Each keyword in RankYak includes simple metrics that help you understand its potential: Search volume and Keyword difficulty.
These numbers help RankYak determine which keywords to prioritize in your content plan. Below is a breakdown of what each metric means.
📈 Search volume
Search volume shows how many people search for a keyword each month.
Higher search volume → more potential traffic
Lower search volume → smaller audiences, but often easier wins
Very high search volume → usually much more competitive
Search volume gives you an idea of how many people are actually looking for that keyword.
🔒 Keyword difficulty (0–100)
Keyword difficulty is a score that indicates how competitive it is to rank for a keyword.
Low difficulty (0–30): Easy to rank for, even with a newer site
Medium difficulty (31–60): You'll need some authority and supporting articles
High difficulty (61–100): Best targeted when your website has strong authority
The number is representation of how many other websites you'll need to outperform.
🤖 How RankYak uses these metrics
RankYak uses search volume and difficulty to:
Identify "high-opportunity" keywords
Decide which cluster to build authority in first
Plan your content calendar in the most effective order
Balance easy wins with long-term authority building
You don't have to make ranking decisions manually, RankYak handles this strategy for you.
❓ Why some keywords don't have a difficulty score
Sometimes, you may see keywords without a difficulty number. This can happen when:
The keyword is very niche
The market is small or localized
Certain regions don't have complete difficulty data
This is completely normal. Even without a difficulty score:
The keyword is still valid
RankYak can still plan content for it
It still contributes to ranking its broader topic cluster
Missing difficulty ≠ low value. It simply means the data isn't available, not that the keyword shouldn't be used.
🎯 Summary
Search volume = how many people search for the keyword each month
Difficulty = how competitive the keyword is to rank for
Low difficulty = easier to rank
High volume = more potential traffic
RankYak uses both metrics to plan your content strategy
Missing difficulty scores are normal and don't affect RankYak's ability to use the keyword
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