SEO Checklist

In keyword research, two critical metrics that guide your SEO strategy are search volume and keyword difficulty. Effectively prioritizing keywords based on these factors helps you target terms that balance traffic potential with the feasibility of ranking.

Understanding Search Volume

Search volume indicates how many times a particular keyword is searched for in a given timeframe, usually monthly. Keywords with high search volume represent greater potential traffic but often come with higher competition.

• High volume: Indicates strong user interest and traffic opportunity.


• Low volume: Represents niche or very specific queries, often less competitive but with limited traffic.

Understanding Keyword Difficulty

Keyword difficulty (also called SEO difficulty or competition score) measures how hard it is to rank for a keyword on search engines. This is based on factors like domain authority of current top-ranking pages, backlink profiles, and content quality.

• High difficulty: Requires strong SEO efforts, quality content, and backlinks to rank.


• Low difficulty: Easier to rank but might have lower search volume.

Why Prioritize Keywords by These Metrics?

Prioritizing keywords by balancing search volume and difficulty allows you to:

• Maximize traffic by targeting high-volume keywords you can realistically rank for.


• Avoid wasting resources chasing extremely competitive keywords.


• Identify quick wins with lower difficulty, valuable niche keywords.

How to Prioritize Keywords Strategically

1. Gather Data

Use keyword research tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Keyword Planner to collect:

• Monthly search volume


• Keyword difficulty or competition score


• Related keyword suggestions

2. Segment Keywords Into Quadrants

Visualize your keyword list on a two-axis graph:

• X-axis: Keyword Difficulty (low to high)


• Y-axis: Search Volume (low to high)

This creates four quadrants:

• High volume & low difficulty: Ideal targets, high priority.


• High volume & high difficulty: Long-term targets requiring strong SEO efforts.


• Low volume & low difficulty: Good for quick wins and niche targeting.


• Low volume & high difficulty: Generally low priority.

3. Prioritize Based on Your Resources and Goals

Consider your website’s current authority, content quality, and SEO budget:

• New or low-authority sites: Focus on low difficulty, medium to low volume keywords to build momentum.


• Established sites: Target a mix including high-volume, higher-difficulty keywords.


• Quick wins: Prioritize keywords with reasonable volume and low competition.

4. Factor in User Intent and Relevance

Don’t prioritize keywords solely by volume and difficulty. Ensure keywords align with your business goals and user intent:

• Informational intent might require different pages than transactional intent.


• Choose keywords relevant to your offerings to increase conversion rates.

5. Use Keyword Prioritization Tools

Tools like Ahrefs Keyword Explorer or SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool provide difficulty and volume scores and can help sort and filter keywords.

Example: Prioritizing Keywords

Imagine you have these keywords:

• “best running shoes” – Volume: 50,000; Difficulty: 70 (High)


• “affordable running shoes for beginners” – Volume: 5,000; Difficulty: 30 (Low)


• “how to choose running shoes” – Volume: 12,000; Difficulty: 45 (Medium)


• “best trail running shoes 2025” – Volume: 1,000; Difficulty: 20 (Low)

As a new website, focusing on the second and fourth keywords first can provide easier ranking opportunities before tackling the competitive “best running shoes.”

Summary

Prioritizing keywords by search volume and keyword difficulty is crucial for an efficient and effective SEO strategy. By balancing these two factors along with user intent and site authority, you can target keywords that maximize traffic potential and ensure realistic chances of ranking. Regularly update your prioritization as your site grows and market trends evolve.