Decoding Ubersuggest’s SEO Difficulty Score: A Deep Dive into How It Works (and How to Use It)

If you've spent any time researching keywords for SEO, you've likely encountered the term “SEO Difficulty” (often abbreviated as SD). It's a crucial metric that helps you assess how challenging it will be to rank organically for a particular keyword on Google.

Ubersuggest, the popular SEO tool developed by Neil Patel, provides its own SEO Difficulty score, and understanding how it's calculated – and, more importantly, how to use it – is key to a successful keyword strategy.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll pull back the curtain on Ubersuggest's SD score. We'll explore the factors that influence it, how it compares to other difficulty metrics, and, most importantly, how you can leverage this information to find low-competition keywords and boost your website's rankings. We won't just tell you what the score is; we'll explain why it matters and how to use it effectively.

What is SEO Difficulty, Anyway?

Before we dive into Ubersuggest's specifics, let's establish a baseline understanding of SEO Difficulty. In essence, SEO Difficulty is an estimate of the competitive landscape for a given keyword. A higher score indicates that it will be more difficult to rank on the first page of Google for that keyword, while a lower score suggests it will be easier.

Think of it like this: trying to rank for “shoes” (a very broad, high-competition keyword) is like trying to win a marathon against thousands of elite runners. Trying to rank for “best running shoes for flat feet overpronation” (a much more specific, long-tail keyword) is like running a local 5K race – still challenging, but with a much higher chance of success.

SEO Difficulty scores, as provided by tools like Ubersuggest, typically range from 0 to 100. This scale provides a quick assessment of how competitive a keyword is, but it's crucial to understand the nuances within each range. While general guidelines exist, the practical interpretation of these scores depends heavily on your website's authority and the specific niche. Here's a more detailed breakdown:

• 0-10: Very Low Difficulty: These keywords are often extremely long-tail, highly specific, and may have very low search volume. For established websites with decent authority, these keywords represent “low-hanging fruit” and can be relatively easy to rank for. For brand new websites, even these keywords might pose a slight challenge, but they're still the best starting point. Think of hyper-niche queries or very specific questions.

• 11-30: Low Difficulty: These keywords still represent good opportunities, especially for websites with some established authority. They might have slightly higher search volume than the 0-10 range, but competition is still relatively low. For new websites, targeting keywords in this range is a smart strategy, but expect to put in consistent effort with content creation and promotion.

• 31-50: Medium Difficulty: This is where things start to get more challenging. Keywords in this range often have significant search volume, but they also attract more competition from established websites. Ranking for these keywords requires high-quality content, a solid backlink profile, and good on-page optimization. New websites will likely find it difficult to rank for keywords in this range without significant effort and time.

• 51-70: Medium-High Difficulty: These keywords are highly competitive. They're typically targeted by well-established websites with strong authority and extensive backlink profiles. For smaller or newer websites, ranking for these keywords is a long-term goal that requires a sustained, strategic SEO effort. Success here often requires building significant topical authority.

• 71-90: High Difficulty: These keywords are dominated by major websites, often industry leaders or large publications. Ranking for these keywords is extremely challenging, even for established websites. It requires exceptional content, a very strong backlink profile, and a significant investment of time and resources.

• 91-100: Very High Difficulty: These are the most competitive keywords, often broad, generic terms (e.g., “shoes,” “insurance,” “travel”). Ranking for these keywords is realistically only achievable for the largest, most authoritative websites in the relevant industry. For most websites, these keywords are not worth targeting directly.

Important Considerations:

• Website Authority: A “low difficulty” keyword for a high-authority website might be a “medium difficulty” keyword for a new website. Your website's own strength plays a significant role.
• Niche Competitiveness: Some niches are inherently more competitive than others. SEO in the legal or financial industries, for example, will generally be more challenging than SEO in a less competitive niche.
• Search Intent: Even a low-difficulty keyword can be hard to rank for if your content doesn't perfectly match the user's search intent.
• Tool Variation: Remember that SEO Difficulty scores can vary slightly between different tools (Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, SEMrush, etc.) because they use different algorithms and data sources.

