Keyword difficulty by SBMM
Chapter 4 of 11One score from 0 to 100 that tells you how hard it is to reach the top 10 for a search, plus two meters that show why.
Where to find it
Keyword difficulty appears in two places on Google: in the sidebar Overview tab under the heading "Difficulty By SBMM", and at the end of the keyword line under the search box as "SBMM KD".
It is only calculated on Google, because it uses the way Google lays out its results page.
How to read the score and the meters
SEO Difficulty is the main score. It answers one question: how hard is it to get into the top 10 for this search?
Off-Page shows how much the top results are backed by things outside the page itself: the links pointing to the ranking pages and the overall strength of their websites.
On-Page shows how closely the top results match the search: whether the words of the search appear in their titles, links and snippets. A high number means the winners are written exactly for this search, so your page needs to be too.
The main score also looks at how crowded the results page is. When Google fills the page with answer boxes, ads, map packs and video rows, there is less room for normal results.
What the numbers mean
Under 30: easy. A new site with a good page has a real chance.
30 to 49: possible. Good content plus a few quality links should do it.
50 to 69: hard. Expect to need a stronger site and links to the page.
70 and above: very hard. Usually held by big brands. Look for a longer, more specific version of the keyword instead.
Brand query
Under the meters, the Brand Query box says Yes or No. Yes means Google treats the search as a search for a brand, for example when the first result has a table of sitelinks, one site holds several top spots, or several social profiles of the same name show up.
When it is a brand search, the difficulty goes up, because people searching a brand name want that brand, not your page.
Good to know
Keyword difficulty is an estimate to help you compare keywords. It is not a promise of results, and other SEO tools will show different numbers for the same search.
The score is worked out on the SBMM server from the public titles, addresses and snippets of the top results on your page. If the block says it is waiting for data, give it a few seconds. It fills in once the top sites have been looked up.
Compare keywords on the same topic and pick the ones with lower difficulty and decent search volume. That is where beginners win first.