5 Best Keyword Research Tools

by | January 27, 2023

As you build an SEO strategy it’s important to know what kind of content you will need to reach your audience. The best way to determine what content you should write is by performing keyword research. Strong, relevant keywords are the backbone of any successful piece of SEO-optimized content. But, how do you go about finding these keywords? What tools are available to help you? Well, look no further. We’ve put together a handy list of some of the best keyword research tools available, including how much they cost to get started. Keep reading to find the perfect tool for you.

SEMRush is among the largest databases of keywords available, if not the largest. Its database features over 23 billion keywords. Not to mention there are over 140 billion international databases available. Of course, a large database is useful, but the information the tool provides is equally important, and SEMRush has no shortage of useful features.

SEMRush features a detailed keyword overview that provides you with a list of the volume, difficulty, intent, and top-ranking pages behind the keyword. This way you know ahead of time if the keyword is worth the effort you put into it. If you are looking for keywords related to a core topic, SEMRush can also provide a list of similar keywords in the database. As you find keywords that fit your needs you can create a list of up to 1,000 keywords to stay up to date with real-time data to ensure you and your team have the right strategy. SEMRush doesn’t only provide keyword-specific data. You can also see the keywords specific sites get the most traffic from. Additionally, if you are looking for the keywords your competitors are ranking for, SEMRush can help you find that information easily by allowing you to compare the keywords you rank for versus your competitors. Finally, all this information is useless if you aren’t able to keep up with the data. SEMRush includes a dashboard where you can find insights from SEMRush, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console.

SEMRush is one of the best keyword research tools you can use, and luckily it doesn’t require much to get started. There is a free plan available, though it limits the number of requests you are capable of performing each day to 10. As a starting point, this isn’t terrible, and to upgrade to an account with full access is $119.95 per month.

 

2. Answer the Public

Answer the Public is a great tool for those new to keyword research that works a little differently from most other keyword research tools. While many tools have a huge database of millions or even billions of words, Answer the Public helps you source your keywords directly from Google and other search engines. Upon typing in a keyword like “muffin,” Answer the Public will provide a curated list of the top phrases searched on Google and Bing that relate to the primary keyword. The list is broken up into questions, propositions, comparisons, and finally an alphabetical list. This tool doesn’t provide granular information, but knowing these words are being chosen by it indicates they are among popular searches and will help you grow your organic traffic.

As we said, this tool is great for beginners who are just starting to learn about keyword research. As such, Answer the Public does have a free version you can use to get started. Though, the free version does limit the number of searches you are allowed to perform in a day. They do however provide a pro version that begins at $99 per month.

 

3. Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is potentially the least fancy of all the keyword research tools on this list. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some of the best information available. While this tool may lack some of the flairs of the others, it makes up for it in ease of use. One of the key differences between Google Keyword Planner, and other keyword research tools is that it gets its data directly from Google because it is Google. There is no third-party aggregator of information. Instead, you are given the information directly and allowed to parse through it yourself. Considering that this tool is straight from Google you get direct access to Google search volume reports and forecasts. One feature that stands out on Google Keyword Planner is the ability to see the price advertisers are paying to be shown at the top of the page for the same keyword. This feature can help you better understand the value of the keywords you target. This tool isn’t fancy, but it gets the job done.

Google Keyword Planner may not have the most bells and whistles, but fortunately, it has the price to match. That’s right, it is completely free. All you need is your business information to sign up and start finding the keywords most relevant to you.

 

4. QuestionDB

QuestionDB is another great tool to use that can help you find topics to write content about. QuestionDB works similarly to Answer the Public, and in fact is a great alternative if you find Answer the Public isn’t quite working for what you need. Upon entering a main keyword, like “cheeseburger,” QuestionDB will provide a list of questions that have been asked online. One of the key differences between QuestionDB and Answer the Public is where they source their information from. While Answer the Public gets their information from Google and Bing, QuestionDB sources information from nearly anywhere on the internet these questions can be asked. While this might seem like you’d receive some information that is less than useful when trying to rank on Google, there is an easy way to sort the questions by “Popularity” giving you the most searched and asked questions to help you determine which direction to go with your content.

Much like other keyword research tools, QuestionDB has a free and pro version available to use. The free version allows unlimited searches but only allows you to see the first 50 results of any search you perform. If you decide a pro plan is better for you, prices start at $15 per month.

 

5. SpyFu 

In SEO, knowing your own keyword rankings, and the keyword rankings of your competitors are equally important. Understanding what your competitors are doing can help you keep up and even get ahead of them on any search results page. SpyFu is among the best for finding this information. SpyFu’s main mission is to help you understand the keywords your competitors are ranking for and which ones are the most useful for their business. This is slightly different compared to other keyword research tools as they often provide lists of related searches or a breakdown of the number of people searching that term. Understanding the keywords your competitors use can influence which direction you decide to take your content despite the volume or difficulty of the keyword. In truth, SpyFu is a great compliment to other keyword research tools as you can discover the keywords with the highest volume, and the lowest difficulty, and determine if it is a keyword your competitors have forgotten about or control. The specific information SpyFu provides includes ranking changes of the page you are viewing, monthly clicks, and the value of the traffic. One thing to keep in mind about SpyFu is that while most keyword research tools provide real-time insights, SpyFu provides insights from the past month.

SpyFu includes both free and paid versions of their service. They have three different versions and any of them can be tested for free for a short amount of time. After that, the price will change depending on the plan. Basic plans will be $16 per month if you decide to sign up for an annual plan, whereas if you pay month-to-month it is $39 per month. Professional plans will be roughly similar with $36 per month at the annual price, and $79 monthly.

So, now you have your keywords and you want to know what to do next. The answer is simple, contact BASE! By giving us your keywords we can create SEO-optimized content, create live links, and use our large network of partnerships to put the links in the best place for your business. Contact us today to learn more about how BASE can help you turn your keywords into content.

 

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