Free keyword difficulty checker
Find out whether you can realistically rank for a keyword. Search it on Google, paste the page-one results, and XKey grades how strong each one really is.
- No cost
- No sign-up
- No email
- No subscription
- No limits for normal use
How does this keyword difficulty checker work?
Paid tools estimate difficulty from their own databases of backlinks. XKey looks at the evidence directly: the pages Google ranks right now for your search. For each one we check whether the keyword is in the title and main heading, how much content it has, whether it uses structured data, how fast it responds and what kind of site it is – a national brand, or a forum, free blog or Q&A page that a focused business page can often beat.
You do the Google search yourself, so you see exactly the results your customers see, in your location – and we don't break Google's rules by scraping its results.
What is a good keyword difficulty score?
- Under 35 – easy. Page one is held by pages that don't really target the phrase. A focused, helpful page can rank, often within weeks.
- 35 to 60 – medium. Beatable with a better page, a few relevant links and, for local searches, a strong Google Business Profile.
- Over 60 – hard. Strong, well-targeted pages and big sites. Target a longer, more specific variation first – try the long-tail keyword generator.
What does it not measure?
Backlinks – links from other websites – are a big part of why established sites rank, and measuring them needs a crawl of the whole web. So treat big-name sites as harder than their on-page score suggests. Search volume isn't included either; Google Keyword Planner gives free ranges.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I have to paste the results myself?
Google doesn't allow automated scraping of its results. Searching yourself is within the rules, free, and shows the real results for your location.
How many results should I paste?
All ten organic results on page one gives the best estimate. Skip ads, the map pack and video carousels.
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Want the fixes done for you? XKey is made by IceWork, a web studio in Blackpool. IceWork builds fast, search-ready websites – a 3-page site including domain and a year's hosting is £350 all in.