The internet is an endless sea of content, and the competition here is tough. This is why our guide on Top 10 best keyword research tools are just what you need.
With new techniques like “chasing tail” becoming more common, it’s become nearly impossible to keep up with all the latest SEO tricks without a little help from tools.
And According to Aherfs, Bloggers who make more than $50,000 a year put a lot of emphasis on SEO.
That’s why we compiled this list of 10 top keyword research tools that will help you ace your SEO game Of 2023.
Of 2023, there are going to be many changes in how search engine optimization works on the web.
In order to stay ahead of these changes and compete effectively, website owners or writers need access to effective keyword research tools that can provide them with insights into what their audience wants and needs- before they even know themselves!
So Let’s begin!
How Can A Keyword Research Tool Help You?
A keyword research tool assists you in finding topic ideas that people are searching for on search engines like Google, Bing, and Amazon, among others.
This makes it easier for you to come up with content ideas that your customers are looking for.
Then, in your content strategy, you can include those topics in your blog articles and landing pages.
Keyword research tools may also show you where your competitors are ranking on the first page for both seed and long-tail keywords.
Then you can tweak your content to target those keywords and turn their traffic into yours.
That being said, let’s take a look at the best keyword research tools for SEO that you can use.
Best Keyword Research Tools
Here are our 10 best options based on:
- Semrush — Best Overall Keyword Research Tool
- KWFinder — Best For Beginners
- Ahrefs — Best Tool For In-Depth Results and Information
- Spyfu — Best For Competitor Research
- Long Tail Pro — Best For Finding Long-Tail Keywords
- Moz Keyword Explorer — Best Runner Up Keyword Research Tool
- Keyword Tool — Best For PPC Advertising
- Google Keyword Planner — Best For Free, Accurate Keyword Data
- GrowthBar — Best Chrome Extension Keyword Research Tool
- Ubersuggest — Best All-In-One SEO Tool
1. Semrush — Best Overall Keyword Research Tool
Semrush features modules for a technical SEO audit, semantics core collection, position monitoring, suggestions for generating more organic traffic, backlinks audit & analytics, and competitive intelligence in its full workflow for any SEO expert.
The Market Research Toolkit will give market insights as well as an overview of competitors’ strategies.
This toolkit can identify new growth prospects, analyze any company’s online traffic and visitor interaction, give statistics for sales prospecting and lead evaluation, and identify the most efficient digital marketing techniques.
Read Semrush Review
Pricing:
- Pro: Starts at $99.95 per month
- Guru: Starts at $199.95 per month
- Business: Starts at $399.95 per month
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It accurately locates the traffic of any website.
- It can also create a site audit.
- It can let you spy on five competitors at the same time (domain-to-domain comparison).
- Monthly search reports are provided.
Cons
- Expensive
- Data changes are unpredictable and difficult to plan for.
- Learning curve
Features:
- Get suggestions for ad groups and long-tail keywords.
- Worldwide CPC distribution statistics
- Get an annual keyword trend report.
- Insights about organic traffic and keyword difficulty
- Access to the complete keyword research toolkit
2. KWFinder — Best For Beginners
KWFinder is a keyword research tool created by Mangools, a developer known for creating the best keyword research tools in a variety of categories.
The tool will provide accurate search volumes for the terms. The tool will assist you in identifying seasonal keywords in order to increase your website’s organic traffic.
It is a local keyword research tool that can help you find long-tail keywords that are specific to your location.
Read KWFinder Review
Pricing:
- Basic: Starts at $30 per month
- Premium: Starts at $40 per month
- Agency: Starts at $80 per month
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The user interface is intuitive, and there isn’t much of a learning curve.
- Affordably priced
- Trend analysis
Cons
- Functionality is limited.
Features:
- A one-of-a-kind and simple-to-use user interface
- Choose from the list of effective keywords.
- Keywords can be found in any language and in any location.
- An in-depth analysis of the SERPs, as well as a list of suggestions
3. Ahrefs — Best Tool For In-Depth Results and Information
Ahrefs is one of the most powerful keyword research tools for content writers available today.
The platform gives the user a wide keyword report and uses clickstream data to provide unique click metrics.
While Ahrefs isn’t as well-known as Semrush, it has a similar number of features and accuracy.
Ahrefs maintains its own database from which it obtains data. The backlink analyzing feature of the tool is its most well-known feature.
Read Ahrefs Review
Pricing:
- Lite: Starts at $39 per month
- Standard: Starts at $179 per month
- Advanced: Starts at $399 per month
- Agency: Starts at $999 per month
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Comprehensive SEO toolkit
- Large keyword database
- Excellent backlink tracking and analysis
- Wide range of metrics
Cons
- Expensive
- There is no data on volume trends.
