Rankfill

Easy-to-Rank Keywords: How to Find and Publish Them Fast

You published something three months ago. Checked rankings every week. Nothing moved. Meanwhile, a site with half your domain authority is sitting at position two for a term you want — and when you look at their content, it's not even that good.

The issue usually isn't your writing. It's keyword selection. You're probably targeting terms where the top results have hundreds of referring domains, years of history, and editorial links you can't replicate. You picked a fight you can't win yet.

Easy-to-rank keywords are the fix. Here's exactly what they are, how to find them, and how to turn them into traffic quickly.

What Makes a Keyword "Easy to Rank" For

Three things have to line up:

Low keyword difficulty. Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz each calculate this differently, but the concept is the same: they estimate how hard it would be to break into the top 10 results. A difficulty score under 20 (on a 100-point scale) generally means the current ranking pages don't have many authoritative backlinks. You don't need to earn 50 links to compete.

Manageable search intent. Some keywords have intent that's been locked up by massive brands — "best credit card" will never be easy. But specific, narrow queries are often answered by small sites because the big players don't bother. A query like "how to remove rust from cast iron without scrubbing" is specific enough that a focused article can win it.

Realistic competition. Look at who's currently ranking. If the top 5 results are all Reddit threads, forum posts, or thin articles from sites with low authority, that's a green light. If it's four Amazon pages and a Forbes listicle, move on.

What makes a long-tail keyword worth targeting is exactly this combination: low competition because the query is specific enough that authoritative generalist sites haven't optimized for it.

How to Find Easy-to-Rank Keywords

Start With Your Own Site's Data

Google Search Console is underused for this. Go to Performance → Search Results, filter by impressions, and look for queries where you're averaging position 8–20. You're already appearing for these — a better-optimized page could push you into the top 5 and multiply your clicks. These are the easiest wins because you're not starting from zero.

Use a Keyword Tool With Difficulty Filters

In Ahrefs: Keywords Explorer → enter a seed term → filter by KD (Keyword Difficulty) under 20, volume above 50. Sort by Traffic Potential, not just volume. This shows you the realistic upside.

In Semrush: Keyword Magic Tool → enter a seed → filter by KD% "Easy" (under 29) → sort by volume.

In Ubersuggest (free option): enter a seed → filter by SEO Difficulty under 30.

The goal is a list of terms where ranking is achievable with a single well-written article and no active link building.

Find Gaps Your Competitors Are Covering That You're Not

This is often more productive than starting from scratch. In Ahrefs, use Site Explorer → enter a competitor's domain → go to Organic Keywords → filter by difficulty under 20. You'll see exactly which easy terms they're pulling traffic from that you aren't targeting yet.

For a more systematic approach to this, see how to find low-hanging fruit keywords — the process for prioritizing which gaps to close first.

Mine "People Also Ask" and Autocomplete

Google's autocomplete and PAA boxes are free keyword research. Type your seed term, look at what Google suggests, and note which suggestions are highly specific. Specific suggestions often indicate real search demand that hasn't been fully answered by existing content. These work well as niche keywords your competitors haven't found yet.

How to Evaluate a Keyword Before You Write

Before you spend time writing, spend five minutes checking the SERP manually.

Search the keyword. Open the top three results. Ask:

If the top results are weak and from low-authority sites, that keyword is genuinely easy. If they're strong, move on regardless of what any tool says — tools estimate difficulty from backlink data, not content quality.

How to Publish Content That Actually Ranks

Finding the keyword is only half the work. The article has to do its job.

Match the intent exactly. If the query is "how to do X," the article should teach them how to do X — not sell them something, not explain what X is. Read the top results to understand what format works (step-by-step, list, comparison) and do it better.

Cover the topic completely. "Completely" doesn't mean long — it means no obvious questions left unanswered. A 700-word article that answers the specific question fully will outrank a 2,000-word article that wanders. That said, some topics genuinely need depth; long-form content earns its length when the subject demands it.

Use the keyword naturally. In the title, in the first paragraph, in at least one H2, and in the meta description. Don't stuff it. Google understands synonyms and related phrases — write for the reader, not the algorithm.

Publish and index it fast. After publishing, submit the URL directly in Google Search Console under URL Inspection → Request Indexing. Don't wait for Google to discover it on its own — that can take weeks.

Build one or two internal links to it. Find existing pages on your site that mention related topics and add a contextual link to the new article. This passes authority and helps Google find and understand the new page faster.

How Many Easy-to-Rank Keywords Should You Target?

More than you think. A single keyword might bring 50–200 visits per month — modest on its own. But 20 articles, each capturing a different easy keyword, compound into a meaningful traffic base. This is the logic behind capturing thousands of long-tail queries: no individual term dominates, but the aggregate does.

The sites that grow fastest with SEO aren't the ones that wrote one perfect article — they're the ones that consistently published targeted content at scale. Each article is a new entry point.

If you want to map all the keyword gaps your competitors are covering that your site isn't, tools like Rankfill do this systematically — identifying which competitors are capturing traffic you're missing and estimating what closing those gaps is worth.

FAQ

What's a good keyword difficulty score to target? Under 20 is ideal for new or low-authority sites. Sites with established authority (DR 40+) can target up to 35–40 and still rank without active link building.

Can I rank without any backlinks? Yes, on easy keywords. Low-difficulty terms often have top results with zero or very few backlinks. Good on-page content and internal linking can be enough.

How long does it take to rank for an easy keyword? Typically 4–12 weeks after Google indexes the page. Submit the URL in Search Console after publishing to speed up indexing.

How do I know if a keyword is actually easy or just looks easy in a tool? Check the SERP manually. Look at the domain authority of ranking pages and the quality of their content. A keyword can show low difficulty in tools but be practically hard if the ranking pages are strong and well-established.

Should I target keywords with very low volume (under 100/month)? Yes. Low volume doesn't mean low value. A keyword getting 80 searches per month from people ready to buy or hire is worth more than a 1,000-search keyword where no one converts. Also, ranking for many low-volume terms adds up.

What tools are free for finding easy-to-rank keywords? Google Search Console (for your own site), Google autocomplete and PAA, and Ubersuggest's free tier. Ahrefs and Semrush are more powerful but paid.

Do easy keywords stay easy forever? Not always. As a topic gains popularity, competition increases. Targeting easy keywords now locks in rankings before others notice the opportunity.