Keyword research is at the core of any SEO strategy. A slight difference between a seasoned marketer and an amateur is that selecting the right tool can significantly optimize your content and improve your website’s ranking.
The article describes some of the top five keyword research tools: Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool, Ubersuggest, and KeywordTool.io. Every tool has its characteristic features, advantages, and disadvantages; so let’s explore them in detail to help you choose the best fit for your SEO needs.
Benefits of Keyword Research Tools
Did you know 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine? This fact underlines the importance of keyword research in driving digital visibility and traffic.
Identification of High-Value Keywords: Keyword research tools help you identify keywords with high search volume but comparatively lower competition. Such high-value keywords allow you to focus on words that will generate appropriate traffic for your site. Targeting these words increases the likelihood of ranking higher on SERPs.
Enhancement of Organic Traffic: By targeting the right keywords, you can make your website more visible in the search engine. By optimizing your content using these keywords, you improve your chances of achieving a first-page ranking on search results. Due to this, you can attract more organic traffic to your website.
Understanding Search Intent: Keyword tools also give you information on what users require when they search. Knowing search intent will enable you to write content that effectively answers user questions. This can increase the user experience and lead to better engagement and conversions.
Competitive Analysis: Keyword research tools allow you to track the keywords that your competition is targeting. This shows the loopholes in their strategy and provides you with keyword opportunities they might not have seen. By exploiting these opportunities, you can surpass others in your niche.
Identifying Long-Tail Keywords: Long-tail keywords are more specific and less competitive than broad keywords. Keyword tools help you discover golden search terms that attract targeted traffic. Using long-tail keywords there can be a more significant conversion opportunity.
Opposite view:
Too much use of them can lead to content that chases numbers instead of really serving readers. Sometimes, paying too much attention to keyword metrics may cause you to overlook creativity, storytelling, or emerging trends that have yet to appear in search data.
Google Keyword Planner
The Google Keyword Planner is а free tool from Google that marketers can use to get keyword searches for their SEO and paid advertising campaigns. With its help, keywords could be analyzed regarding search volume, competition, and trends, so you can get the related keywords surrounding them before using them on the site.
The tool also offers historical data and forecasts for paid search performance, helping you optimize your Google Ads campaigns. Additionally, you can group keywords into ad groups for better targeting in your paid campaigns.
Source: Google Keyword Planner
Pros
It does not take up any coins: Google Keyword Planner is free, making it an accessible tool for all types of businesses, including small startups.
Information directly from Google: Candidly, because it is a product of Google, there is bound to be accurate data directly from what is said in the search engine associated with these search trends.
Uses in organic search and PPC: It can be used for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and organic search optimization, providing versatility in your marketing strategy.
Cons
Fewer features compared to paid tools: While it may be free, users have minimal features compared to premium tools, such as Ahrefs or SEMrush. Adding detailed competition insights is the cost of carrying a Google Ads account.
Not Very Detailed for Low-Volume Keywords: The device provides less detail on some very low-volume keywords, which could prove inaccurate for their counts or provide insufficient information to make the tool ineffective in long-tail keyword research.
You need a Google Ads account: You need a Google Ads account, which does not encourage users who tend to focus more on SEO without advertisements.
Pro tip:
Running a small Google Ads campaign, even on a tight budget, is well worth it to gain access to more detailed keyword information in Google Keyword Planner. This will activate full access to functionality like exact search volume ranges and forecast metrics, giving you deeper insights to fine-tune your SEO and PPC strategies properly.
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer is a powerful keyword research tool that provides detailed insights into keyword search volume, competition, and click-through rates (CTR). It provides keyword suggestions, difficulty scores, and in-depth analysis of SERP features.
The tool also provides information about the highest-performing pages for any given keyword and allows you to explore related keywords, question-based keywords, and even dissected search queries. Ahrefs also contains a feature that shows the historical search volume trend of keywords, which helps you gauge future traffic potential.
Source: Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
Pros
In-depth data: Ahrefs provides detailed keyword data, including search volume, keyword difficulty, click-through rate, etc., giving you detailed information about each keyword.
SERP analysis: The tool allows you to check the top-ranking pages for any keyword, helping you understand the competition and validate your chances of ranking.
User-friendly interface: Though it carries a humongous amount of data, Ahrefs has a neat, user-friendly interface that is easy to use even for novices.
Backlink and content research: Ahrefs is also famous for its powerful backlink and content research capabilities, making it a great tool for thorough SEO campaigns.
Cons
Expensive: Ahrefs is a paid tool, and its cost is higher. It may be out of budget for small businesses or people with lower financial constraints.
Steep learning curve: The interface is intuitive, but the amount of data and features is so large that it could overwhelm new users, requiring a learning curve.
Insufficient keyword volume data for specific regions: Ahrefs’ keyword volume data is not as likely to be accurate for some areas or niches, particularly those outside English-speaking countries.
