Proficiency in using a few keyword research tools is an important skill in both SEO and market analysis.
If you are new to this difficult marketing channel, you will definitely be overwhelmed by a bunch of tools from free to paid.
I used to be like that too and spent a lot of time researching, testing and deciding to choose.
Therefore, in this article, I will suggest you some of the best keyword research tools that I have experienced in many years of working with SEO. After reading, you will have enough knowledge to choose the most suitable one for yourself.
What is a keyword research tool?
Keyword research tools are software or online platforms with a database of billions of web pages, designed to help you:
- Keyword Search: Find out what words and phrases people commonly use to search for information related to your industry.
- Keyword Analysis: Evaluate the popularity, competition and potential of each keyword, helping you choose the most suitable keywords for your SEO strategy.
- Keyword Tracking: Track your website/blog's rankings on search engines for specific keywords, so you can evaluate the effectiveness of your SEO strategy and adjust if necessary.
Some common features of keyword research tools:
- Keyword Suggestions: Provides related keyword suggestions based on the main keyword you enter.
- Search Volume: Indicates the number of people searching for a particular keyword in a given time period.
- Competition: Assesses how difficult it is to rank highly in search engines for a particular keyword.
- Search Trends: Shows the change in popularity of a keyword over time.
- Competitor Analysis: See what keywords your competitors are using and where they rank on search engines.
As you can see, keyword research tools are more than just a list of keywords. They are powerful “right-hand men” that provide you with important insights and data so you can build an effective SEO strategy and take your website/blog to the next level.
You might also like: A-Z guide to keyword research for beginners
Types of keyword research tools
Now for the main part, to make it easier for you to make a choice according to your needs and budget, I will divide it into 2 groups: free and paid.
Free Keyword Research Tool
Don't think that free means poor quality. In fact, there are many free tools that are extremely useful, especially for beginners or small projects.
1. Google Keyword Planner
If you are new to SEO , Google Keyword Planner is the ideal choice. This is a free tool provided by Google itself, it allows you to:
- Find new keyword ideas: Just enter a keyword or phrase related to your industry, and Google Keyword Planner will suggest a bunch of other potential keywords.
- View search volume: You'll see how many people are searching for a particular keyword each month, helping you gauge its popularity.
- Cost Estimate: If you're planning to run Google Ads, this tool will help you estimate the cost per keyword.
- View trends over time: You can view a graph that shows how a keyword's popularity has changed over time, helping you stay on top of trends and adjust your strategy in time.
Google Keyword Planner has an intuitive interface that's easy to use, even if you don't have much technical experience.
However, to use this tool, you need a Google Ads account. But luckily it's also free.
2. Google Trends
If you want to “catch the trend” and create the hottest content, Google Trends is what you need. This free tool allows you to:
- View search trends over time: You can clearly see how a keyword's popularity has changed over time, helping you spot rising or falling trends.
- Compare keywords: You can compare the popularity of multiple keywords at once, helping you choose the keywords with the most potential.
- View trends by region: You can see how popular a keyword is in different regions around the world, helping you identify your target market.
- Explore related topics: Google Trends will suggest topics and queries related to your main keyword, helping you expand your content ideas.
Google Trends is not only useful for keyword research, but also helps you grasp market demand, thereby creating timely content and attracting the attention of a large number of users.
However, Google Trends does not provide information about absolute search volume, but only shows the popularity of keywords. Therefore, you should combine using Google Trends with Google Keyword Planner to get a more comprehensive view of keywords.
3. Google Search Console
If you already have a website/blog, Google Search Console is a great resource to help you discover the keywords that are bringing you traffic. This free tool allows you to:
- See real search queries: You’ll see the exact words and phrases people used to find your website on Google. This is a valuable source of information that accurately represents the search behavior of your target audience.
- Analyze keyword performance: You can view impressions, clicks, and click-through rate (CTR) for each query, helping you gauge the effectiveness of each keyword and related content.
- Discover new opportunities: You may find keywords that your website is currently ranking low for, but have growth potential. This is an opportunity for you to optimize your content and improve your rankings.
- Track changes: You can track changes in keyword rankings and performance over time, allowing you to adjust your SEO strategy on the fly.
