Keyword research is love and war.
It's the only reason I love to discuss about keyword research tools. Though I never shared it on my blog.
Keyword research is an important pillar of SEO strategies. You can't just go after the biggest keyword in your niches.
I know keyword search volume is important. But still, you shouldn't do that. you will probably fail. It's a wrong strategy.
Because there are some problems with these massive keywords.
First, you should know that you are not the only one with the desire of ranking that specific keyword to be loved by google.
You are trying to compete with big-big brands. It means the chances of your ranking actually arent good.
There's no doubt it will take you four to eight months to see the results.
And most people can't wait that much.
I know because even I can't wait that much.
Not everybody is patient. Most of us want results immediately.
And the second big problem is these big keywords keep on revolving.
Don't forget why visitors visit your site.
Their only intention is to get valuable content and relevant information.
By going for big keywords, you can get them to join your newsletters and other lead magnets.
But it won't give you result in a short span of time.
And how can we fix this problem?
simple, by using keyword research tools.
In today's article, I will tell you about these tools and I will even recommend you few of them.
I have categorized them into two that is...
- free
- paid
So if you are willing to invest few bucks in research so you can buy them.
And many people here are newbies who are not willing to invest or don't have a budget for tools.
I totally understand.
Even I didn't invested in the beginning because I was kinda broke then.
So I went with the free option. Which later on proved to be useful for me so it will be for you.
Also read: freelancing payment options
I will tell you everything about them but before that, you must know why these tools are important.
Importance of keyword research in SEO
Many people know about keyword research but what they don't know is its importance in SEO. I know, it's not just a single factor in SEO. There are many other like backlinks, on-page SEO, etc.
But keyword research is the foundation of a successful blog. The purpose of doing keyword research is to find phrases and words which users are searching for on search engines.
So we can serve them better content according to their need. These keywords can be about anything from A-Z. literally anything.
see how user search for keywords and their suggestions
From as simple as reading to as complex as rocket science. Keyword research is simply a process of taking time to understand your user and their intent.
Keyword research tools: Do we really need them?
In short, the answer is yes.
just knowing keywords is not enough. We need to know more than that.
This is where keyword research tools play a vital role in finding other factors. They will help you to find the vital information of that keyword.
Such as its search volume, keyword difficulty, where your keyword ranks, and much more. these are just a few highlights of keyword research tools.
you can know your competition better and which keyword he is targeting and you can easily outrank them.
These tools will actually give you an insight of a specific keyword. And it will narrow down for you if you want it.
Without keyword tool, leave about beating your competition and ranking #1 on google.
Search engines won't even recognize you. so it will be hard for you to do it. that's why I recommend you to use a keyword tool.
If you don't have money then no need to worry. I will recommend you not just paid tools but also free tools which will help you at the beginning of your blogging journey.
So first I will recommend you paid tools and then free tools. so those who are not willing to invest then directly go to the next section.
Best keyword research tools for SEO
1. ahref
first things first.
No doubt ahref is the #1 tool for keyword research for SEO.
Ahref is a SaaS-based software that will let you check your domain and much more. Ahref was launched back in 2011 as a backlink analyzer tool.
but now it has added all the features of digital marketing which a marketer needs or uses.
And this tool can perform all these functions
And this is how ahrefs dashboard looks like
And our site will show up here.
A highlighting feature of ahrefs would be that it has its own metrics and its name goes as "ahrefs ranks" and its ranks are based on the strength of the website's backlink profile. Like this.
Its keyword explorer tool gives you a variety of platform to perform your keyword research such as:
- youtube
- amazon
- Yandex
- bing
- Baidu
- yahoo
Now let talk something important and I guess you all were waiting for it and that is...
Ahrefs plan and pricing.
It has plans somewhat like this:
- Lite: $99 per month
- Standard: $179 per month
- Advanced: $399 per month
- Agency: $999 per month.
As you can see:
so if you are a beginner then you should definitely go with their basic plan. And if your budget is low then I have one more tool for you. which is...
2. Ubersuggest
Doing keyword research is hard and it can be costly too.
And free keyword research tools(make bold) won't offer you much.
