First, you just need to recognize your goals. Second, know your budget, and look for a listicle that rounds up your best options and separates their features.

If you have previously done the first two steps, I can assist you with the third.

Before anything, let us have a quick word about the importance of keyword research.

 

Why is Keyword Research Important?

Let’s go through these questions:

• What is your current marketing goal?
• How about refining your website’s search engine rankings?
• Is it to generate sales through Pay-Per-Click or PPC ads? Establish a presence on social media?

Guess what? None of those objectives are possible without a practical keyword research approach.

In the connected world, keywords act as a bridge connecting users with the content they require, be it a “how-to” article, a YouTube video, or a display advertisement.

A request for the keyword “weight loss” on Google, for instance, will lead them to the subsequent results:

Simple, isn’t it? Does that mean you only have to aim for popular keywords if you want online achievement? Not at all. The fact is, the most popular and gainful keywords in your niche probably are not viable to you.

It is not rocket science—the more lucrative the keyword, the more challenging the competition. And unless you are a big-name brand yourself, it will be nigh impossible to compete against those with more experience, human resources, and funds.

That is why you need to study how to find keywords by escalating broad, highly-competitive terms into long-tail keyword variations, which I have discussed thoroughly in this content.

Briefly, a long-tail keyword comprises three or more terms, making it more precise than broader head terms. As a result, they are typically less competitive and more comfortable to monetize for lesser brands.

What is the Best Keyword Research Tool?

Furthermore, to generate long-tail suggestions, most keyword finder tools also provide crucial metrics to help you choose your brand’s feasible target keywords.

Some bloggers rely on keyword research to surface with blog post topics. After all, keyword research includes looking at the questions that users ask on the internet.

If that won’t help you develop content ideas for your blog, nothing else will.

Despite their effectiveness, not everyone is willing to disburse cash on a keyword research tool. In this regard, I decided to divide this post into two sets; these are:

• Free keyword research tools
• Paid keyword research tools

Likewise, I created a simple scoring system to help us determine how each of these tools flourish among each other.

Ready for the tools?

It is going to be lengthy; buckle up and feel free to bookmark this post.

Best Free Keyword Research Tools

Let us begin with bloggers on a budget and the best free keyword research tools that suit them.

1. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is one of the most favorite keyword research tools, and it should not be hard to see the reason. As you load the Ubersuggest page, your keyword research starts immediately. Just input seed keyword or a domain URL. Set your region preferences, and hit ‘Search.’

As we want to look at Ubersuggest’s keyword research competencies, let’s say you typed the keyword “build a blog.” After a moment, the tool should present an overview page with vital metrics, like the keyword’s normal monthly Cost-Per-Click or CPC, search volume, and SEO difficulty.

For the real long-tail keyword suggestions, click ‘Keyword Ideas’ on the left menu, which will take you to a list of associated long-tail variations and keyword suggestions. In my experience, Ubersuggest can quickly generate hundreds of convenient long-tail keyword suggestions.

Furthermore, it will show the top 99 pages on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) for your seed keyword along with their projected traffic share.

Possibly the most challenging aspect of keyword research is spotting target keywords that equal your needs. Ubersuggest explains this with the “push-button” filter tool that pulls up keywords that contain specific terms or are within a particular range in terms of search volume, CPC, and paid or SEO difficulty.

I could go ceaselessly about how to use Ubersuggest for SEO keyword research or PPC, but to keep things simple, I will use six factors to rate the tools in this list accordingly:

Usability: 5/5

You can use Ubersuggest without an account. The interface is also quick and has a natural layout, making it easy for beginners to finalize their research on time.

Suggestions: 3/5

You can get an impressive amount of keyword suggestions with the Ubersuggest free tool, but to go crazy about it is nothing. Granted, Ubersuggest can provide hundreds of keyword suggestions, but there are other tools proficient in so much more.

Reporting: 2/5

As regard metrics, Ubersuggest makes sure you don’t miss any critical data even though it’s a free tool. However, your keyword research data can only be copied to your clipboard or exported as a CSV file.

Since you can’t generate an Ubersuggest account, there is no way to save any information on the cloud for later use, sort your keywords into checklists, or perform additional analysis.

Filters: 3/5

Although Ubersuggest’s filter article is perfectly adequate for most bloggers, I’d be hard-pressed to consider it as a strong point. It only doesn’t offer as much depth as the filter tools of other keyword research tools, including those involved in this list.

My Favorite Features: Domain Keywords Checker (5/5)

That is right; the free pricing model is not my favorite aspect of Ubersuggest. Recently, they rolled out the “Traffic Analyzer” article that allows you to check the target keywords of any domain; this will enable you to discover the target keywords of your opponents or the keywords that bring circulation to your website.

Worst Features: Keyword Difficulty (-3)

Despite all the structures that Ubersuggest brings to the table, I’m disappointed that both its SEO and paid keyword difficulty ratings are inaccurate as of writing this post.

Ubersuggest Recap: 15/25

If you are looking for a free keyword generator, Ubersuggest is undoubtedly worth checking out. It is one of the few free keyword research implements I’d personally use to power my content in marketing campaigns.

 

2. AnswerThePublic

If you intend to use keyword research for content research, I acclaim AnswerThePublic. This keyword research tool consolidates “autocomplete” data from Google and Bing to visualize a “search cloud” and produce long-tail keyword suggestions.

Just like Ubersuggest, AnswerThePublic doesn’t entail you to create an account to execute keyword research. You have to plug in a keyword source and click ‘Get Questions’ to get going.

