free keyword research

The 4 best free keyword research tools

There's no shortage of tools purpose-built for keyword research (literally hundreds of them), and they run the gamut from beginner-focused to highly advanced. They also range from totally basic and unhelpful to super valuable.

When done right, the best keyword research tools simplify and streamline your workflow—they make it easier to find the right keywords to target and give you the data you need to actually rank for them. But they shouldn't require you to empty out your bank account and sell your first-born child in order to access that data.

After years of working with multiple clients who use all different tools for keyword research and SEO content optimization, I've seen the best (and the worst) of them—and I know how important it is to choose the right keyword planner tool. To help, I considered over 70 tools with a free option for keyword research. After in-depth testing, here are the four best free keyword research tools, including the all-around greats and apps built for more specific use cases.

The best free keyword research tools

Google Keyword Planner for researching paid keywords

Ahrefs for simple SEO tools

Semrush for advanced SEO professionals

What makes the best keyword research tool?

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The features that make for a great keyword research tool are pretty straightforward: you search for a given keyword, and the tool tells you about it. But there are so many different ways to use keyword data, so I wanted to find tools that could handle a variety of use cases, along with a few designed for some of the most popular uses for keyword research.

During testing, I looked primarily at the factors below to determine which apps made our initial list.

Data included. The best keyword research tools give you all the data you need to rank for your chosen keyword. All of the apps we selected include, at minimum, traffic, keyword difficulty, and competitive SERP analysis .

Data sources. You should be able to trust that your keyword data is free of errors and biases, so considering where the data in each keyword research tool comes from was an important step for us. Every tool we included pulls data in from Google Analytics or Google Search Console at a minimum.

Keyword optimization guidance. You shouldn't have to be a 10-year SEO industry veteran to use keyword research tools—the best tools offer simple, straightforward suggestions to optimize for your keywords. There are tools (like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz) that do complete SEO analysis on your site, checking for everything from site speed and technical details to domain authority and topic clusters. That's not what we're looking for here. We're looking for tools that any business owner or marketer can use to quickly understand their target keyword and optimize their site to rank for it.

Free plan allowances and upgrades. Some tools include super limited results for free and call it a "free plan." Or they put time limits on the free plan, effectively making it more of a trial. I only included tools with evergreen free plans generous enough to actually be useful—and they won't break the bank when it's time to upgrade, either.

Standalone functionality. Since you're looking for something free, your keyword tool should be a one-stop shop—without requiring any additional tools or extensions to work for you, especially not ones you'd have to pay for.

To find the best of the best, I put each tool that checked those boxes to the test by running through an in-depth protocol. Here's what my testing workflow looked like:

If needed, I created 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).

I searched for a few different kinds of keywords—e.g., "free keyword research tools," "chocolate cake," and "best white sneakers"—to see the results for different search intent .

I checked which related keywords, metrics, and other data were offered. I also made note of the source, whether information was pulled from Google, included non-search engine websites (like social media or forums), or was drawn from the tool's own native data.

I verified allowances for the free plan—whether limited by time, number of results, metrics included, searches per day or month, or something else—and the cost to upgrade to a paid plan if needed.

Where available, I tested out additional keyword research tools like competitive gap analysis, content optimization features, and more.

After spending over a dozen hours with these apps this year, I landed on the four best keyword research tools—each with a manageable free version—below.

The best free keyword research tools at a glance

The best free keyword research tool overall, moz keyword explorer (web).

More approachable data presentation than many other tools

"Priority" score makes it easy to find the keywords worth chasing

Broad set of tools available for free

Less data than more robust tools

Free plan only includes 10 queries per tool per month

Moz 's SEO platform offers several different tools designed for keyword research. While Moz doesn't include as many data points as some of the other full-featured SEO tools (like SERP position history or the total number of keywords a competing result ranks for), I'd 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.

With the Keyword Explorer tool, you can search any keyword you choose and see its monthly volume, difficulty, and organic clickthrough rate (CTR). Scroll down from there to see an analysis of current results ranking for it and suggestions for similar keywords.

My favorite feature: Moz includes a "Priority" score that simplifies keyword research by giving you the bottom line on whether a keyword is worth chasing for you. Moz automatically calculates the score based on the keyword's volume, organic CTR, and difficulty, along with your "My Score"—a metric you set yourself, designating how important a given keyword is to your business, based on your own expertise and knowledge of your business and industry.

Plus, with the Keyword Gap feature (part of the Competitive Research tool), you can find all the keywords your competitors rank for that you don't.

Moz pricing: Keyword research features are available for free for up to 10 queries per tool per month with up to 1,000 keyword suggestions and 10 SERP analyses per query; Moz Pro plans start at $99/month for 150 keyword queries per month

The best free keyword research tool for paid keywords

Google keyword planner (web).

Google Keyword Planner pros:

Completely free forever, even if you don't use Google Ads

Helpful forecasting features for budgeting if you do use Google Ads

Can pull keyword suggestions from just your website

Google Keyword Planner cons:

Not helpful for organic keyword research

When it comes to PPC keyword research, Google Keyword Planner is one of the best tools out there. It's completely free (even if you don't buy Google Ads), so you never have to worry about running into limits or expensive upgrades.

Google Keyword Planner includes two main features: one for exploratory keyword research and discovery and another for more in-depth research on search volume and forecasting.

The "Keyword ideas" feature is similar to many of the tools on this list: you search for a seed term, and it generates other keyword ideas, along with details on monthly search volume, change over time, competition, ad impression share, and bid ranges. You can refine your keyword list by brand or non-brand keywords, source website, and more. If you're also using Google Ads, the "Forecast" feature makes it easier to plan ahead for your paid ads and budget in advance.

Keyword Planner can inform your organic strategy, too, by showing you where ranking organically may help you save on PPC costs.

Google Keyword Planner pricing: Free

The best free keyword research platform for a broad suite of SEO tools

Ahrefs free seo tools (web).

Ahrefs pros:

Free tools cover a broad array of SEO use cases

Super simple to use

Includes keyword research for non-search engines (YouTube, Amazon, Bing)

Ahrefs cons:

Limited amount of data available for free

While you can't access the full Ahrefs suite for free, the company offers a surprisingly robust set of free SEO tools that are perfect for doing simple keyword research. The free suite includes a Free Keyword Generator, Keyword Difficulty Checker, Keyword Rank Checker, and keyword research for YouTube, Amazon, and Bing, among other tools.

The keyword generator includes up to 150 keyword ideas for free (100 phrase match keywords and 50 question-based keywords), along with data on monthly search volume for each and keyword difficulty for the top 10 results. The keyword difficulty tool includes a difficulty score, estimated number of backlinks needed to rank, and SERP analysis for the top 10 results.

None of these tools will give you the depth of data you'd get from a paid account, but the suite's breadth is a strength. Taken together, Ahrefs free tools can handle just about anything a basic SEO operation needs—keyword research, yes, but also link building, website audits, ranking and traffic monitoring, and more. And if your budget changes, you can upgrade to a tool that rivals the best of the best.