Features:
- Accurate keyword difficulty score
- Supported in over 171 countries
- 1,000+ keyword suggestions
- Comprehensive SERP overview
- Improve your CTR by using click metrics.
4. Spyfu — Best For Competitor Research
SpyFu is the best tool for analyzing the SEO strategies of your competition.
If you’re working in a highly crowded niche, their keyword tool can help you find valuable, nearly untouched keywords.
On a keyword, you’ll be able to track the ranking history of any page or website. SpyFu provides PPC competitor research, SEO competitor research, Keyword Research Tool, Domain Leads, and top lists.
Read SpyFu Review
Pricing:
- Basic: Starts at $33 per month
- Professional: Starts at $58 per month
- Team: Starts at $199 per month
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It’s great for reporting and general visibility.
- Using Kombat, find shared keywords and see how you’re different from the competition.
- Quick access to keywords and PPC history, as well as the option to print reports
- Find out who is competing in terms of keywords and ads.
Cons
- No web-wide crawling.
- For new SEO users, ad metrics might be confusing.
Features:
- Compare the results of different websites that are competing for the same search term.
- Additional modules for in-depth domain analysis
- Find ranking difficulty and historical rank variations.
5. Long Tail Pro — Best For Finding Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are the new SEO standard; it’s no secret.
Long Tail Pro is a keyword tool that creates long-tail keywords for niche sites and has a cult following among micro-niche content creators.
Long Tail Pro is a great alternative to Google Keyword Planner if you’re looking for something different.
Long Tail Pro, unlike Google Keyword Planner, is a premium tool that is much more reliable.
Read Long Tail Pro Review
Pricing:
- Starter: Starts at $25 per month
- Pro: starts at $45 per month
- Agency: Starts at $98 per month
Pros and Cons
Pros
- For each seed word, the module generates around 800 keywords.
- You can search for multiple words at once.
- It also shows the search volume, PPC, and competitiveness of the keywords.
- It automatically monitors your Google, Bing, and Yahoo rankings.
Cons
- It isn’t the most efficient keyword research tool available. SEMRush outperforms it in terms of speed.
- It is ineffective for finding your competitors’ main keywords.
Features:
- Keyword metrics that are both powerful and comprehensive
- Provides suggestions for getting highly convertible organic traffic.
- Easily find long-tail keywords.
- Every 24 hours, about 2,500 SERP lookups are performed.
6. Moz Keyword Explorer — Best Runner Up Keyword Research Tool
The Moz Keyword Explorer provides out-of-the-box keyword suggestions that are simple to use.
Moz’s SEO tool has all of the features you’d expect from the best keyword research tools, as well as two additional data points.
Priority score – A priority score is a sum of all the individual factors that a typical tool considers when recommending keyword options.
It combines statistics on click-through rate (CTR), search volume, and keyword difficulty to help you in choosing the best keywords for your project.
Organic CTR score — This click-through rate shows how many clicks you’re likely to get on Google’s first page.
Read Moz Keyword Explorer Review
Pricing:
- Standard: Starts at $99 per month
- Medium: Starts at $179 per month
- Large: Starts at $249 per month
- Premium: Starts at $599 per month
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Strong features
- Excellent online resources
- SEO analytics that is both insightful and actionable
- Free trial
Cons
- It is rather expensive.
- There is no mobile app available.
Features:
- Get related keyword suggestions
- Moz offers a one-month trial period
- Smart targeting with organic CTR and Priority score
7. Keyword Tool — Best For PPC Advertising
For each search term, KeywordTool.io can generate over 750 long-tail keyword ideas. For every topic, you’ll get a lot of new long-tail keywords.
It creates a long-tail keyword by prepending and attaching the provided search term to different letters and numbers.
These are placed into the Google search box, and the tool then removes the suggested keywords. It completes the whole procedure in a fraction of a second.
Read KeywordTool Review
Pricing:
- Free plan: Free
- Pro Basic: Starts at $69 per month
- Pro Plus: Starts at $79 per month
- Pro Business: Starts at $159 per month
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Very quick
- Has a free version
- You can upgrade to the advanced version for more features.
- Provides consistent quality and quantity.
Cons
- Search volume, CPC, and all other indicators are hidden in the free version.
Features:
- The tool will provide keyword ideas based on the language you’re using and the Google domain.
- The tool will display the extracted Google Keyword ideas in a way that is simple to understand.
- It uses Google Autocomplete to provide a variety of relevant long-tail keywords for any topic.
8. Google Keyword Planner — Best For Free, Accurate Keyword Data
Google Keyword Planner is a straightforward keyword tool with just a few basic features.
Despite its lack of functionality, it is one of the most accurate keyword data sources available.
