Tools for keyword research abound, ranging from simple to complex. The value of something can range from being not helpful at all to being very helpful.
When done correctly, the best keyword research tools make it easier to find the right keywords to target and give you the data you need to actually rank for them. The data should not be only accessible to those who are willing to sell their first-born child.
I have worked with many different clients who use various tools for keyword research and optimizing their website content. I have seen the best and worst of these tools, and I know how crucial it is to select the right keyword planning tool. I looked at over 60 tools that offer a free option for keyword research to help you out. -In depth testing has revealed the following six as the best options, each excelling in different areas. -The all-around greats are great for general use, while the apps built for more specific use cases excel in those areas.
How we evaluate and test apps
You can trust that the experts who write our best app roundups have spent a lot of their time using and testing various software programs. They know what they’re talking about when it comes to apps! We spend a lot of time researching and testing apps. We use each app as it is supposed to be used and compare it to the standards we have set for that particular category. We’re never paid to put apps or links to sites in our articles–we only include things we think are worthy and that our readers will trust. The detailed process of how apps are selected to be featured on the Zapier blog can be found on the Zapier blog.
A great keyword research tool allows you to input a keyword and receive information about that keyword. I researched different tools that could be used for keyword research and found a few that are popular and can handle different types of use cases.
When testing, I looked at the following factors to decide which apps to include on our list.
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Data included. The best keyword research tools provide the data you need to rank for your selected keyword. We’ve selected apps that, at the very least, analyze traffic, keyword difficulty, and how well you rank compared to others in SERPs.
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Data sources. The important thing for us was to consider the source of the data in each keyword research tool, to make sure that the data is free of errors and biases. The tools we included all gather data from either Google Analytics or Google Search Console.
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Keyword optimization guidance. You don’t need to be an experienced SEO professional to use keyword research tools—the best tools provide simple and easy to follow suggestions to optimize your keywords. There are various tools that allow you to conduct a complete SEO analysis on your website, such as Ahrefs, Semrush and Moz. These tools will check various aspects of your website, such as site speed, technical details, domain authority and topic clusters. That’s not what we’re looking for here. We need tools that business owners and marketers can use to easily comprehend their target keyword and improve their website ranking for that keyword.
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Free plan allowances and upgrades. Many tools have a “free plan” that includes very limited results, or they put time limits on the free plan, making it more like a trial. We only included tools with free plans that are generous enough to actually be useful—and they won’t break the bank when it’s time to upgrade either.
After testing each tool against my protocol, I found that the best tool was… I tested each tool against my protocol to find the best one. The best tool was… Here’s what my testing workflow looked like:
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I took any necessary steps to create an account and went through any provided onboarding or guided tutorials (many of these free apps don’t require account creation or provide any onboarding).
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I tried searching for a few different things like “free keyword research tools,” “chocolate cake,” and “best white sneakers” to see what the results would be for different types of searches.
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I looked at the related keywords, metrics, and other data that were available. I took note of where the information came from, whether it was from Google, another website like social media or a forum, or if it came from the tool’s own data.
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I checked to see what the free plan includes and whether there are any limits, such as the number of results, type of metrics, searches per day or month, etc. I also looked at how much it would cost to upgrade to a paid plan.
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If they were available, I used additional keyword research tools like competitive gap analysis and content optimization features.
After spending a significant amount of time with these apps, I found six of the best keyword research tools- each with a reasonable free version.
The best free keyword research tool overall
1. Moz Keyword Explorer (Web)
Moz’s SEO platform offers several different tools designed for research Moz’s SEO platform offers several different designed for keyword research. Moz does not have as many data points as some of the other full-featured SEO tools, but we consider that a benefit. It makes for a less overwhelming user experience for those who aren’t professional search marketers, without skimping on the metrics you really want.
By using the Keyword Explorer tool, you can determine a keyword’s monthly volume, difficulty, and organic clickthrough rate (CTR). After you find a keyword that you want to research, scroll down to see an analysis of the current results ranking for that keyword as well as suggestions for similar keywords.
Moz’s “Priority” score makes keyword research easier by giving you an idea of whether a keyword is worth pursuing. -The Moz score for a keyword is based on the keyword’s volume, organic CTR, and difficulty, as well as a “My Score” metric. -The “My Score” metric is determined by the user and signifies how important a given keyword is to the user’s business, based on the user’s expertise and knowledge of the business and industry.
The new Keyword Gap feature in the Competitive Research tool can help you find all the keywords your competitors rank for that you don’t.
2. Google Keyword Planner (Web)
When it comes to finding the right keywords for your PPC campaign, Google Keyword Planner is one of the best tools to use. You don’t have to pay for Google Ads or worry about limits or expensive upgrades.
The Google Keyword Planner tool contains two main features: (1) a function for exploring and discovering keywords, and (2) a function for conducting more in-depth research on search volume and forecasting.
The best part of the “Keyword ideas” feature is that it’s very similar to many of the other tools on this list. You can search for a seed term and it will generate other keyword ideas, along with details on monthly search volume, change over time, competition, ad impression share, and bid ranges. You can further narrow down your keyword list by specifying whether you want brand or non-brand keywords, what source website you want to pull keywords from, and more. If you’re using Google Ads, the “Forecast” feature can help you plan your paid ads and budget in advance.