Ahrefs pricing: Free Keyword Generator includes up to 150 keyword suggestions with limited data, and Keyword Difficulty Checker includes difficulty score, backlink estimate, and basic SERP overview; paid plans start at $99/month for 500 search credits per month, additional data, and up to 5 keyword lists.

The best free keyword research tool for advanced SEO

Semrush (web).

Semrush pros:

Tons of granular keyword data

Wide range of specialized keyword research tools

Pretty generous free plan

Semrush cons:

Can be overwhelming for those less experienced with keyword research

Most expensive upgrade

If you're looking for something more advanced, Semrush shares a ton of keyword data and makes it easy to dig into the details, like SERP features (featured snippet, reviews, site links, image pack, and so on) and granular analysis of current results. Semrush offers a broad range of keyword research tools, too, from the standard traffic and search volume data to content-driven keyword research and competitive keyword gap analysis.

That range is what really sets Semrush apart, including the standard Keyword Overview, the Keyword Magic Tool for exploratory keyword research, a Keyword Manager and position tracking, competitive Keyword Gap analysis, and Organic Traffic Insights, which—when connected with your Google Analytics or Search Console account—can uncover those famously tricky "not provided" keywords.

As an added bonus, the SEO Content Template tool lets you automatically create a content brief and optimize content as you write by grading your content in real-time for readability, originality, tone of voice, and SEO: it uses a handy bullseye graphic to help you strike the right balance. Plus, the tool visually checks off SEO recommendations (like using your target and related keywords and adding relevant links and images) as you go.

All of this means that upgrading will cost you a pretty penny—but you can use it for free at low volumes to start.

You can do more with Semrush by connecting with Zapier to keep track of SEO tasks across Semrush and your project management tool, automate site audits and re-crawls, connect with Google Analytics goals, and more. Here are some examples:

Re-crawl site audit campaigns in SEMrush when new site audits are completed

Create SEMrush overview reports for new Google Analytics goals

Semrush pricing: Free plan includes up to 10 Analytics reports per day and 10 tracked keywords; paid plans start at $119.95/month for up to 10,000 results per report and 500 tracked keywords per month.

Can you use AI for keyword research?

You can ask AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard to do keyword research for you—but should you?

The main benefit of going the AI route is simplicity. You can ask for straightforward, simplified results and get a simple, streamlined answer.

The results are clear and actionable, and Bard did a great job of synthesizing data from a variety of sources and planning for both high-traffic and long-tail keywords. (Assuming it's not lying to me .)

ChatGPT isn't connected to Google Keyword Planner, and it did a slightly less impressive—but still kind of helpful—job.

But both ChatGPT and Bard struggled with anything more complex than the prompt above, offering super generic advice…

…or not answering at all:

Bottom line: AI chatbots aren't built for keyword research. They don't allow for building keyword lists, saving analyses and keyword reports, tracking your rankings, competitor gap analysis, or robust content optimization. Not yet, at least.

If you're in a bind and need simplified, bottom line-style information on a keyword quickly, an AI chatbot may be of some help. But as of today, I wouldn't recommend using AI chatbot as your primary keyword research tool—especially given the number of truly helpful dedicated free keyword research tools you can use instead.

Related reading:

The best SEO content optimization tools

The best WordPress SEO plugins

How to find low competition keywords that drive traffic

How to do keyword research on a budget with Keywords Everywhere

The best SEO rank trackers

The best SEO audit tools

This article was originally published in June 2021. The most recent update was in June 2023.

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Kiera Abbamonte

Kiera’s a content writer who helps SaaS and eCommerce companies connect with customers and reach new audiences. Located in Boston, MA, she loves cinnamon coffee and a good baseball game. Catch up with her on Twitter @Kieraabbamonte.

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15 Free Keyword Research Tools For 2023

There are a variety of free keyword research tools you can use if you don't have the budget for a premium paid keyword tool

One of the biggest opportunities of search engine optimization (SEO) is performing keyword research and designing a content plan supported by the results of your research.

Keyword research helps you to:

• Understand your target audience’s search intent .
• Gather information about related topics and questions searchers often ask.
• Monitor the current competitive landscape for your topic.

All of these things can affect your resulting content quality.

Keyword research is crucial in shaping your article’s structure and creating something that meets your customers’ needs.

But not all website owners do it. Many think it requires complicated or paid keyword research tools — but that’s not necessarily true.

To show you don’t need to commit to premium plans to get used to these tools, we’ve listed the 15 best free keyword research tools below.

1. GetKeywords

GetKeywords is one of the best free keyword research tools for local SEO .

It supports keyword metrics for over 100,000 locations with filters that narrow down search results to countries, provinces, and cities.

It also has metrics that are usually unavailable in free keyword tools and supports up to 45 languages.

On top of that, GetKeywords shares real-time data, unlike many other keyword tools that use stored data.

Key Features :

• Real-time data analysis.
• Shares your audience’s preferred devices and competitors’ traffic sources.
• Provides global search.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Local SEO.

Pricing : Free plan with unlimited searches. Premium plans for advanced features like SEO difficulty and competitor keywords start at $24/month when billed annually.

If you need a basic keyword tool for Amazon keyword research , Sonar comes highly recommended.

Sonar has a database of over 180 million keywords in multiple languages, updated in real-time.

Its reverse Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) lookup lets you identify and track competitors’ keywords.

Enter the competitor’s ASIN, and Sonar gives you the list of keywords the product is ranking for.

However, that’s the extent of its features.

• 180+ million keywords in multiple languages.
• Reverse ASIN lookup.
• No need to create a user account.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Amazon sellers.

Pricing : Free.

3. QuestionDB

Need new blog topic ideas? QuestionDB is one of the best free keyword research tools for that.

When you enter a seed keyword, QuestionDB generates common questions people ask on popular platforms such as Reddit, Stack Exchange, and Quora.

You gain insights into how customers think, generating relevant keywords based on what people are searching for.

• Gain insights into questions people commonly ask about a topic.
• Generate relevant content ideas based on what people search for.
• Multiple data sources (Reddit, Stack Exchange, Quora).

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Creating informative blog posts.

Pricing : Free with limited features. Premium plans start at $12.50/month when billed annually.

4. Ryan Robinson’s Keyword Tool

New or smaller websites should target keywords with medium search volume and low keyword difficulty.

Though many free keyword research tools don’t highlight this data, Ryan Robinson’s free AI-powered keyword research tool does.

Ryan Robinson is a professional blogger and as head of content at CRM provider Close, Ryan is familiar with content marketing pain points.

• Focuses on essential metrics: estimated search volume and suggested blog topics.
• Accompanied by a useful tutorial explaining the importance of keyword research to show you how to best use the tool.
• Get country-specific search data.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Finding untapped phrases surrounding a keyword.

5. Keyword Tool Dominator

If you’re a multichannel marketer or work in the ecommerce space, Keyword Tool Dominator is the tool for you.

It sources keywords from nine major retail databases (Amazon, Bing, eBay, Etsy, Google, Google Shopping, Home Depot, Walmart, and YouTube) for the best long-tail keywords .

However, the free plan limits you to two keyword searches daily and doesn’t offer keyword analysis.