Expert Opinion: Nick Eubanks (Traffic Think Tank)
Ahrefs has no tool to generate thousands of ideas from a seed keyword. Instead, you’ll find semantically related keywords in the keyword ideas report.
SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool
SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool is a powerful keyword research tool that helps you generate thousands of ideas from one seed keyword.
It gives you access to over 25 billion keywords and advanced filters such as search intent, keyword difficulty, CPC, volume, and SERP features. It also allows you to cluster keywords and construct your research into content marketing and PPC campaigns through the SEMrush platform.
Source: SEMrush
Pros
Massive keyword database: The Biggest in the market, offering users plenty of ideas for short-tail and long-tail keywords.
Intent-based filters: Enables targeting the right crowd by filtering based on user intent (informational, transactional, etc.).
Seamless integration: It integrates very well with other SEMrush tools, such as Keyword Manager, SEO Writing Assistant, and Position Tracking.
User-friendly: Easy navigation and a minimalistic interface are perfect for newcomers and pros.
Cons
High cost: Complete functionality is available only through a paid subscription, potentially costing too much for freelancers or smaller businesses.
Free data with limitations: The basic version has fewer keyword searches and detailed data.
It may be overwhelming for beginners: Although it is easier to use, the initial overload of options and data may be overwhelming.
Ubersuggest
Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest is a user-friendly keyword research and SEO tool for marketers, bloggers, and small businesses. It offers keyword suggestions, search volume, SEO difficulty, paid difficulty, and CPC.
Ubersuggest also offers content ideas, backlinks, and domain overview features to help with SEO and content marketing initiatives. Its dashboard allows users to track keyword rankings and perform basic site audits, making it an all-in-one SEO toolkit for beginners.
Source: Ubersuggest
Pros
Simple-to-use interface for beginners: Uncluttered, clean layout that is easy to navigate, even for SEO newbies.
Low cost: Free version with generous access, and the paid version is much less than most competitors.
Content ideas tool: This tool enables users to discover trending content about a keyword, which is perfect for blog inspiration and planning.
Keyword suggestions with metrics: Each keyword has important data like volume, SEO difficulty, and CPC for better planning.
Cons
Limited keyword database: Unlike tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush, Ubersuggest has a smaller keyword database, especially for non-English markets.
Data accuracy: Some users have reported discrepancies in keyword volume and SEO difficulty compared to other tools.
Less advanced features: Although ideal for beginners, it lacks the advanced features of more sophisticated platforms, such as detailed competitive analysis and technical SEO tools.
KeywordTool.io
KeywordTool.io is a keyword research tool that generates long-tail keyword suggestions from Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, and other websites’ autocomplete data. It provides keyword ideas in bulk for your seed keyword, including questions, prepositions, and related words.
The tool provides basic data such as search volume, competition, and CPC (in the Pro version). It’s beneficial for content marketers working with several search engines.
Source: Keywordtool.io
Pros
It supports more than one platform: It generates keyword ideas for Google, YouTube, Amazon, Instagram, and so on.
Ideal for long-tail keywords: Sucks in high-level autocomplete suggestions that other tools miss, ideal for targeting niche searches.
No sign-up needed (free version): You can start using the tool immediately without signing up.
Quick and easy interface: Easy to use and understand, ideal for quick keyword brainstorming.
Cons
Limited free data: The free version offers only search volume, CPC, and competition data, which are provided in the paid Pro plan.
No advanced SERP analysis: No competitor analysis or backlink tracking features, so it can’t be used for complete SEO planning.
Subscription cost may be high: Monthly subscriptions are relatively expensive, especially for heavy users, given the features provided.
Conclusion
Keyword research tools have strengths and shortcomings, depending on your goals or budget. For instance, if you need free and easy-to-use keyword research tools, Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest is the answer.
Ahrefs and SEMrush offer data and competitive analysis for more advanced needs and detailed insights. KeywordTool.io is an excellent site for finding those long-tail keywords or creating content across multiple platforms, like YouTube and Amazon.
Having the right tool can help you optimize your content well and have sustainable changes in your search rankings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool ideal for anyone who wishes to conduct keyword research without paying a cent.
Ubersuggest is a user-friendly tool with a straightforward and easy-to-use interface. It’s especially perfect for SEO newbies because you don’t need to be a pro to get the most out of this tool.
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer provides in-depth data, including search volume, keyword difficulty, click-through rates (CTR), and other SERP features. This is a handy tool, but at a higher cost.
SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool has the biggest keyword database with more than 25 billion keywords and refined filters. It is the best tool for discovering both short-tail and long-tail keywords, though it requires a paid account for full functionality.
KeywordTool.io provides users with an option to start using the app without registration. The application offers keyword research for platforms like Google, YouTube, Amazon, and Instagram. You will be asked to subscribe to the paid version for deeper data.