It is helpful to use these ranges for the classification:

• Very Low Difficulty
• Low Difficulty
• Medium Difficulty
• Medium-High Difficulty
• High Difficulty
• Very High Difficulty

Ubersuggest's SEO Difficulty: The Core Factors

Ubersuggest's SEO Difficulty score is a proprietary metric, meaning the exact formula is not publicly disclosed. However, based on observations, documentation, and Neil Patel's own explanations, we know that it primarily considers the following factors:

1. Backlinks of Top-Ranking Pages: This is arguably the most significant factor. Ubersuggest analyzes the backlink profiles of the websites currently ranking on the first page of Google for the target keyword. Specifically, it looks at:

   • Number of Referring Domains: The number of unique websites linking to each of the top-ranking pages. Generally, the more referring domains a page has, the more authoritative it is in Google's eyes.
   • Quality of Referring Domains: Not all backlinks are created equal. A link from a high-authority website (like the New York Times or Wikipedia) is much more valuable than a link from a low-quality, spammy website. Ubersuggest considers the authority of the linking domains.
   • Relevance of Referring Domains: Thematic relevance also matters. A link from a website about running shoes is more valuable for a keyword about running shoes than a link from a website about cooking.

2. Domain Authority (DA) of Top-Ranking Pages: While backlinks are the primary driver, Ubersuggest also likely considers the overall Domain Authority (DA) of the websites ranking on the first page. DA is a metric (originally developed by Moz) that predicts how well a website will rank on search engines. It's based on a number of factors, including the website's age, popularity, and, of course, its backlink profile. Higher DA websites are generally harder to outrank.

3. Search Volume (Indirectly): While search volume itself isn't a direct factor in SEO Difficulty, it often correlates with competition. Keywords with very high search volume tend to be more competitive because more websites are vying for those top rankings. Ubersuggest likely factors in search volume indirectly, as it influences the overall competitive landscape.

4. Content Quality and Relevance (Indirectly): Although Ubersuggest doesn't directly analyze the content of the top-ranking pages (like some other tools, such as Surfer SEO, do), it indirectly considers content quality through the lens of backlinks. High-quality, relevant content tends to attract more backlinks naturally. So, if the top-ranking pages have strong backlink profiles, it's a good indication that their content is also high-quality and relevant to the keyword.

5. Search Intent: Pages that better match search intent for that keyword, rank higher.

How Ubersuggest Calculates the Score (Educated Guess):

Based on the factors above, Ubersuggest likely uses a weighted algorithm to calculate the SEO Difficulty score. The algorithm probably works something like this:

1. Analyze Top-Ranking Pages: Ubersuggest crawls the first page of Google search results for the target keyword.
2. Gather Backlink Data: It analyzes the backlink profiles of each of the top-ranking pages, focusing on the number, quality, and relevance of referring domains.
3. Assess Domain Authority: It determines the Domain Authority of each of the top-ranking websites.
4. Weight the Factors: It assigns different weights to each factor (backlinks likely being the most heavily weighted).
5. Calculate the Score: It uses a proprietary formula to combine these weighted factors and generate a final SEO Difficulty score between 0 and 100.

Ubersuggest's SEO Difficulty vs. Other Tools:

It's important to note that SEO Difficulty scores can vary between different SEO tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, etc.). This is because each tool uses its own proprietary algorithm and data sources.

• Ahrefs' Keyword Difficulty (KD): Ahrefs' KD score is heavily focused on the number of referring domains to the top-ranking pages. It's generally considered to be very accurate, but it's also known for being quite strict (meaning it often gives higher difficulty scores than other tools).
• SEMrush's Keyword Difficulty: SEMrush's KD score considers a wider range of factors, including backlinks, domain authority, content length, and on-page optimization elements.
• Moz's Keyword Difficulty: Moz's KD score is based on the Page Authority (PA) and Domain Authority (DA) of the top-ranking pages.