And if you are looking for a fully fleshed and valuable tool then be ready to pour few bucks.
And in your budget ubersuggest is the best option in the market. This SEO tool provides a lot with few bucks.
And can be affordable to most of you. Only if you are willing to invest money.
Its dashboard looks somewhat like this.
To be honest, I have always been a fan of its dashboard. It uses light colors and attractive fonts. And its animations are just awesome.
Finding keywords using ubersuggest can be a piece of cake. Rather than going with the traditional method.
Where you have to find a seed keyword and keep looking for a low competition keyword using its suggestions to find a gem.
But that's not the case with this tool.
Once you enter your primary keyword and hit enter then you will able to see not just the primary keyword but also its suggestions with its insights.
you will even find the question tab. Where you can find questions related to your keyword.
This tool is great if you are a solopreneur. It has a great user experience.
And its special feature is its pricing.
You only read what he says about his plans are better than his competitors.
And these are his monthly subscriptions
His lifetime offer is also great you should go with it. If possible.
last but not least in our paid tool is...
3. Wordtracker
word tracker has the ability to dig up the powerful keywords within a few clicks of the mouse. So you can strategize your SEO campaign more quickly.
Its dashboard somewhat looks like this
wordtracker mostly focuses on one problem that Is time management.
Many times to set up an effective SEO campaign takes time to execute because of not getting the right keywords.
But, it's not the case with wordtracker. Imagine a scenario where you can grab Google's low-hanging fruit which is low competition keywords.
How good it would feel right?
However, wordtracker makes a bold claim that it can provide you a vast database of keywords and their insights. So you can create an effective marketing campaign.
It comes up with some advantages such as:
- power keywords
- no spreadsheets
- wordtracker academy
It has a Darkside too. which turns us off.
- It lacks SEO features
- competition
- free plans last for 7 days only- though it doesn't matter much.
Now let's talk about its pricing
It also comes with three plans. Which are:
- Bronze: $27 per month
- Silver: $69 per month
- Gold: $99 per month
It also provides you with Annual billing where you can save 40%.
As you can see.
These are some of the paid tools which I highly recommend you to buy and if not then you can go with free tools.
4. Hoth keyword planner
No doubt.
Hoth is the best free keyword research tool out there in the market. Though it is a free tool it provides you in-depth data and key insights, just like other tools(paid).
Such as CPC, search volume, competition, and much more.
Just see this. If you cant believe me.
I searched for freelance jobs online and it provided me with these results.
And its dashboard looks like this.
Its dashboard looks pretty simple as you can see it doesn't have any ads, no-nonsense animations, and extra useless features which makes it sound fantastic.
To start using the Hoth keyword planner tool you just have to create a free account. which is simple and doesn't bother much.
And start searching for keywords.
Yes, that's what you have to do.
It also provides you with related keyword data like this.
And it's highlighting and bonus feature is - its data.
It directly imports its keyword data from semrush. which is the #1 SEM tool in the market.
So we can say that you can enjoy semrush data for free. With the help of this tool.
And its only drawback is it will show you data from limited countries.
But if you want to target other countries then you must give it a try.
I hope you loved this tool. Now, let's move to the next free tool.
5. Answerthepublic
Answer the public is an incredible keyword tool to find hidden keywords. It is a freemium tool that can help you with keyword and content ideas.
It displays data visualization with the help of google and bing.
Its dashboard looks like this.
Though it doesn't show you the keyword insights. But still is awesome. As it is recommended by many bloggers and content marketers.
You will be able to see its suggestions in the form of:
- Questions
- comparisons
- Prepositions
And I totally love its features. They are amazing.
I will name a few of them and if you want to know the rest of them then you should go and give it a try.
- Its customer care support is amazing
- You can hide keyword suggestions and visualizations
- You can get search results based on different languages and regions.
It also has its premium version. If you want to buy it then you can go for it. But still, it will lack keyword insights. As I said earlier.
Want me to add any?
These are the best keyword research tools according to me(free & paid).
But still, if you aren't satisfied with my work and you want me you add some other tools then you and your recommendations are most welcome.
And don't forget to join our growing community. Just enter your email and boom. You will be one of us.
Until then, see you...
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