Measurement. Reviewed October 29, 2026
Keyword difficulty
Also called: KD
Keyword difficulty is a tool's estimate, usually from 0 to 100, of how hard it is to rank on the first page for a search term, based mostly on the links pointing at the pages already there.
In practice
Most contractor terms score under 10 because the pages ranking for them are directory listings and thin agency pages with few links. That is why a well-built service page from a small company can reach page one in months.
The score says nothing about whether the term produces calls. Pair it with search intent before writing anything.
Related terms
- Search volumeSearch volume is the estimated number of times a term is searched per month in a given country, averaged over the last twelve months.
- Search intentSearch intent is what the person typing a query actually wants: to hire, to compare, to learn, or to reach one specific site, and the page that matches that want is the one that ranks.
- BacklinkA backlink is a link from another website to yours, and Google treats each one from a real, relevant site as a vote of confidence in the page it points at.
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