In short, Google Search Console not only helps you find new keywords but also helps you better understand how users interact with your website. This is an indispensable tool for anyone who wants to build an effective and sustainable SEO strategy.
4. Ubersuggest
This is an SEO analysis tool built by Neil Patel, a Digital marketing expert and has a huge influence in the industry.
In addition to in-depth SEO analysis features, Ubersuggest also provides many other useful features in keyword research such as:
- Keyword suggestions: Enter any keyword and Ubersuggest will suggest hundreds, even thousands of related keywords, including variations, long-tail keywords, and frequently asked questions.
- Keyword Analysis: View search volume, competition, and trends for each keyword, helping you evaluate potential and make smart choices.
- Analyze competitor websites: See what keywords your competitors are ranking for and what pages are driving their traffic. From there, you can learn and find new opportunities.
- See content ideas: Discover hot topics and frequently asked questions that you can tap into to create engaging content that will keep your readers engaged.
In my experience with Ubersuggest, it has a friendly interface, is easy to use, and provides a lot of detailed information about keywords, helping you have a comprehensive view and make informed decisions for your SEO strategy.
5. AnswerThePublic
This is also a tool that has a close relationship with Ubersuggest but it focuses on exploiting problems through questions. Specifically, this free tool helps you:
- Discover the questions people are asking about a specific keyword: You'll learn what they're wondering, what problems they're having, and what information they're looking for.
- Display questions as visual charts: You can easily grasp the "hot" topics and main concerns of your target audience.
- Provide related keyword suggestions: You'll get more ideas to expand your keyword research and create diverse content.
AnswerThePublic is a great tool to listen to your customers and create content that directly addresses their questions and concerns. This will not only help you attract more traffic, but also build trust and loyalty with your customers.
However, the free version of AnswerThePublic has a limit on the number of searches per day. If you need more, you may consider upgrading to the paid version.
6. KeywordTool.io
Keywordtool.io is an extremely useful keyword research tool for SEO that I often use for content strategies. You can easily get a list of potential keywords with just one seed keyword.
Some of the strengths this free tool helps you with:
- Search for keywords from multiple platforms: Not just Google, you can also search for keywords from YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, App Store, Play Store, Instagram, Twitter, and many more platforms.
- Diverse Keyword Suggestions: KeywordTool.io not only provides long-tail keywords but also suggests questions, prepositions, and other related phrases, giving you a comprehensive view of how users search for information.
- Integration with Google Trends : You can see the search trends of suggested keywords right on the KeywordTool.io interface, helping you evaluate their potential.
Keyword Tool.io is a great tool for you to expand your keyword list and discover potential niches that your competitors may have missed.
However, the free version has limitations on parameters such as search volume, trends, and difficulty. However, you can combine the received keywords with Google Keyword Planner and you're done.
Paid Keyword Research Tools
If you don’t mind spending money and are willing to seriously invest in SEO for advanced insights and features, then paid tools are the way to go. Some of the best paid keyword research tools you can use for your money are:
7. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is known as one of the most comprehensive and powerful keyword research tools today. With a huge database and in-depth analysis features, Ahrefs allows you to:
- Explore millions of potential keywords: Search keywords by various criteria like search volume, difficulty, CPC, and trends.
- Detailed analysis of each keyword: See important metrics like keyword difficulty, estimated clicks, and ranking position distribution.
- See which sites are ranking high for your keywords: Analyze your competitors and learn what makes them successful.
- Find Related and LSI Keywords: Expand your keyword list and find new opportunities.
- Keyword Ranking Tracking: Track your website/blog's ranking changes on search engines over time.
Ahrefs also offers many other features such as backlink analysis, on-page SEO checker, and content research, giving you a comprehensive view of your SEO strategy.
However, being the leader when it comes to SEO tools, Ahrefs has a fairly high cost compared to other competitors. However, with what you will get when using it, I think it is worth it.
See more: Ahrefs user guide for beginners from AZ
8. SEMrush
SEMrush started out with keyword research, so they have a huge database and in-depth analytics features that allow you to:
- Keyword Research and Analysis: Explore millions of potential keywords, analyze difficulty, search volume, and trends.
- Competitor Analysis: See what keywords your competitors are ranking for, what pages are sending them traffic, and what backlinks they have.
