Why are all my keywords rated "highly competitive"?
-
I am using the Keyword Analysis tool and it is telling me that almost all the keywords I put in are "highly competitive" even though there is very little competition on Google.
Example: I enter the keyword "christian web designers" on Google, United Kingdom
It then reports that this keyword is 53% Highly Competitive. However I Google this term in quotes and there is less then 4,000 results. I also enter this keyword into Traffic Travis which tells me the the difficulty is Relatively Easy.
Am I doing something wrong here?
-
Hi James,
Couple of points:
1. The term "highly competitive" might be a bit misleading. I'd pay more attention to the score of 53%, which I would consider only moderately competitive. If you look at the actual search results, the #1 ranking only has a Domain Authority of 19, so I would think this is a keyword you could shoot for.
2. The score takes into account how hard it would be to obtain a top ranking, but not neccessarily #1. There are some high authority domains in the top 10 for that query, including www.swedishdigitatalmarketingagency.com, which makes the overall vertical more competitive.
3. The Keyword Difficulty tool is a best guess based on comparative metrics, but it isn't always right.
4. When in doubt, I always run a full analysis report to see why URLs are ranking the way they do.
Overall, I trust the 53 score. It seems a little high, but it's within a range I would consider within reason. The good news is the Keyword Analysis tool is going through some changes soon as SEOmoz acquires new data sources and continues to improve it's scoring algorythm. In the meantime, you can always use the MozBar - with the SERP overlay turned on - to eyeball any results you'd like to examine.
Best of luck with your SEO!
-
Thanks for the replies, so even if it says it is "highly competitive" it may not be competitive in the serps but for ppc? Will I be able to rank for keywords that are rated "highly competitive"?
-
The "highly competitive" is google's assessment of the PPC competition.
Organic SERPs could be very different.
Keep in mind that PPC allows broadmatch... but that will not get you ranked in organic.
-
I am working on some assumptions here as I have never seen the algorithm this tool uses, but it is pretty safe to say it will work some thing like this:
Which I learned as-
KEI, Keyword Efficiency Index,
Search Volume / Sites Optimized for that keyword = KEI
You could have 500 websites trying for a word and if it has a million searches, then you still have a decent shot at finding a way to get in front of some of the searchers as there are 2000 searches for every provider.
On the other hand, if there are 3 websites going after a keyword and it has only 1000 searches then your competition for that word is 333 to 1 or about 6 times tougher than the first example.
Also keep in mind that sometimes when serving a highly specialized niche you have to ignore everything and go for it, assuming you have put in your due diligence and you are sure there is a viable market.
-
The keyword tool isn't about competition per se (even though it does talk about competition), it's more about how difficult it would be to rank for certain keywords.
In your case the keyword "christian web designers" might only return few search results, but the top 10 could be domains with a strong backlink profile, which would make it difficult to rank for the top 10.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Minor languages keyword research
Hello, I am in charge of doing a keyword research for several small countries in Europe, namely Hungary, Estonia and Latvia.
Keyword Research | | Lvet
I normally use the Keyword planner for Google Ads, but for Hungarian, Estonian and Latvian this tools seems to find no results for the keywords related to my websites. For example, in Hungarian the keyword "ajak toltoanyagok" ("lip fillers" in English) doesn't give any results (and yes, I am targeting my searches to Hungary and Hungarian). I have the same problems with Latvian and Estonian. Is there another tool that I could use and that could give me better results? Help! Cheers Luca rONwtZt0 -
No SERPs contains my keyword phrase
Hi! I have a question that is the best described by an concrete example: When I use Google UK and search for a keyword "wood floor" why the top 100 search results show pages for "wood flooring" instead? Is it because that keyword is simply more popular and pages are in general better optimized for "flooring"?
Keyword Research | | KAN-Malmo1 -
Replacing Metas and Keywords
How often we need to replace our meta titles, meta descriptions and keywords so that we are able to find which one works and which does not. Can we make some schedule like on monthly or quarterly basis. What are the best practices in this regard?
Keyword Research | | Sequelmed0 -
Filler words like "for" in keyword phrase
Hey, I wonder what the effect of filler words like "on" or "for" is when I try to rank for a certain phrase. Here is an example, lets say i try to rank for "best apps iphone" but the grammatically correct usage in the headline or text is "best apps for iphone". Is there any difference or should I use the exact keyword without "for"? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | SebastianKnopp0 -
Best Keyword Research Tool
Can anyone please recommend the best keyword research tools available, we specialise in the travel industry and struggle to find new keywords as the more niche ones always show no traffic searches in the google keyword tool so it is really difficult to make a judgement. We know from google analytics that some niche keywords really are useless and while they are no. 1 they generate no traffic. I hope you can help Thanks! Andy
Keyword Research | | iprosoftware0 -
Two for the price of one: Can I rank for multiple keywords when only targeting one keyword?
If I'm optimizing for a specific keyword, is it accurate to assume that by ranking for that specific keyword that I will also be able to rank for similar or root keywords merely by ranking for the original keyword? For example, if I'm targeting 'free online bucket list' is it safe to assume that I will also be able to inadvertently rank for 'online bucket list' or 'free bucket list'? Can I assure clients of this? Or if I'm targeting 'Colorado grocery store' should I also naturally rank for 'grocery store Colorado' and not need to make both of these my targeted keywords?
Keyword Research | | derrickkuhn0 -
Google SERPS for similar Keywords?
I have website which is being listed for a keyword which is not in the site. It seems that google is using a Thesaurus to find words with similar meaning. Is this right? How could this be used for SEO purposes?
Keyword Research | | Tinderbox0 -
Run a batch of keywords 1 by 1 through Adwords Keyword tool
Hi, I'm looking for a tool that will be able to run a list of keywords 1 by 1 through the Google Adwords keyword tool and place them together in a list, in order to get as much long tail keywords as possible. Thanks for any suggestion!
Keyword Research | | DeptAgency0