Back in 2009, I noticed a persistent myth circulating in the internet marketing world: find niches with a low number of competing pages in Google, and you will rank easily. People were using the total number of search results as their primary measure of SEO difficulty. The logic seemed intuitive. Fewer competitors means easier to win, right?<\/p>\n
Wrong. And the reasoning behind why it is wrong has not changed one bit since I first wrote about this, even though SEO itself has evolved dramatically.<\/p>\n
There are more than eight billion people on the planet. Just because there are relatively few people competing for the international power-lifting championship does not mean I can walk in and win. The number of competitors tells you nothing about the strength of those competitors.<\/p>\n
This is actually a well-known logical fallacy called cum hoc ergo propter hoc<\/em>, or correlation does not imply causation. Just because you notice that you can sometimes rank for keywords with low competition counts does not mean you are ranking because<\/em> of the low competition count. You are ranking because of two fundamental things that remain true in 2026.<\/p>\n Relevance.<\/strong> Your page needs to demonstrate to search engines that it genuinely covers the topic the searcher is looking for. In 2009, we called this on-page SEO and talked about keyword optimization. Today, it is more nuanced. Google understands semantic meaning, user intent, and topical depth. A well-optimized page in 2026 is not one stuffed with keywords. It is one that comprehensively addresses what the searcher actually wants to know.<\/p>\n Authority.<\/strong> Your page needs more trust signals than other pages ranking for that keyword. In 2009, authority was almost entirely about backlinks. Today, authority encompasses your entire digital footprint: backlinks still matter, but so do brand signals, user engagement metrics, author expertise, and the overall reputation of your domain.<\/p>\n It does not matter if there are 10 competing pages or 10 million. If your content is the most relevant and your site has the most authority, you will rank.<\/p>\n I used to tell people to Google the phrase “click here” to see authority in action. For years, the Adobe Acrobat Reader download page ranked at the top for that term, even though the page never mentioned “click here” in its content. It ranked because millions of websites linked to it with those exact words as the anchor text.<\/p>\n That specific example has shifted over the years as Google's algorithm evolved, but the principle it illustrated remains rock solid. Authority signals, what other websites say about your page, carry enormous weight in how Google determines rankings.<\/p>\n If you are evaluating keyword difficulty in 2026, forget about counting search results. Here is what actually matters.<\/p>\n Domain authority of the top results.<\/strong> Use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Moz to check the domain rating of pages currently ranking. If the first page is dominated by sites with domain ratings above 70, you will need serious authority to compete.<\/p>\n Backlink profiles of ranking pages.<\/strong> How many referring domains link to the pages currently in the top positions? This gives you a realistic picture of the link-building effort required.<\/p>\n Content quality and depth.<\/strong> Read the top-ranking content. Is it thin and outdated, or comprehensive and well-maintained? Thin content from authoritative domains is an opportunity. Deep content from authoritative domains is a serious challenge.<\/p>\n SERP features and intent.<\/strong> Does Google show featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, or AI-generated overviews for this query? These features change the competitive landscape and affect how much organic traffic actually reaches traditional results.<\/p>\n Search intent alignment.<\/strong> Make sure you understand what the searcher actually wants. If the top results are all product pages and you are planning an informational article, you are fighting the wrong battle regardless of competition levels.<\/p>\n The number of competing pages in Google was never a reliable measure of SEO difficulty, and it still is not. Focus on creating the most relevant, authoritative content for your target keyword. That has been the winning strategy since search engines existed, and no algorithm update has changed the fundamental equation.<\/p>\nThe Two Things That Actually Determine Rankings<\/h2>\n
The Adobe “Click Here” Example Still Holds Up<\/h2>\n
What You Should Measure Instead<\/h2>\n
The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n