Keyword Planner can help you create an organic search strategy by showing you which keywords you could rank for organically, saving you money on PPC costs.
Google Keyword Planner pricing: Free
3. Mangools
If you’re new to keyword research, KWFinder by Mangools is the best tool to use. It’s simple and straightforward, so you can get the hang of it quickly. The keyword research tool is affordable, easy to use, and very good at finding keywords that have low competition and high search volume.
The idea of Mangools is that SEO should be simple and easy to use. The goal is to make the platform as easy to use as possible. The interface is easy to use: you can search by keyword or by domain. Either option will generate a list of keyword ideas.
By searching by domain, you can view your competitor’s keywords, average ranking position, search volume, and more.
To find keywords that are easy to rank for, you can filter them by difficulty. The Difficulty Score for each keyword is based on how competitive the SERPs are, with a score of 1 being the easiest and 100 being the hardest. In addition to being able to view search volume and CPC, you can also view all of the other metrics that matter.
If your business is based in a specific location, you can target long-tail keywords that reflect that on your website. Filter the local search results by keyword to see what 50,000+ locations are searching for in their area.
Mangools’ KWFinder also allows you to access historical keyword data. A keyword might show a search volume of 1,000/month. It is important to see if this keyword is trending upward or down. You can look at search volume data over time to see if a term is becoming more popular or if it is losing popularity.
When you sign up for the Mangools package, you also get access to 4 other tools: SERPChecker (for SERP analysis), SERPWatcher (for rank tracking), LinkMiner (for backlink analysis), and SiteProfiler (for SEO metrics).
4. BuzzSumo
It is a content marketing platform with an innovative built-in keyword research tool. The tool provides everything you need to create an effective content strategy.
By using Buzzsumo, you can research what keywords and topics are trending, generate ideas for content, see what content is doing well in your niche, find questions people frequently ask about any topic, and discover who would be most likely to promote your content.
The Discover tool on BuzzSumo allows you to find content by entering in a keyword or topic. This will bring up a bunch of data. The search volume is the number of times that people have searched for that keyword in the past month. To see how search volume has changed over time and whether it is trending up or down, you can click on the Monthly Search Trend icon to the right.
The average cost per click (CPC) and the total number of articles published on the topic in the past year are displayed next to the search bar. Articles published is a data point that few other tools provide, but it’s incredibly useful. This data point allows you to see how many articles have been published in a given time period. The number of search results for a given keyword gives you an idea of how much content is already out there on that topic, so you can decide if it’s worth writing about.
You can view related keywords and similar keywords below the initial search query, alongside data like search trends and volume. This information can help you better understand the topic and how it is being searched for.
The View Analysis tab allows you to see a graph of how often certain keywords are being searched for as well as how much content is available on the internet about those keywords. The graph shows how these two metrics have changed over time. Based on what is already ranking, BuzzSumo will suggest some content ideas and pull up suggested questions from forums such as Reddit.
On the same page, you can also see the top social media influencers on the topic across different platforms, like Twitter and YouTube. It provides information on the number of followers and other important metrics.
5. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a well-known SEO software suite. Keywords Explorer is a powerful keyword research tool that is definitely worth checking out.
By using clickstream data, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer is able to provide accurate metrics. It provides super in-depth information for all your keywords. The tool also provides a breakdown of the competition on page one and the number of people who click on pages in the results.
The keyword difficulty metric on this tool is much better than other tools. The app doesn’t give you an average or arbitrary difficulty rating. Instead of giving you an estimate of the number of backlinks you need, the text tells you the exact number you would need to reach page one.
6. SE Ranking
SE Ranking is an affordable keyword research tool that offers a balance of features. Tools for collaboration are built in, the interface can be customized with your brand, and pricing plans are flexible and affordable for a large number of users and projects.
This tool provides a suite of features to assist with all aspects of SEO, including keyword research. It offers one of the biggest databases on the market, with data on 7 billion keywords across all countries.
You can type a keyword into the search box and the software will analyze it. To use this search engine, simply select your preferred search engine and country and then click “search.” After that, it will gather the data and show it in a way that is easy to understand.
You can analyze keywords based on multiple parameters, including difficulty score, search volume, CPC, and paid competition.
In addition to the aforementioned parameters, SE Ranking will also generate a list of similar and related keywords. Sorting the results with filters can help you to identify which opportunities are the best for you, and you can export this data to build a list of keywords for your project.
The keyword tool lets you see how well you’re doing in the search results. You can modify your search engine optimization strategy by looking at data from different devices separately (for example, desktops and mobile phones). Additionally, you can track your progress in organic search results, map results, and rich snippets.
You can also see how your website ranks in comparison to up to 20 other leading websites in your niche. This will help you measure your performance and see where you need to improve. This website has a lot of features that can help you improve your website, like a backlink checker, content optimization tool, and website auditor.
For agencies, SE Ranking gives you the option to share the tool with your clients through your own domain and under your own branding. This feature enables you to create individualized user sub-accounts with specific access privileges depending on each team member’s role in the project.
I hope that this article was helpful in finding the tool you needed.
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