From the past era of stuffing keywords to today's keyword research and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, keywords remain crucial in the world of online searches.
Keywords are like the building blocks of search marketing. They are the important words and phrases used to connect content and search questions.
Although Google's Keyword Planner requires an active Google Ads account, there are various alternative sources to gather keyword insights.
Here are the list of top 15 tools to find new keywords, search volumn and keyword difficulty.
1. Ahrefs
Beside Ahrefs' backlink reports and dashboards for organic website visits, they offer an incredibly strong tool for finding keywords.
Ahrefs' paid service not only suggests keywords but also shows how often they're searched for.
Moreover, it provides a metric called "keyword difficulty score," which, in direct comparisons, showed slightly better accuracy compared to other tools with a similar function.
2. SEMrush
SEMrush offers a keyword tool fueled by its vast search data from more than 20 countries.
Its outcomes include keyword suggestions, estimated search volumes, expected CPC, keyword complexity score, and domains' current rankings.
3. Moz
Moz introduced their unique keyword explorer as an addition to their SEO research tools.
Filters let you leave out your exact query term for additional ideas, or pick question phrases with your keyword.
The outcomes list suggests related queries, estimates search volume, and shows a keyword difficulty score.
Moz also reveals the domains ranking for the keyword and recent mentions of it.
4. Majestic
Majestic offers helpful tools on their Lite plan, such as the Keyword Generator and Keyword Checker.
The Keyword Generator helps you find words people are searching for. It tells you how often a word appears in their collection and how many times people search for it.
The Keyword Checker is also part of this plan. It lets you know how many times a specific word is in their database and how many people look for it. This helps you understand the importance of certain terms.
5. Keywordtool.io
This tool gathers keyword ideas from Google, YouTube, Bing, and even Amazon.
You can pick recommended keywords from different Google TLDs, languages, and locations. Similar choices are available for the other search engines it works with.
You'll receive numerous free keyword suggestions, but for search volume estimates, a paid plan is necessary.
6. Google Search Console
This tool is the one I really like for finding keywords, and what's great is that it's tailored to your own website and comes directly from Google.
When you're checking your search console data, try to exclude the keywords related to your brand and focus on finding new ideas to work on.
If you have a lot of data to go through, you can use special filters called regular expressions to find specific types of queries, like those with a certain number of views, clicks, or words.
7. Google Trends
Google Trends is a really neat tool that's great for a bunch of reasons.
It collects information about what people are searching for on Google, and that can be super useful.
It's especially awesome for staying updated on the latest news and getting in on trends that are just starting to pick up.
So, if you're into staying in the loop and catching those hot topics, Google Trends is your friend!
8. Keyword Discover
This tool is among the oldest ones for finding keywords. It gathers search information from many different sources.
Even though you have to pay for it, they do offer some free searches.
Although the number of searches they predict can sometimes be different from Google's data, this tool is valuable for finding new ideas that you might not have come across otherwise.
9. WordStream
Mainly a tool used by search marketers to handle their paid online ads, WordStream also offers a free keyword tool with a restricted number of searches.
The free version provides only related keywords, but those who subscribe to WordStream's paid service can also access information about search volume.
10. KWFinder
You have the option to narrow down keyword searches to five specific countries or the languages spoken by many people around the world.
When you get the results, they show a score that indicates how hard it is to rank for a particular keyword, and you also receive suggestions for other keywords.
You can sort through these suggestions using various ways to measure them.
Remember, this tool requires payment, so you can only use it to search for keywords a certain number of times for free.
11. Keyword Surfer
Keyword Surfer is a helpful tool that tells you how many people are searching for different words on the internet.
This information can be really useful when you use it together with tools like AnswerThePublic.
The best part? You don't have to pay anything to use it. It's free!
12. Keyworddit
This amazing tool collects words from Reddit and compares them to how often people search for them.
There's a special column called "Monthly Search Volume" that shows how many times people look up that word on average each month, based on Grepwords data.
13. seoClarity
This content marketing tool offers a wealth of valuable information about keywords.
With this tool, you can learn more about what people are searching for, the types of content they're interested in, how often certain terms are searched, popular topics, and which websites are ranking well.
While it requires a subscription fee, it's worth it because it also offers insights into areas where content might be lacking and suggests strategies for optimizing your keyword usage.
In other words, it helps you figure out what content to create and how to use the right keywords to attract more readers and viewers.
14. Scrapebox
Often recognized as a tool associated with black hat SEO, Scrapebox also offers numerous white hat applications, such as performing keyword analysis.
Using Scrapebox, a few keywords can effortlessly transform into countless potential options, numbering in the hundreds or even thousands.
It's important to note that Scrapebox is software designed to operate on a Windows desktop. On the positive side, it's a single-time purchase as opposed to a recurring monthly or yearly subscription.
15. Searchmetrics
Searchmetrics frequently releases lists titled "Winners and Losers," which highlight websites that have either gained or lost in their search engine rankings.
This same level of dedication extends to their keyword tools.
These tools provide essential information such as search volume, cost per click, and the distribution of search volume across different keywords.
With these tools, you can gain insights into the popularity of keywords, their value, and how they are being searched for.