• Unlimited real-time keyword searches (premium plans only).
• Unlimited keyword suggestions – including long-tail keywords.
• Export reports.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Multichannel marketers.

Pricing : Free with limited features. Lifetime unlimited access to tools starts at $49, a one-time payment for each tool. The bundle that includes 6 keyword tools starts at $99.

6. Google Autocomplete

It depends on your level of awareness of the best free keyword research tools.

Google Search data may seem basic, but it offers a wealth of information you can use for keyword research, intent exploration, and content creation .

• Autocomplete : Shares search suggestions that include various long-tail keyword phrases that are variations of your primary keyword.
• People Also Ask : Shares questions that searchers ask related to your keyword. “People Also Ask” provides great opportunities for subheadings and featured snippets.
• Related Searches : Displays searches that don’t necessarily involve the same exact words as the primary keyword you typed in but are semantically related. These searches represent related topics that may make sense to bring up in your article based on what users are interested in learning and suggestions for future related topics to write.

• Things To Know : Google has been testing a search engine results page (SERP) feature that displays and arranges information about a topic into different categories. Clicking on the category will show a featured snippet about the topic.

Pricing: Free.

7. Keyword Tool

Keyword Tool is a great alternative to Google Keyword Planner as it focuses on sources other than Google.

It uses data from various search engines, ecommerce websites, and social media platforms, such as Bing, YouTube, Amazon, eBay, Instagram, and Pinterest, to generate long-tail keywords that aren’t visible on Google’s Keyword Planner.

Choose the website and country you want to view data from, and Keyword Tool will generate a list of suggestions and questions based on autocomplete data from those sources.

• Generates up to 750+ long-tail keyword suggestions for every search term.
• Multiple data source inputs.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Multichannel keyword research.

Pricing : Free plan available. The premium version starts at $69/month when billed annually.

Many SEOs use Google Trends to find new keywords they can rank for.

However, it’s only good for finding trends you’re already aware of – not predicting future trends.

Glimpse closes that gap by identifying upcoming search trends that are useful for people in the digital PR or ecommerce space.

Glimpse is a free Chrome extension with a limitation of 10 free credits a month.

• Long-tail search data.
• Set Google Trend alerts to alert you when a topic starts trending.
• A database of thousands of trends. It checks for popular and high-growth topics from websites outside Google, including Pinterest, Amazon, TikTok, and YouTube, so you can find business ideas before they become mainstream.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Finding keyword trends.

9. Keywords Everywhere

Keywords Everywhere is a freemium browser add-on for Firefox and Chrome.

It gathers keyword suggestions from over 15 of the most popular keyword tools, such as AnswerThePublic, Google Search, and Ubersuggest.

From there, it displays related keywords, keyword trends, and terms your competitors are ranking for.

• Collates data from popular keyword research tools like Ubersuggest, AnswerThePublic, Google Search, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Moz Open Site Explorer.
• Displays YouTube and Google Trends from 2004 onwards.
• Shares YouTube and Google traffic metrics (no volume data for the free version).
• Find keywords your competitors rank for (no volume data for the free version).

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Keyword research within search.

Pricing : Free with limited features. The Premium version uses the pay-as-you-go model. You can buy 100,000 credits (one credit = research data for one keyword) for as low as $10.

10. AlsoAsked

AlsoAsked is a freemium keyword research tool centered around Google’s “People Also Ask” (PAA) data.

When you enter a seed keyword, AlsoAsked suggests relationships between topics and illustrates them with a branching diagram that you can download as .CSV or .PNG files.

However, AnswerThePublic focuses specifically on autocomplete data.

• Identify related keywords.
• Visualize keyword relationships.
• Export keyword data as .CSV or .PNG files.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Content ideation and finding related questions people ask.

Pricing : Limited free trial available. Starts at $15/month.

11. Keyword Surfer

If you’re a digital marketer, Surfer’s free Chrome extension is one of the best free keyword research tools you can use.

Surfer’s free Chrome extension lets you see different keyword metrics without leaving the Google Search page. These metrics, which are tailored to each country, include the following:

• Estimated monthly search volume.
• Cost-per-click (CPC).
• Number of times the keyword is used on the page.
• Word count for competitors’ pages.
• Related keywords and those keywords’ overlap score and search volume.

The features offered are very powerful for a free tool – it’s no wonder it’s so popular.

• Dataset from 70 countries.
• Monitor and keep keywords you don’t want to forget (using the Collections folder).
• Export files using CSV.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Finding overlapping keywords.

12. Keyworddit

Reddit is a goldmine for keyword ideas.

The website recognizes that and built Keyworddit – one of the best free keyword research tools to find keywords based on your target audience’s questions.

Keyworddit goes through subreddits (communities) representing your target audience’s characteristics.

With a specific niche in mind, run the subreddit names through Keyworddit. It will extract keywords that represent what engaged users frequently talk about.

Note that search volume is based on GrepWords (a keyword and SERP data platform), not Reddit search data.

• Identify the most popular topics on Reddit.
• Understand the specific topics that engage your audience.
• Includes a “Context” link that opens a Google search of the subreddit and keyword to see how people are using it on Reddit.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Brands that want to market on Reddit.

Jaaxy is one of the best free SEO keyword research tools for affiliate marketers.

Like other tools, it shows:

• Related keywords.
• The average number of monthly searches for each keyword.
• Estimated traffic to your website if you rank on page one for that keyword.
• The number of competing websites for that specific keyword.

What makes it different is that it shows affiliate programs you can join.

Jaaxy also has a keyword quality indicator, which tells you whether your keyword is great (green), normal (orange), or poor (red).

• Lists relevant affiliate programs to join based on your search input (sourced from Commission Junction, LinkShare, Digital River, and ClickBank).
• Track keywords and determine where they rank using the built-in SiteRank analysis tool.
• Results are exportable in CSV format.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Affiliate marketers.

Pricing : Free with limited features. The Premium version starts at $49/month.

14. TagCrowd

TagCrowd helps you visualize keyword frequency – or the number of times a keyword appears on a page – by creating word/text/tag clouds.

You can use it to determine a topic’s optimum keyword frequency or check which keywords competitors use in their content.

Note that you can get more detailed data with premium SEO tools like Semrush and Ahrefs Keywords Explorer .

• Simple user interface.
• Customized HTML clouds for embedding.
• Multi-language support.
• Upload a file.
• Enter the webpage URL.
• Paste page text.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Visualizing keyword frequency.

Soovle functions as both a keyword generator and research tool, helping users find keywords across multiple popular websites such as YouTube, eBay, Amazon, and Wikipedia.

Users can toggle between different search engines to tailor their output.

• Generates suggestions relevant to each platform.
• Unlimited searches.
• Idea generator.

Best Keyword Research Tool For : Finding keyword ideas on search engines besides Google.

Final Thoughts: 15 Best Free Keyword Research Tools For 2023

An effective SEO strategy begins with keyword research. It helps you:

• Find the right keywords that align with your website’s objectives and intent.
• Determine topics your searchers are interested in.
• Gather information about competitors.