Which SEO Difficulty score is “best”? There's no single “best” score. Each tool provides a valuable perspective, and it's often helpful to cross-reference the scores from multiple tools to get a more well-rounded view of the competitive landscape. Ubersuggest's SD score is generally considered to be a good balance between accuracy and user-friendliness, making it a great option for beginners and experienced SEOs alike.

How to Use Ubersuggest's SEO Difficulty Score Effectively:

Knowing how the score is calculated is only half the battle. The real value lies in knowing how to use it to inform your keyword strategy. Here's a practical guide:

1. Start with a Seed Keyword: Enter a broad topic or keyword related to your niche into Ubersuggest.
2. Analyze the Keyword Overview: Pay close attention to the SEO Difficulty score.
3. Use the Keyword Ideas Feature: Explore the “Related,” “Questions,” “Prepositions,” and “Comparisons” tabs to find long-tail variations of your seed keyword.
4. Filter by SEO Difficulty: This is the key step! Use Ubersuggest's filtering options to narrow down your keyword list to those with a low SEO Difficulty score (e.g., under 30 for new websites, under 40-50 for more established sites).
5. Consider Search Volume: While low difficulty is important, you also want to target keywords that have a decent search volume. Aim for a balance between low competition and sufficient search volume.
6. Analyze the SERP: Click on the “View All” button under the keyword suggestions to see the actual search results page (SERP). Manually review the top-ranking pages. Ask yourself:
   • Are they high-quality websites with strong authority?
   • Does the content directly address the search intent of the keyword?
   • Can I create content that's better than what's currently ranking?
7. Repeat and Refine: Repeat this process with different seed keywords and long-tail variations until you've built a solid list of low-competition, high-potential keywords.
8. Track your results Use Ubersuggest to check your position.

Example Workflow:

Let's say you run a blog about coffee.

1. Seed Keyword: “best coffee maker”
2. Keyword Overview: Ubersuggest shows a high search volume but also a high SEO Difficulty score (e.g., 75). This means it will be very difficult to rank for this keyword.
3. Keyword Ideas: You explore the “Related” and “Questions” tabs and find keywords like:
   • “best coffee maker for cold brew” (SD: 45)
   • “best coffee maker with grinder under $100” (SD: 32)
   • “what is the best coffee maker for a small kitchen?” (SD: 28)
4. Filtering: You filter the results to show only keywords with an SD score of 30 or less.
5. SERP Analysis: You manually review the top-ranking pages for the keywords with low SD scores to assess their quality and relevance.
6. Selection: You choose “what is the best coffee maker for a small kitchen?” as a target keyword because it has a low SD score, decent search volume, and you believe you can create high-quality content that addresses the user's search intent.

Beyond the Score: Qualitative Factors

While Ubersuggest's SEO Difficulty score is a valuable quantitative metric, it's also important to consider qualitative factors:

• Your Website's Authority: A new website with low authority will have a harder time ranking for any keyword, even those with low SD scores. Focus on building your website's authority over time through high-quality content and backlink building.
• Content Quality: Even if a keyword has a low SD score, you still need to create exceptional content that's better than what's currently ranking.
• Search Intent: Make sure your content fully addresses the user's search intent. What are they really looking for when they search for that keyword?
• On-Page Optimization: Optimize your content for your target keyword (title tag, meta description, headings, body text, image alt text, etc.).

Conclusion

Ubersuggest's SEO Difficulty score is a powerful tool for identifying low-competition keywords and improving your chances of ranking on Google. By understanding the factors that influence the score and using it strategically, you can develop a data-driven keyword strategy that drives organic traffic to your website.

Remember to combine the quantitative data from Ubersuggest with your own qualitative assessment of your website's authority, content quality, and search intent. This holistic approach will give you the best chance of success in the competitive world of SEO.

Don't just rely on the score; use it as a guide to inform your decisions and refine your strategy.

And most importantly, focus on creating high-quality, user-focused content that deserves to rank!