- Find Keyword Opportunities: Discover keywords your competitors are missing and use them to your advantage.
- Keyword Ranking Tracking: Track your website/blog's ranking changes on search engines over time.
- SEO Campaign Planning and Management: Create and manage SEO campaigns, from keyword research to backlink analysis and on-page SEO audits.
With its intuitive interface and diverse features, SEMrush will help you save time and effort, and achieve better results in your SEO work.
9. KWFinder
If you are looking for a keyword research tool that is both powerful and easy to use, then you should definitely choose KWFinder. With its intuitive interface and user-friendly features, this tool allows you to:
- Keyword Research and Analysis: Explore thousands of potential keywords, analyze difficulty, search volume, trends, and CPC.
- SERP (Search Engine Results Page) Analysis: See details about the websites that are ranking high for your keywords, including important metrics like DA, PA, number of backlinks, and estimated traffic.
- Find related keywords and questions: Expand your keyword list and find new content ideas.
- Keyword Ranking Tracking: Track your website/blog's ranking changes on search engines over time.
- Keyword List Management: Create and manage your keyword lists easily.
KWFinder is highly regarded for its data accuracy and ability to provide detailed insights into keywords.
Additionally, it has a unique feature called “SERPChecker”, which allows you to preview the Google search results page for a particular keyword, giving you a better understanding of the competition level and important ranking factors.
10. Moz Keyword Explorer
Moz is not commonly used in Vietnam because they do not focus on development, but in the US and UK markets this tool is very famous and used by many SEO experts.
It not only provides keyword data but also helps you make decisions based on in-depth analysis.
- Priority Score: Moz Keyword Explorer uses a unique scoring system to evaluate the potential of each keyword, based on search volume, difficulty, and ranking opportunity.
- Detailed keyword difficulty analysis: See what factors influence keyword difficulty, from the strength of your competitors to how well they optimize their on-page.
- Related Keyword Suggestions: Discover semantically related keywords and frequently asked questions to expand your keyword list.
- SERP Analysis: See which websites are ranking high for keywords and analyze the factors that make them successful.
- Keyword Ranking Tracking: Track your website/blog's ranking changes and compare with competitors.
In general, if the audience you want to reach through SEO is in a foreign market, Moz is also not a bad choice at all.
How to Choose the Right Keyword Research Tool
With the above list, if you don't know which keyword research tool to choose, here are some suggestions for you.
Determine needs and budget
Before you start searching, take some time to think about what you really need from a keyword research tool.
- Just starting out and on a budget? Free tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, and Ubersuggest are great options to get started and experiment with.
- Are you experienced and ready to invest? Paid tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and KWFinder will give you more advanced features and in-depth data to help you optimize your SEO effectively.
A word of advice: Don’t be afraid to start with free tools. Once you have the basics down and feel the need for more advanced features, consider upgrading to paid tools.
Compare features
Each keyword research tool has its own unique features. Compare the features of different tools to see which one best suits your needs.
- Need new keyword ideas? Try Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, KWFinder, Keywordtool.io.
- Want to analyze your competitors? Ahrefs and SEMrush are top choices.
- Interested in tracking keyword rankings? Most tools offer this feature, but you can compare interfaces and how data is displayed to find the tool that's best for you.
Read reviews and comments
You can read reviews and comments from other users about keyword research tools. It can be Blogs or digital product review platforms like Trustpilot, G2.com.
This will give you a more objective view of the pros and cons of each tool, as well as the real-life experiences of other users.
Free trial (if available)
Many paid tools offer free trials or limited service plans, so take this opportunity to test out the features and see if the tool is right for you before you commit to a purchase.
Conclude
So there you have it, a list of the best keyword research tools. Now you have enough knowledge and an overview of each tool to make an easy choice.
Remember, keyword research tools are more than just a list of words and phrases. They are the secret to effective SEO strategies. When you use keyword research tools wisely, you can:
- Understand your target audience better
- Create content that is engaging and relevant to their needs
- Increase your website/blog's visibility on search engines
- Compete more effectively with competitors
- Achieve your business goals
So what are you waiting for? Pick a few and try them out.
Don’t forget to let me know your choice or any questions or additions about this article. I will respond to you as soon as possible.
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