The best free keyword research tools on this list will make these tasks (and more) easier.

Did we miss any of the best free keyword research tools you think should be a part of this list?

Tweet your thoughts at @sejournal !

Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal

Maddy Osman is the author of “Writing for Humans and Robots: The New Rules of Content Style” (learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X4NJ9H8). ...

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Find long tail keywords with low SEO difficulty

Kwfinder is the only keyword tool in the universe you will ever need. seriously 😎.

• Search b B y Keyword
• Search b B y Domain

Trusted by the big ones, loved by everyone

Keyword analysis tool, find keywords that you can easily rank for.

Keyword analysis is no rocket science. 🚀 Just go for the keywords with low SEO difficulty and high search volume. We have exact search volumes and the most accurate keyword difficulty!

KWFinder has lots of the features that other tools have. But unlike most other tools, it's VERY intuitive. At $29/month you really can’t go wrong with a Mangools subscription. Great value.

Competitor keyword research tool

See what your competitors rank for.

Don't know where to start? Find out what works for your competitors. Just enter their domain or URL and our keyword finder tool will show you the best keywords they rank for. Easy-peasy 😎

KWFinder is a super-effective tool for finding easy-to-rank keywords. What I love the most is its interface. Simple and straightforward, exactly how most SEO tools should be.

Exact search volumes and search trends

Get search volumes with historical data.

Timing is the key to keyword analysis! Create content based on historical search volumes and long-term trends. Identify seasonal keywords and hot topics 🌶️ that will boost the organic traffic of your website.

Weekend is for planning ;) Using KWFinder to find a gold mine of keyword opportunities! Amazing tool!

Keyword finder tool meant for local SEO

Local keyword research and serp analysis.

Find location-specific long tail keywords for your website! Choose from more than 50k locations 🌍 and get precise local search results for each keyword.

Mangools has a good mix of simple and advanced data for both newbies and experienced users to work with. This is in contrast to some other tools, which have too many advanced settings and data for newbies to figure out quickly.

What's under the hood

Thousands of keyword ideas.

Get 5 lookups per 24 hours, 15 related and 5 competitor keywords per lookup for free.

Approved by SEO authorities

“At a low price and with new functionality rolling out regularly, KWFinder is easy-to-use, and inherently valuable tool to have in your SEO arsenal.”

“Mangools brings ease of use to a type of tools that are often mind-blowingly complicated. The supplementary features make it even more compelling.”

“KWFinder is an excellent tool that really simplifies the keyword research process in a way other tools just haven’t managed to do.”

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Find ideas for keywords with the Research Tool

Just put in a keyword and get suggestions

FREE KEYWORD-RESEARCH TOOL

Find relevant keywords for your content with this free, fast and easy-to-use tool.

You already have an idea for a landing page or piece of content and know which keyword to optimize on, but you’re still looking for related keywords? Use our free Keyword Research Tool to find relevant keywords for your content.

Here’s how it works: enter your keyword in the first field, select a country and click on "Start research". You don't have to limit your search to a single word as you can also enter word groups or phrases (e.g. "best keyword research tool"). After a few seconds, you will get a clear list of related keywords that our tool has found for your search term or phrase.

Clear keyword list

To help you with your research, our tool also provides you with the search volume, CPC (Cost per Click on Google Ads) and competition of each keyword. This way, you can decide which keywords are actually important for you and have the greatest potential for your SEO. An example:

Select your keyword

Enter the search term you want to rank for, e.g. “keyword research”.

Analysis starts

The tool analyzes 100 related keywords that are relevant in this context.

Compare search volume

The results are already sorted by search volume so that the most important keywords will be right at the top.

Select keywords

You can now select the keywords that are relevant for you and include them in your text.

Compare CPCs

If you want to start a Google Ads campaign, the CPC indicates the click prices you can expect.

Evaluate keyword competition

The bar at the right shows how strong the competition for each keyword is. The higher the competition, the harder it will be to rank for this keyword on Google.

How to find the right keyword?

Finding the right keyword to achieve good Google rankings and increase your search traffic is not easy and requires an analytical process. Even if your website ranks high for a specific keyword in Google’s search results, it doesn't mean that this keyword will bring success. Does the keyword have a high search volume? Which topics could also be interesting? The following tips for your keyword research will help you find such related terms.

Google Suggest

While you are typing in your keyword, Google will suggest further, complementary terms (this is called "Google Suggest"). You can use these keywords for a deeper, more accurate search.

Related searches

Once you have submitted your search query, scroll down to the bottom of the first search result page. There you will find other search queries that are related to your search term. These terms and word groups can also be an important source for research.

Compare keywords

You can now compare the terms from Google Suggest with the related search queries. Consider including terms in your text, that appear in both places as these seem to be highly relevant for users.

Refine your research

Use the terms suggested by Google to refine your keyword research with this tool. This way, you will get even more terms that you can use to create and optimize your content.

What to bear in mind when doing your research

When creating your content, you should not include too many of the terms from your keyword research. Both Google and our free keyword tool only give you suggestions that are important but not mandatory. Always write your text in a way that makes it readable and interesting for users. Through various updates in the past, Google is now able to detect overoptimized SEO texts that don’t provide real value to users. Therefore, you should always ask yourself what your users are actually interested in when you’re creating content for them. Combining this with sound keyword research will help you create content that is both valuable to users and optimized for search engines.

Interesting links on the subject of keyword research

• https://backlinko.com/keyword-research
• https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-do-keyword-research-ht
• https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-guide/complete-guide-keyword-research/

Find Keyword Ideas in Seconds

Boost SEO results with powerful keyword research

19 Best Free and Paid Keyword Research Tools for SEO

Written by Brian Dean

This is a list of the 19 best keyword research tools in 2024.

These amazing tools have helped my organic traffic grow by 28.55% over the last year:

And in this guide, I’ll reveal the world’s best keyword research tools…

…and help you choose the best one for you.

The best SEO keyword research tools for SEO have one thing in common: helping users boost organic traffic and search engine visibility .

However, each tool approaches this goal differently. Some are all-in-one SEO platforms that specialize in technical SEO, backlink opportunities, and guest post outreach.

Others focus on niche SEO opportunities, such as finding underserved and easy-to-rank keywords or topic cluster research.

We’ve updated this post to account for SEO opportunities in 2024 and guide your choice of the best keyword research tools suitable to your needs.

Editor’s Note : Our recommendation for the top all-in-one SEO tool is Semrush . Keep scrolling for a detailed overview.

19 Best Keyword Research Tools

Semrush works a little differently than the other tools I will show you.

Instead of entering a seed keyword and getting a long list of keyword ideas , Semrush shows you keywords that your competition already ranks for.

(These are usually outside-the-box keywords that would be impossible to find using any other tool.)

Here’s how it works:

First, enter a competitor’s domain name in the field at the top of the page.

If you’re doing SEO in a country outside of the US (for example, in Google.co.uk), you can choose to see information about that specific market. Just choose that country from this menu:

Next, take a look at the “Organic Research” section:

Here’s what the different terms in that section mean:

• Keywords are the estimated number of monthly organic visitors that come from Google.
• Traffic is the estimated number of monthly visitors.
• Traffic Cost indicates how valuable this traffic is (based on Google Ads CPC).

