in SEO and PPC

Keyword competition measures how tough it is to rank well for a specific search query on search engines like Google. It helps you gauge your chances of driving traffic from a particular keyword, as higher-ranking results tend to attract more clicks.

This term is mostly used in pay-per-click (PPC) marketing.

In PPC, high competition means you’ll need to pay more and meet stricter criteria to get your ads to show for that keyword

Keyword competition is also a concept in search engine optimization (SEO), where it’s often referred to as keyword difficulty.

In SEO, high difficulty means you’ll need to meet stricter standards (like content quality, user experience, and website authority) to achieve a strong, unpaid ranking.

How Is Keyword Competition Calculated?

Keyword competition is calculated differently depending on the keyword research tool.

In Google Keyword Planner, two metrics show competition for paid search results:

• Competition: This reflects how many advertisers are bidding on the keyword compared to all other keywords on Google. You’ll see a rating of “High,” “Medium,” or “Low” if enough data is available.
• Competition (indexed value): This represents the percentage of ad slots filled versus those available. For example, a score of 75 means 25% of ad spaces remain unfilled.

In Semrush, there’s a PPC metric known as competitive density. This measures the number of advertisers bidding on a specific term, using a scale from 0.0 to 1.0. A score above 0.8 indicates a highly competitive keyword.

Semrush also provides a keyword difficulty (KD%) score, expressed as a percentage. This score helps gauge organic competition levels, with anything over 50% being considered tough to rank for.

This metric is based on several factors, including:

• The median number of domains linking to the top 10 URLs
• The median Authority Scores of the top 10 domains
• Features of the search engine results page (SERP)

By entering your domain, you can access a Personal Keyword Difficulty (PKD%) score. This shows how difficult it would be for your site to rank, factoring in your own Authority Score, referring domains, and more.

Why Are Some Terms More Competitive Than Others?

Competition levels differ because some terms are more likely to generate traffic and results than others.

To grasp this, it’s helpful to note that keyword competition usually correlates positively with two main factors:

• Keyword search volume: This is the average number of monthly searches a keyword receives. Keywords with higher search volumes typically have broader appeal and relevance, attracting more attention and investment. In contrast, more specific keywords (known as long-tail keywords) often have lower search volumes and competition levels.
• Purchase intent: This refers to how ready the searcher is to make a purchase. This factor is especially important in PPC, as most advertisers aim to achieve a direct return on their ad spend. In SEO, it’s easier to reach users at various stages of the buying journey cost-effectively.

When conducting SEO or PPC keyword research in Semrush, you can view average monthly search volumes alongside keyword competition metrics, often revealing this correlation.

You can also examine the type of search intent (what the user aims to achieve with their search) associated with each keyword, which aids in understanding the level of purchase intent.

Intent Type	Description	Purchase Intent Level
Informational (I)	The user is seeking information	Low
Commercial (C)	The user is researching a brand, product, or service	Medium to High
Navigational (N)	The user is seeking a specific website or webpage	Medium to High
Transactional (T)	The user is ready to take action (e.g., make a purchase)	High

How to Check Keyword Competition

To assess the competition levels for your selected keywords, input your term(s) into the Keyword Overview tool.

Next, enter your domain, select your target country, and click “Search.”

You’ll quickly see the competitive density and Personal Keyword Difficulty scores.

However, the tool offers much more than just a keyword competition checker. It also provides search volumes, types of intent, keyword ideas, and additional insights.

To assess competition levels while exploring new keywords, utilize the Keyword Magic Tool.

Enter a term to guide your search, along with your domain and target country. Then, click “Search.”

The tool will gather “Broad Match” keywords that include your starting term or a close variation.

It will then display various keyword metrics, including competitive density, keyword difficulty, and Personal Keyword Difficulty score.

How to Compete for Desirable Terms

In SEO, it’s advisable to focus on keywords with a PKD% ranging from 0% to 49% (“Very Easy” to “Possible”). These keywords are more likely to lead to high rankings and conversions.

The Keyword Magic Tool allows you to filter for keywords within your preferred range:

As you enhance your website’s authority, ranking for keywords will become relatively easier.

You can achieve this by:

• Creating quality content that addresses your audience’s needs
• Increasing your topical authority by thoroughly covering relevant subjects
• Utilizing link building to boost your site’s perceived authority
• Maintaining a solid foundation of good technical SEO
• Following our on-page SEO checklist to optimize your content

PPC allows you to rank prominently for keywords that might be hard to reach through SEO.

However, it’s not just about placing higher bids than your competitors.

You also need to craft high-quality ads that meet user needs and develop fast-loading, conversion-focused landing pages.

Track Your Performance for Competitive Keywords

Once you start targeting terms with your ads and content, be sure to track your keyword rankings.

This will help you understand how competitive your site is and whether your strategy is effective, enabling you to make more informed decisions moving forward.

With Semrush’s Position Tracking tool, you can monitor your performance in both Google’s paid and organic results, while easily referencing the KD% keyword competition metric.

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