The data comes straight from Google, and the results are compatible with AdSense revenue.
This tool is directly connected with Google Ads. This may suggest a lot of data that is quite accurate, but it isn’t a useful tool if you want to rank on Bing or Yahoo.
Read Google Keyword Planner Review
Pricing:
- Free
Pros and Cons
Pros
- You don’t have to pay anything to access the tool.
- Unlike other tools, it allows you to monitor bulk search volume for multiple phrases at once.
- The data is acquired straight from Google.
Cons
- Only provides data for Google’s search engine.
- It might be hard to navigate.
- Because the data isn’t intended for finding organic keywords, it may be inaccurate.
- Not a lot of functionality
Features:
- Accurate search volume obtained straight from Google’s search engine
- Use the “top of page” bid range to find commercial keywords.
- The best option for business websites
9. GrowthBar — Best Chrome Extension Keyword Research Tool
GrowthBar is a fantastic tool for marketers and bloggers on the go who want to see ranking difficulty or keyword ideas alongside their search results.
Content outline generation is a new feature that allows you to generate content outlines for your blog or website in one click, complete with keywords, word counts, headers, photos, links, and more.
It also helps you analyze a competitor’s profile, including backlink data, organic keywords, Google/Facebook ad information, and other relevant information.
Read GrowthBar Review
Pricing:
- Standard: Starts at $29 per month
- Pro: Starts at $79 per month
- Agency: Starts at $129 per month
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It’s extremely simple to use.
- It provides you with all of the necessary information to run a simple yet efficient SEO campaign.
- The Chrome extension offers a one-of-a-kind, quick, and simple solution to access SEO data while on the go.
- Free 5 days trial
Cons
- The keyword difficulty scores are not shown in the keyword suggestion list.
- GrowthBar isn’t particularly designed for broken link building.
- Backlink monitoring is basic.
Features:
- Create content outlines with AI
- Accurate difficulty ranking
- Tracking keyword rankings
- Long-tail keyword suggestions
10. Ubersuggest — Best All-In-One SEO Tool
Ubersuggest is a multi-purpose tool that will help you in increasing your SEO traffic. It provides a keyword tool as well as other ideas.
Keyword suggestions, article ideas, and backlink data are all available via this tool.
You can see a table of the top 100 Google results for a keyword, with estimated visitors, number of backlinks, a domain score, and the total amount of social shares, in addition to viewing a lot of ideas for related keywords.
Read Ubersuggest Review
Pricing:
- Free plan: Free
- Individual: Starts at $12 per month
- Business: Starts at $20 per month
- Enterprise/Agency: Starts at $40 per month
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface
- Content ideas from keywords
- Data graphs and statistics for each keyword you’re looking for
Cons
- Lack of competitor analysis
- The free version has some limitations.
- Some limitations on the target market
Features:
- Ubersuggest can provide long-tail phrases. It offers a large number of suggestions.
- It can help you come up with content ideas.
- The Backlink Data function will show you the exact content in your niche to which others are linking.
- It can provide reports per day.
Comparison
| PRODUCT | Best For | Price | Rating | Best Feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush | Overall | $99.95 per month | 4.2/5 | Keyword research toolkit |
| KWFinder | Beginners | $30 per month | 4.1/5 | Trend analysis |
| Ahrefs | In-Depth Results And Information | $39 per month | 2.3/5 | 1,000+ keyword suggestions |
| Spyfu | Competitor Research | $33 per month | 3.7/5 | In-depth domain analysis |
| Long Tail Pro | Finding Long-Tail Keywords | $25 per month | 2.8/5 | Keyword metrics |
Conclusion
With these 10 best keyword research tools, you can stay ahead of the curve and compete with other website owners to generate more sales.
These powerful tools will help you understand what your customers want and need so that they can make a purchase from your site or content.
FAQs
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the process of researching popular search terms that people enter into search engines like Google and strategically incorporating them into your content so that it ranks higher on a search engine results page (SERP).
Why is keyword research done in SEO?
Keyword research may provide important details such as where you rank for keywords, which keywords are simple to rank for, and which keywords your competitors rank for.
Keyword research can reveal what people are looking for, not what you think they’re looking for.
Do SEO keywords need to be exact?
You don’t have to worry about using your exact keyword throughout your content anymore.
You may harm your content and SEO if the keywords sound awkward or if you stuff them in the content.
Instead, focus on writing high-quality content that reads naturally and provides context for your keywords.
Amit Gupta is the founder of National Planning Cycles, a company that helps startups, individuals, and small businesses with their financial planning. He has a vast amount of experience in the finance sector, having managed Google Play accounts for some of the world’s most successful unicorns. Amit is an expert in his field, and he uses his knowledge to help others achieve their individual goals.