So if you see a domain with a lot of Organic Search Traffic but a low Traffic Cost, you know that they’re ranking for keywords that don’t convert into buyers.

But the real value of Semrush comes from the “Organic Keywords” data:

This box will show you 5 of the top keywords that your competitors are ranking for. To see more, click on “View all [number] organic keywords”.

And you’ll get a list of all of the keywords that the site or URL ranks for:

This page alone will usually give you a handful of solid keywords for digital marketing .

But if you want more ideas, go back to the “Organic Research” overview and check out the “Competitors” in the menu bar.

And you’ll see that site’s first-page competition:

When you click on one of THOSE results, you can see the exact search queries they’re ranking for.

There will be some overlap from what you just saw, but you’ll also (usually) dig up some real gems.

You can also start your Semrush search with a keyword instead of a competitor’s site:

Semrush will show you a “Phrase match report”, which is a list of long-tail keywords that include the keyword you entered:

This is really helpful for finding long-tail variations of Head and Body Keywords.

For example, if you wanted to rank for the keyword “weight loss”, you’ll quickly find that it’s simply too competitive.

But Semrush will show you long-tail variations, like the “weight loss calculator”, that is MUCH easier to rank for:

My Favorite Feature: Keyword Magic

This tool pulls keyword suggestions from Semrush’s massive database of over 25 billion terms.

Semrush is my favorite keyword research tool. Not cheap. But if you’re serious about SEO, it’s a must-have.

2. Free Keyword Tool by Backlinko

For those just starting with SEO, it can be daunting to invest in expensive keyword research tools.

That’s why we’ve created this  free keyword research tool , leveraging the extensive database of keywords from Semrush.

This tool assists in pinpointing low-competition keywords, sparking ideas for blog content, and providing insights into monthly search volumes.

This is our first free tool on Backlinko and I already love using it for quick keyword research.

Scrape suggested keywords from multiple sources. Soovle gives you suggested keyword ideas from Google, YouTube, Bing, Yahoo, Amazon and more.

(All in one place.)

That way, you can find untapped keywords that your competition doesn’t know about.

My Favorite Feature: Saved Suggestions

Easily save your favorite keyword ideas with Soovle’s “drag & drop” saved suggestions feature.

Then, download your favorite keywords to a CSV file.

Soovle is one of the best free keyword research tools out there.

4. TopicRanker 

Discover keywords based on problems and weaknesses on the search engine results page.

TopicRanker is a fantastic tool for those who want to hit the ground running.

It’s meant for the SEO layperson — folks who don’t require advanced SEO features but are on the hunt for keywords that they have an immediate chance of ranking for.

The best part? TopicRanker does all the heavy lifting — all you have to do is input your website URL.

Once the app analyzes the topical depth of your site, it will suggest seed topics relevant to your niche.

Note that these are seed topics — groups of keywords that can be further broken down into related keywords.

Clicking into any of these seed topics is where TopicRanker really starts to shine through by showing you specific keyword queries with multiple problems on the search results page:

The tool combs through millions of search results to find only the search queries with an actual problem with the search results.

It then filters these easy-to-rank keywords ensuring relevancy to your niche by giving you search volume and specific problems it identifies on the search results with actionable ranking strategies.

Expanding ‘view details’ highlights specific problems spotted on the SERP:

• Title mismatch – the title of the page ranking does not contain search query terms
• Thin content – word count of pages ranking is very low,
• Old content – the search results page contains a lot of outdated articles
• Poor readability of the pages ranking high on search results
• Poor load speed of the pages ranking high
• Forums sites such as Quora, Facebook, and LinkedIn appear high on search results
• High spam score for sites appearing high in search results

Take these tips, produce better content, and you’ll start to see results quickly.

TopicRanker takes a unique approach to how it weighs its prioritization metrics, allowing it to surface opportunities other tools won’t find. This tool combines epitomizes efficiency and relevance in keyword research by finding problems and weaknesses in the SERP. TopicRanker will soon be launching its AI Writing Tools to generate content with AI and NLP; making it a must-have for anyone doing SEO. Plus, at just $47 it’s a great value.

Get thousands of related keyword ideas within seconds.

This is a straightforward (yet powerful) tool.

So, what makes Jaaxy unique?

First off, it gives you LOTS of different keyword ideas.

(Including some that you won’t find in most other tools.)

Plus, you get helpful data on every keyword that it generates (including competition, search volume, and potential traffic).

My Favorite Feature: QSR

QSR stands for “Quoted Search Result”.

This is a fancy way of saying: “how many other websites are trying to rank for this exact term?”.

Obviously, the lower this number, the better chance you have of ranking #1.

Jaaxy is a decent freemium tool. Not nearly as good as something like Semrush. But at $50/month, it’s not a bad deal.

6. Google Search Console

Find hundreds of “Opportunity Keywords”.

The Google Search Console isn’t a traditional keyword research tool.

But it does have a feature that makes finding awesome keywords a CINCH.

The feature?

The Performance Report .

This report list out the pages on your site that get the most clicks from Google.

(And the exact keywords that brought them there)

So: how can you use this feature for keyword research?

It’s easy: use it to find “Opportunity Keywords”.

Opportunity Keywords are where you rank between #8-#20 in Google for a specific keyword.

And with little extra on-page SEO , you can find yourself with a nice rankings boost.

For example, my average rankings for the keyword “SEO tool” is 6.2.

That keyword is an Opportunity Keyword. And if I optimize my page around “SEO tool”, my rankings for that term should go up.

My Favorite Feature: Google Analytics + Google Search Console

Did you know that you can combine your Google Search Console and Google Analytics accounts?

Well, you can.

And it’s VERY helpful.

When you do, you’ll get more in-depth keyword data than you would with either tool by itself.

The Google Search Console is an underrated keyword research tool. No other tool can help you find Opportunity Keywords like the GSC.

7. Ahrefs Keywords Explorer

Make smarter keyword decisions.

Ahrefs recently rolled out a new and improved “Keywords Explorer”.

And what I like most about Keywords Explorer is this:

It gives you SUPER in-depth information on each keyword.

Sure, you get the data you’d expect (like search volume). But you also get a breakdown of the first page competition… and how many searchers actually click on a result.

My Favorite Feature: Keyword Difficulty

Most keyword research tools give you vague difficulty info (like “easy” or “difficult”). Or a score (like “89/100”).

But Ahrefs tells you EXACTLY how many backlinks you’ll need to rank on the first page of Google.

Ahrefs is mostly known as for backlink analysis. But I have to say: it’s got a killer keyword research tool. I find myself using it more and more every week.

8. SECockpit

Keyword research for SEO pros.

This a Swiss Army Knife of keyword research tools.

Like any other keyword tool, you give SECockpit a seed keyword… and you get a list of results.

But what makes SECockpit unique is the built-in features that allow you to get A LOT of depth on search trends, organic competition and traffic estimates.

Which means that it’s a tool largely designed for SEO professionals.

