Keyword Metrics Explained
What monthly searches, difficulty, AI searches, CPC, intent, opportunity and the Search Console numbers mean, and where they come from.
Every number on the Keywords page: what it means and where it comes from. The (?) tips next to the column titles link here.
Search demand and difficulty
Measured from Google's own search data for your project's country and language.
| Metric | Shown in | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly searches | Opportunities (Rankings: Search Volume) | How many times people search this on Google each month, on average. Higher means more possible visitors, but usually more competition. Large numbers are shortened (1.2k). |
| Difficulty | Opportunities, Rankings | How hard it is to reach page one for this search, from 0 (easy) to 100 (very hard). |
| AI searches | Opportunities | An estimate of how often this topic is asked to AI assistants. |
| CPC | Keyword panel | Cost per click: what advertisers pay Google for one click on this search. A high value means buyers search it. |
| Ad competition | Keyword panel | How many advertisers bid on the search: Low, Medium or High. |
| Intent | Keyword panel | What the searcher wants: Informational (to learn), Commercial (to compare), Transactional (to buy), Navigational (to reach one site). |
| Trend (month) | Keyword panel | Change in monthly searches compared with the month before, in %. |
Note
CPC is always in US dollars, as Google Ads reports it, whatever your project's country.
Opportunity
A score from 0 to 100 that says how worthwhile a search is for you. The row shows its level as a badge; the panel shows the level and the score.
| Score | Badge |
|---|---|
| 80–100 | Excellent Opportunity |
| 70–79 | High Opportunity |
| 50–69 | Medium Opportunity |
| 0–49 | Low Opportunity |
- When Rankfender picks the keyword, the score is relevance to your offers × (55 % demand, 30 % ease, 15 % intent). Buying intent counts most. Searches where you already rank 4–30 get a bonus.
- After a refresh, the score is recalculated from the fresh numbers: 50 % monthly searches, 30 % ease (100 minus difficulty), 20 % CPC. A refreshed score can therefore move.
Your Search Console numbers
These come from Google Search Console and need it connected; see Rankings.
| Metric | Shown in | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Your position | Opportunities | Your average Google position for this search, rounded. Green on page one (1–10). |
| Clicks | Panel, Rankings | How many times someone clicked your site in Google results. |
| Impressions | Panel, Rankings | How many times your site appeared in Google results, even if nobody clicked. |
| CTR | Panel, Rankings | Clicks divided by impressions. |
| Avg. position | Panel (Rankings: Position) | Where you usually appear. 1 is the top; lower is better. |
The panel's "Google Search Console · 28 days" box covers the last 28 days.
When a number shows "—"
- Google has no number for this search yet ("No data from Google for this search yet"). Very small or very new searches often have none.
- The keyword was added by hand and hasn't been measured yet: open it and use the refresh icon, or press Refresh.
- For "Your position": Search Console isn't connected, or it has no data for this search ("Not in Google's top 100 for this search yet").