6 minutes
Keyword research is a fundamental part of content marketing.
It is an indispensable tool for developing a potent inbound marketing strategy and improving SEO. Search engines favor compelling content, but you won’t generate much traffic if you don’t include the words and phrases people are most interested in and actively searching for. Because many of the available keyword research tools are confusing and counterintuitive, the process can be challenging and time-consuming.
Keywords still dominate search engine results pages (SERPs)
Keywords are an essential element in search marketing. The valuable insights offered by keyword research will inform your strategic process by identifying exactly what your customers want, need, and are concerned about.
These 26 tools enable you to search for new keywords, identify keyword difficulty, and track search volume (a number that indicates how many people have searched for a particular query)
Here are 26 keyword research tools that I’ve found to be good replacements for Google’s Keyword Planner. Check them out and see if they’re a fit for your keyword research routine:
1. Moz
FREE & PAID
Moz launched their keyword explorer in order to add to their SEO research. Filtering options enable you to exclude a particular query term or limit your search to only question phrases containing your keyword. Keyword results include related query terms, estimated search volumes, and keyword difficulty scores. Moz also displays domains which rank for the keyword.
2. Keywordtool.io
FREE
Keywordtool.io pulls keywords from YouTube, Bing, Amazon, and Google. You can select suggested keywords from any Google TLD (top-level domain). Similar options exist for other engines. Though you’ll receive hundreds upon hundreds of keyword suggestions, you’ll need to pay a fee if you want to see search volume estimates.
3. Ahrefs
PAID
Ahrefs has powerful keyword research tools and backlink reporting. Their paid tool gives you keyword ideas as well as search volume for all match types. It also features a keyword difficulty rating metric — this feature is slightly superior to other tools that offer a similar function.
4. WordStream
FREE & PAID
WordStream is a paid search marketing tool that helps search marketers manage their pay-per-click campaigns. It also offers a free keyword generator. Subscribers have access to search volume, whereas free results only display related keywords.
5. SEMrush
FREE & PAID
SEMrush is a tool that analyzes 26 countries’ searches. It provides keywords ideas, CPC estimations, keyword difficulty scores, current ranking domains, and estimated search volumes.
6. Keyword Discover
PAID/FREE TRIAL
Keyword Discover pulls search data across the most search resources. It can be used to perform limited free searches. Although the tool may have different search volumes than what Google displays in the results, it is useful for finding new ideas.
7. Keyword Surfer
PAID
Keyword Surfer allows you to see the search volume of different keywords. Combining this tool with AnswerThePublic can be very useful.
8. Scrapebox
PAID
Scrapebox may be best known for its black-hat SEO capabilities, but it can also be used white-hat purposes. It allows for easy conversion of a few keywords in hundreds or even thousands possibilities. Scrapebox is a Windows-only app. It is offered as a one-time payment and not a monthly or annual subscription.
9. BuzzSumo
FREE & PAID
BuzzSumo, a digital marketing company that has been around a while, recently launched a tool that offers users the ability to find relevant keywords. It displays search volume and cost per click as well as trends.
10. KWFinder
PAID
KWFinder’s keyword searches can be performed in five countries. The results also include a keyword difficulty rating and keyword ideas. These results can then easily be filtered using various metrics.
11. Bing
FREE
Bing’s keyword tool also works for campaigns that aren’t focused on Google. It is completely free — you just need to verify that your website is listed in Bing’s Webmaster tools.
12. Google Trends
FREE
Google Trends is an awesome tool. Although it offers many useful functions, it is primarily used to find trending Google data. It is great for following upcoming trends and breaking news.
13. seoClarity
PAID
seoClarity contains a wealth of keyword information. It provides data about search intent, types of content, and search volume, as well topic demand and top ranking URLs.
14. Sistrix
PAID
Sistrix is an SEO and marketing tool with a strong keyword search capability. You can find keywords in many languages from many countries.
15. AlsoAsked
FREE
Credo’s useful, free tool pulls data directly from Google’s People-Also-Asked boxes so you can find what people are doing online. This is an excellent way to learn what Google is most passionate about and to plan keywords.
16. Searchmetrics
PAID
Searchmetrics often publishes “Winners and Losers”, which highlights sites that have lost, or won, in ranking. Use their keyword tools to get the same diligence. They can provide you with search volume, cost/per-click, and search volume spread.
17. Infinite Suggest
FREE
Infinite Suggest offers a never-ending supply of Google keyword suggestions via powerful keyword research with filtering and export capabilities.
18. Keyworddit
FREE
Keywordit pulls keywords from Reddit and matches them with search volume data. It also has a column called “Monthly Search Volume”, which lists the average monthly searches related to search terms.
19. Majestic
PAID
Majestic’s Lite plan includes a Keyword Generator and a Keyword Checker. This tool shows you the frequency of a search term appearing in Majestic’s search index as well as its search volume.
20. Google Autocomplete
FREE
Google Autocomplete is a predictive tool that autocompletes search queries with terms that are relevant to what you’re looking for based on what people have already searched for on Google. Just start typing to see the results. It is great for keyword research.
International Keyword Search Options
You may also want to consider local keyword tools for SEO and SEM campaigns in Eastern Europe and Asia:
21. Yandex
FREE
Yandex has become the most popular search engine both in Russia and in Russian speaking countries. It provides both Russian and English data.
22 & 23. Yahoo Japan and Yahoo Taiwan
FREE
Yahoo Japan and Yahoo Taiwan the most used in their respective countries. Each of them has its own keyword tool behind a login wall that uses Google’s organic results.
FREE
Naver is South Korea’s most widely used search engine. It includes a keyword search tool that enables users to locate the most pertinent keywords in its network.
25. Baidu
FREE
Baidu is the largest Chinese search engine and offers a free keyword tool as part their webmaster toolset. It also has a product similar toGoogle Trends that provides related keywords and hot trends.
26. Dragon Metrics
PAID/FREE TRIAL
Dragon Metrics is an SEO tool software platform offering rank tracking, onsite optimization, link management, keyword research tools, and more. It is very similar to Ahrefs/SEMrush/Moz for Baidu.