Sure, newbies can get value out of this tool. But there’s no doubt that SECockpit is targeted for people that sleep, eat and breathe SEO.

If you’re brand new to SEO, the sheer number of features in this tool might be overwhelming for you. But if you’re looking for lots and lots of depth, you’ll probably get your money’s worth.

With that, here’s how it works.

When you login you’ll automatically go to your Dashboard, where you can create projects around sets of keywords…or jump right in with a single keyword search.

To start the keyword research process, click on “Start a Keyword Search”:

Then, enter a seed keyword in the field marked “Keyword Phrase”:

You can get even more results by choosing to include Google Suggest, Related Searches and synonyms pulled from Google Ads:

When you’re done, click on “save and close” and the tool will get to work:

Here’s the report you’ll get:

If you’ve ever used the Google Keyword Planner , the data here should look familiar to you.

In fact, the columns “Phrase”, “Monthly Searches” and “CPC” are pulled directly from the GKP:

(The only difference is that CPC is called “Top of page bid” in the GKP)

So: what does the other information in SECockpit mean?

Well you’ll notice a bunch of green bars under the column labeled “Niche”:

This bar is a single metric that takes into account first page competition, monthly search volume, and commercial intent. In other words, whether or not that search query is a good overall choice. The larger the bar, the better the keyword.

Next to monthly searches you’ll notice a series of orange bars labeled “Top Results”:

This bar indicates the difficulty of ranking for that particular keyword based on the current top 10 results.

And when you click on a keyword, you get a breakdown of that keyword’s search results.

When you do, SECockpit will display important competition metrics for the top 10 pages in the results… including Moz Domain Authority and total backlinks:

This is a great way to quickly size up competition without having to look one-by-one at the SERPs .

And you go back to the keywords page, you can actually add at least 20 more columns to the results:

For example, you can see a ratio of the keyword’s competition in comparison to its search volume. Or you can get a comparison of the estimated traffic you’ll get from hitting the top 3 for that keyword. And lots more.

My Favorite Feature: Filtering

You can use over 100 filters to find the keywords that you want.

For example, do you only want keywords that get searched for at least 10k times per month? Done.

Or maybe you want terms that have the best ratio of search volume and competition. You got it.

Clunky? Yes. Intuitive? Heck no. Feature-rich? Absolutely. If you want lots of advanced features, and don’t mind a steep learning curve, definitely check out SECockpit.

9. Google Keyword Planner

Tap into Google’s massive keyword database.

The GKP is pretty vanilla compared to most other keyword research tools.

So why use it?

Because the data you get from it comes straight from Google.

(So you know its legit)

My Favorite Feature: “Top of page bid”

This is how much people advertisers are bidding on a keyword.

For example, of you see a top of page bid of $10, people are spending an average of 10 bucks per click.

Obviously, the higher this number, the more commercial intent that searcher has.

The data in the GKP is the most reliable out there. That said, because it’s designed for Google Ads, using it for SEO can be tricky. This Google Keyword Planner Guide shows you how the GKP for SEO-focused keyword research.

10. KeywordTool.io

Get boatloads of targeted keyword ideas.

Here’s another Google Suggest scraper (just like UberSuggest and Soovle).

What makes KeywordTool unique?

Two things:

First, KeywordTool gives you A LOT of keyword suggestions.

For example, I just did a search for “SEO”… and got 1,394 relevant keywords.

Second, you can easily filter, drill-down or expand the results to find the right keywords for you.

My Favorite Feature: Analyze Competitors

This is a very cool feature I don’t see in many other keyword research tools.

Just enter a competitor’s site… and the tool will generate a list of keyword ideas based on that site’s content.

For example, when I pop Backlinko into the tool, I get keywords that I’d expect.

(Like “SEO” and “blog”)

But I also came across terms that I don’t use anywhere on my site… but are closely related to the type of stuff that I write about.

(Like “digital marketing” and “how to check backlinks”)

One of the best overall keyword research tools on the market. Worth a try.

11. Moz Keyword Explorer

Find keywords that will generate the most traffic.

Moz’s Keyword Explorer does an awesome job of finding “lateral” keyword ideas.

For example, take a seed keyword like “weight loss”.

Like most other tools, you get a list of closely related keywords:

But what makes Moz unique is that it’s SMART.

This means you get outside-the-box suggestions that you probably won’t find anywhere else.

My Favorite Feature: “Organic CTR” and “Priority”

These two awesome features let you know how many clicks you can expect to get from your target keyword.

Organic CTR is the number of clicks you can expect to get if you crack the top 10. For example, if a SERP has a ton of PPC ads, news results, and a knowledge graph, your CTR is gonna be low.

Priority takesCTR, search volume and difficulty into account. It’s an “overall” score of whether or not you should target a particular keyword.

So if you’re overwhelmed by keyword data, you can use this single metric to find keywords that are going to bring you the most traffic from Google.

Moz’s keyword tool is pretty darn awesome. Unfortunately, it’s not a standalone tool (you have to pay for their entire suite of SEO tools to use it).

12. Keywords Everywhere

Get search volume (and more) wherever you go.

Keywords Everywhere is a paid keyword research tool that displays keyword data on top of 10 websites …including Ebay, Amazon and Answer The Public.

That way, you don’t need to copy and paste keywords into the Google Keyword Planner. The data shows up in your Chrome browser. Very cool.

My Favorite Feature: “People Also Search For”

Get a list of keywords related to your search term… in the Google search results.

What’s cool about this feature is that you can find keywords that your target customer searches for when they’re not searching for what you sell.

For example, when I search for “SEO Tools”, I see terms like “Google Keyword Planner SEO” and “”Free SEO analysis”.

(Both of which get decent amounts of searches every month)

If you’re serious about keyword research you NEED to install this extension. It rocks.

13. Keyword Snatcher

Find 2,000 keyword ideas with a single search.

If you want a lot – and I mean a lot – of keyword ideas, Keyword Snatcher is a dream come true.

In fact, you’ll usually generate at least 2,000 keywords from a single seed keyword.

Just open up the tool and choose the sources that you want Keyword Snatcher to pull its suggestions from:

I recommend keeping them all checked so you can generate as many keyword ideas as possible.

Next, enter a seed keyword into the field and click “Get Suggestions”:

And after a long wait, you’ll get an insane amount of suggestions:

The big downside of this tool is that it doesn’t give you any data on the keywords that it generates (like search volume and keyword competition). It’s simply a keyword idea tool.

To get that information, you need to extract the list of keywords by clicking on “Download Suggestions” and saving your keyword list as a text or CSV file:

Then, copy and paste those keywords into the Google Keyword Planner.

My Favorite Feature: Word Count

This nifty sorting feature lets you focus on keywords that are a certain length.

(Like terms that are at least 4-words long)

This makes finding long tail keywords MUCH easier.

Not the best keyword tool ever made. But it’s one of the few out there that don’t require a monthly subscription.

14. Google Trends

Find new keywords and search trends.

There are two ways to use Google Trends for keyword research:

First, you can search for a specific keyword…

…and take a look at the “related queries” section.

Second, you can see if whether or not a keyword is growing in popularity.

Why is this important?

Well, let’s say you’re debating between two keywords:

“Content Marketing” and “Inbound Marketing”.

As you can see, interest for “Content Marketing” is growing fast… and fewer people are searching for “Inbound Marketing” than ever before.

This isn’t to say that “Inbound Marketing” is a bad keyword. But the fact that it’s trending down is one factor to keep in mind as you decide on your next keyword.

My Favorite Feature: YouTube Search

See whether a given keyword is growing on the world’s 2nd most popular search engine: YouTube.

If you write lots of evergreen content , you NEED to use Google Trends. That way, you can see if a keyword is going to bring you traffic over the long haul… before you write a word of content.

15. KWFinder

A powerful keyword tool that’s also easy to use. KWFinder is quickly becoming one of my go-to keyword research tools.

Because it has lots of the features that other tools have. But unlike most other tool, KWFinder is VERY intuitive.

As you might expect, this tells you how hard it will be to rank for that keyword.

But unlike most other tools, KWFinder automatically shows a Keyword Difficulty score next to every keyword.

(So there’s no need to click on every single one to see its difficulty score… which gets old fast)

At $29/month you really can’t go wrong with a KWFinder subscription. Great value.

16. QuestionDB

Find lots of question-focused keyword ideas (for free).

QuestionDB pulls question-focused keywords from threads on Reddit.

So if you’re looking for an alternative to Answer The Public, QuestionDB does the job.

My Favorite Feature: Popularity Sort the results by popularity. That way, you can create content that answers these burning questions.

When it comes to finding question-keywords for blog content, QuestionDB can’t be beat.

17. Serpstat

Analyze the first page competition. Serpstat is a SEO software suite with tools for content, link building, and more.

Which means Serpstat doesn’t specialize in keyword research.

Even so, it still has a VERY decent keyword research tool.

My Favorite Feature: Competitors Graph This lets you visualize the sites that are competing for a given keyword (and related terms).

So if you see big bubbles for “Wikipedia” or “Amazon” it’s probably time to look for a different keyword.

Is Serpstat one of best tools on the market? No. But at $19 a month, you get a lot of pro features for your money.

18. AlsoAsked 

AlsoAsked a fantastic tool for topic cluster research.

Seasoned SEOs understand that the best way to rank for head keywords is to create topic clusters — multiple pages that talk about the topic in-depth.

AlsoAsked helps you map out these clusters and visualize how people ask questions on the topic.

For example, let’s say you wanted to rank for ‘home security cameras’ – a head keyword that has a 100,000 monthly search volume.

Plugging this keyword into AlsoAsked gives us four distinct cluster topics, divided into specific questions around each cluster.

Answering these questions in your content is an excellent method of building authoritative topic clusters — and driving tons of SEO traffic.

With API access coming soon on Alsoasked, and with an affordable pricing, it could be a tool for SEO veterans to use while undertaking massive SERP analysis across different niches and regions.

19. KeywordTool

Great app for bulk keyword research.

Rounding up our list is Keyword Tool. It’s a great app for bulk keyword research, although the free plan is somewhat limited.

Plugging a generic keyword into the tool gives you a massive list of keyword suggestions, sorted by search volume, trend, and competition.

Generate lots of relevant keywords by using this tool. However, the tool needs complimentary insights to get the most out of its output. Plus, it integrates data from other search engines besides Google thus opens more ranking opportunities.

So greatfull for this info thanks!

No problem Carlos

There is no better SEO Keyword Research tool other than Google Keyword Planner and Ahrefs. Other give more keywords but they are more effective (according to my keyword research experience).

Thanks Alan. Have you tried SEMRush? It’s also pretty awesome.

How do you feel about mangools?

KWfinder is pretty cool

Mr. Dean I wanted to drop in and personally thank you for everything you do for us rookies in the online marketing field. I have learned so much from your lessons/guides/articles/videos you name it! I also been using Raven Tools and find it pretty helpful as well in regards to keyword research, what say you? Look forward to all your future posts! Also, it says a lot about you that you actually take the time and respond to the comments that users leave you in your articles, don’t really see that too often these days! All the best!

Thanks Daniel. Raven Tools is great, but I haven’t used it for keyword research.

Great stuff Brian! Any recommendations on prioritizing different iterations of keywords within broader keyword themes? Keyword difficulty, search volume etc.

Really good question, Haley. I’d check out this guide that walks you through some of the steps to figuring out the best keywords on a list: http://www.backlinko.com/keyword-research

Brian, thank you for all of these informative guides! I started out as a digital marketing intern and everything that I learned from your site has helped me land a job as a marketing specialist. I’m truly grateful and enjoy everything that you published so far. If you have a chance, I’ve started using this tool called SEOClarity, I was wondering what’s your take on it? Have you used it before or know anyone that has?

Thanks again!

You’re welcome, Nathalie. I actually tried to review SEOClarity a few years ago for my big SEO tools post: https://backlinko.com/seo-tools . I sent them a demo request but never heard from them.

Brian, I´m beyond grateful with this article. It´s really complete and very, very useful, and specially your hint on Google Search Console. I’d like to suggest an article: how to index on Bing? And is it worth it? Thanks!!

Thank you for this fab article! I use Jaaxy (I’m at Wealthy Affiliate, so it comes with the membership), and I like it a lot. However, now that I see you recommend the SEMRush – it will be my next investment in keyword research tools.

Thank you for the amazing info you share with us! Best, Alenka

P.S. Love your YT videos 🙂

You’re welcome, Alenka. Happy to help

SerpStat or Kwfinder (and the mangools suite)? Which one is the better value?

In my opinion, KWFinder

Thanks for the information. Have you tried Wordtracker keyword tool before? What do you think about it?

You’re welcome. I have tried it actually. Solid tool.

Thanks for the very comprehensive keyword tools list.

I am trying to find out anyone tools that can search, generates or suggest alphabetically any keyword *before* the seed (main) keyword.

any keyword + usa (main or seed keyword)

Anyone that I missed?

Again, thanks a lot for your effort 🙂

I think Keywordtool.io does that.

Great list indeed. Which tool do you use often?

Probably SEMRush.

Hey Brian, just to let you know – ‘Suggestion Keyword Finder’ is a non secured site. Personally don’t think non secure websites are value.

Thanks. I’ll check it out.

Thanks for the post. I use Ahrefs myself, but now looking for other tools. Have you tried Windsor keyword optimizer? They have invite-only mode, so looking for the code right now.

You’re welcome, Thomas. I haven’t seen that actually.

Awesome stuff, I’ve tried one or two from the list and settled for Keywords Everywhere Chrome Extension. It works like CHARM for me.

What tool’s Keyword Difficulty would you say is the most accurate? As I understand Ahrefs use a KD score based on the links profile, however that is not always the case. While other tools look more if the keyword is in the title, the number of words of the article etc…

For me, the most important feature is Keyword Difficulty accuracy.

I say most use links to estimate KD. Which tool uses keyword in the title etc?

It’s a great list. I use Keyword Planner and Keyword Everywhere most of the time, I’ll definitely give a try to other tools. Thanks Brian, your content is really helpful for me.

As always great information. Have you tried StoryBase? What do you think about it?

Ubersuggest is also a good tool. I have been using this for a long time. Thanks for this awesome list.

Great list, very helpful. Thank you Brian! Do you happen to know of any free tool for monitoring keywords for your website? Thank you.

You’re welcome, David. I usually use paid tools for that so I’m not 100% of any free ones that work well.

Hi Brian! Thanks for this awesome list… very comprehensive! But I have a question for you… As a small luxury retail business I am of course very keen to get our SEO for the website spot on. My assumption is that one should choose a few options for keyword research and SEO and stick with them. What would be your SEO software bucket list that you would use on a regular basis? Thanks! Nisa

Hi, Brian What about Seobook.com keywords suggestion tool. Is It Good For Researching keywords.

Thanks a lot, this is awesome.

Would also recommend KeyworX if you get chance to look at it ( https://keyworx.org/ )

Not sure if it would factor in your list or not but it’s certainly worth being aware of

Hi, Brian 14 th keyword tool showing 404 error. I am following your guides for a long time thanks for your big knowledge sharing.

Thanks. I’ll replace that ASAP.

is there a tool you recommend for seeing how many words of content the top 10 competitors are using?

I know clearscope does that. I’m surprised it’s not a feature in more tools.

Absolutely great guideline. But each one will not able to pick several tools. So if anyone asks to recommend only one among all, what will be your recommendation?

Hello Brian, We really need a tool that can support every language for a keyword research. More local – based. And even better if that tool, is a freemium one! Do you have any suggestions?

Hi Brian, great piece as usual. I used the Alexa tool for about 3 months. It was steep at $149 a month. Based on your recommendation I cancelled Alexa and subscribed to SEMRush. Is the Alexa tool without merit entirely? Why didn’t you list it? Just curious I geuss. Thanks, Dave

Hey Dave, thank you. I actually haven’t tried the Alexa tool in years. I haven’t really needed to thanks to SEMRush.

Man I’m just eating up your content more and more I read from you. Such an amazing blog.

I’m the owner of a relatively new keyword tool called Keyword Supremacy. We give away free accounts so you can get as many keyword suggestions as you like for free, but getting the search volume, CPC and comp metrics are what cost money.

However, we don’t charge monthly or annually, we sell non-expiring credits as a way to keep our customer VERY happy. Buy some credits, when they are used up, buy some more kind of thing.

We also have a very unique “Local Search” only keyword search that cross references the populations of all towns and cities in USA, Canada & UK. So you can put in a search like “plumber” then choose to see all the cities in “California” with a population of between 50k – 100k and it will spit out plumber suggestions attached to the locale. Pretty neat.

Would I be able to give you a personal tour to make it onto this list possibly?

Informative content Brian Dean. I appreciate the time and energy spent to make this article exist. But I’m still curious! Could you recommend the top three keyword tools in both paid and free versions (3 free & 3 paid). Thanks in advance.

What about Ubersuggest it is good and accurate?

No Long Tail Pro anymore? I know it was in a previous list of yours.

Hi Phil, LTP is solid. But not in my top 15 at the moment.

Hey Brian, really great work, as usual. Just the best :-). I’d like to add another great keyword or better ‘question tool’ called “answerthepublic”. Just google it and check out if it fits. Best regards from Germany, Udo

Thanks Udo. I’m also a big fan of that tool.

Hey Brian, Keywords Everywhere just became a paid chrome extension. Is there a substitute that is free. I simply want to see how many searches per month for a keyword if I check a keyword on google. Very simple.

Hi Eran, I just read that. I plan on updating the post with a new tool. In the meantime, your best bet for figuring out search volume is the Google Keyword Planner.

Hi Brian! Thanks for this awesome list… very comprehensive! But I have a question for you… As a small luxury retail business I am of course very keen to get our SEO for the website spot on. My assumption is that one should choose a few options for keyword research and SEO and stick with them. What would be your SEO software bucket list that you would use on a regular basis? Thanks!

You’re welcome. The thing is, the “best” tools depend on each business, your marketing budget etc. That said, I list my favorites here: https://backlinko.com/seo-tools

Great Article very helpful. What are your views about Longtail Pro? I’d be interested in your opinion.

Have you ever tried Marketing Miner? It has more click-stream data than SEMRush, and Cyrus Shepard uses it on Keyword Research.

Hi Tomas, I haven’t tried Marketing Miner. I have to check it out!

Hi there. What’s your take on Keysearch?

Thanks! Lori

You are not just the backlinko you are also the bosslinko 😀 :*

Again Great post but you missed the https://answerthepublic.com/ It is also one of the best keyword tool.

Great list. I personally use Ahrefs, Google Search Console and Senuto.com

Great list but I can’t believe you left out Ubersuggest which is simply the best free SEO keyword finder tool right now. Or was that intentional…

Thanks. Ubersuggest is great. I’m actually working on a post that dives into how to get the most out of that tool right now.

Wow! Can’t wait to read that post.

Great list…do you think Google Keyword Planner is really that accurate? Search volume of 10-100,000 seems very broad. Hearing many conflicting views on accuracy of this keyword tool for SEO

Heyy Brian, Looking at your blog post has always inspired me to create quality content. Thank you for not being a generic blog post popping up on Google.

No one is better than Ahref and Google Keyword Planner(According to my experience). Ahref is my primary choice if we come on Keyword Research. SEMRush’s Writing assistant is also a good tool. I always use Ahref, Keyword Anywhere to know all the keyword on any particular page and SEMRush.

Thanks, Brian,

I always appreciate your thorough information. It’s very helpful!

I personally use Jaaxy and love it. It gives me everything I need, and many great ideas for future articles.

Cheers, Suzanne

Hey Brian, What do you think about https://answerthepublic.com/ as a KW research tool. – It’s pretty in-depth! All the best, Tom

Thank you Brian, you did a great job but nowadays I am finding it difficult to get to know about keyword difficulty. Although Ahref has some cool features regarding KD, but from my personal experience, I don’t think the data is as much reliable as it should be. I have tried many keyword difficulty tools and ahref estimation is better than other tools but still, it needs improvements. So here my question is, can you please recommend us a way to find out KD of keywords that would be exact and super accurate. I would really appreciate if you can refer us any resource. Keep rocking…

Hi Furqan, the only real way to estimate KD is to publish a page. Every tool calculates KD differently: https://backlinko.com/keyword-research-tool-analysis

Hi Brian, this is some great information. My blog is pretty new so I’ve been learning as I go, but I decided to start with using KeySearch as it was in the ‘budget’ category but seemed to offer some good features. Overall it seems to be decent, and I certainly can’t justify the price tags on SEMrush or AHRefs quite yet, but they look really tempting! What would you recommend to be the next step up from KeySearch that I should aim for as my next upgrade? Thanks! Matt

Thanks Matt. I’d look at SEMRush or Ahrefs next. They both have excellent keyword tools.

Hi there! Thanks for providing such valuable and useful information! These tools seem really useful!

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