The AnswerThePublic engine will create search clouds that contain long-tail keyword ideas. To help you sense what I am talking about, let’s just jump into the “Questions” search cloud, which is endowed at the very top of the original results page.

A search cloud is a chart of long-tail keyword ideas that contain specific terms, like “WH” question words, conjunctions, and other prepositions.

In the example overhead, you can see that question words precede your target keyword — namely who, why, which, will, what, can, where, how, when, and are. These reflect questions that users search for on Google or Bing. If you find it challenging to look for keywords using search cloud visualizations, try switching to the ‘Data’ tab.

From there, you can transform each data card into their search clouds by clicking ‘Image.’ Doing so will show you a purer view of the long-tail keyword ideas.

Also, note that keywords with brighter green dots are more popular and tend to be more competitive than the rest.

Usability: 5/5

Usability-wise, AnswerThePublic passes with flying colors. It is a free instrument that makes do without a cumbersome account creation course. More importantly, it only takes AnswerThePublic seconds to turn original keywords into hundreds of keyword ideas.

Suggestions: 3/5

Don’t get me wrong; it is amusing that AnswerThePublic instills context to long-tail keywords and gives you a perfect idea about the user intent. However, it usually grants fewer suggestions than other keyword research tools.

Reporting: 1/5

While I will recommend AnswerThePublic for bloggers in topic ideas, it falls short in the reporting department.

You can indeed download keywords as a CSV file with one click, but there are absolutely no metrics found in the device. As a piece of advice, continuously use AnswerThePublic in mixture with another keyword research instrument to get metrics.

Filters: 3/5

On the optimistic side, keyword suggestions from AnswerThePublic are already clarified from the get-go. You can find comparisons, questions, and other related queries neatly organized in their search clouds.

At the same time, there are no metrics use to clarify, and for that particular reason, there is no way I am giving this device a score higher than three.

My Favorite Feature: Search Clouds (5/5)

To be honest, the search cloud conceptions are the only reason why AnswerThePublic makes this list. You just enter an original keyword, download the search cloud images, and you are practically okay. I guarantee that you can use over 90 percent of the suggestions as blog topics, which is why the tool is designed.

Worst Feature: Zero Metrics (-3)

The fact that AnswerThePublic doesn’t measure essential keyword metrics is a huge deal-breaker for me.

To be fair, AnswerThePublic was planned by developers to help originate web content ideas. I just think the device will be much better in doing its job if it also tracks metrics, like keyword competitiveness, monthly search volumes, etc.

AnswerThePublic Recap: 14/25

AnswerThePublic may lack reporting characteristics that every keyword research tool should have. Still, its efficiency in content idea generation is a must-have in every busy blogger is workflow.

 

3. Google Keyword Planner

Before you came here, I am willing to bet you are already familiar with Google AdWords Keyword Planner.

Although it is not a standalone solution, the Keyword Planner is a reliable keyword research tool in the industry.

Naturally, being a Google product helps amass an enormous user base. But what marketers like about it is the total number of long-tail keyword ideas you can obtain, which is 100% free. Two ways to use Keyword Planner are:

1. viewing search volume plus other metrics
2. finding new keyword opportunities for your current keywords.

To manage Keyword Planner for keyword research, go ahead and pick ‘Find new keywords,’ You will then be prompted to enter original keywords or the URL of any relevant page.

It should not take long for Keyword Planner to find hundreds of keyword ideas at your disposal, including essential metrics like average monthly searches, competitiveness rating, and average CPC bids.

With such a broad list, you will need a handy grouping or filtering feature in place to find potential keywords from the bunch. Luckily, both components are well-implemented in Keyword Planner.

Move to ‘Grouped ideas’ On the left menu to sort your keywords according to specific themes. For example, Keyword Planner organizes the suggestions for “build a blog” into groups like “Successful Blog,” “Making Sites,” “New Blog,” and “Best Way,” which are standard content angles for the keyword.

You may also use the Keyword Planner’s range of filter options to find the exact keywords you need. You can do this on either the “Keyword ideas” or “Grouped ideas” page.

If you aim to use keywords for a PPC campaign, the next step is to select the keywords you desire and click ‘Add Keywords’ on the blue menu that appears. Just be sure to like “Add to plan” from the first drop-down menu to forecast how well it could perform.

This process will add the selected keywords to the “Forecasts” page, which can access by clicking the ‘Keywords’ tab.

Keyword Planner will influence historical data to project the outcome of your would-be PPC campaign using your keywords.

Speaking of Google keyword research device, you can also view the keywords your site is already placed on by using the Search Console.

Remember, SEO can take a sorely long time before it can produce a profitable outcome. Targeting keywords you are already ranking for should be easier for you to catch any of the top three slots where most of the traffic goes.

You can scan these keywords on Google Search Console by directing the ‘Performance’ page and scrolling down to the “Queries” list.

Usability: 3/5

Everybody cherishes the AdWords Keyword Planner. However, to use the tool, you need to set up an AdWords account. The Keyword Planner interface also is not exactly among the user-friendliest. Still, the starter should have no trouble getting what they want from the tool.

Suggestions: 5/5

Keyword Planner is more than capable of supplying you with truckloads of keyword ideas for SEO or PPC. The tool’s ability to automatically similar group keywords is also a nice touch.

Reporting: 2/5

Want to know the most article other keyword research tools are touting? “More exact metrics than AdWords Keyword Planner.” Nevertheless, if you plan to run a PPC campaign, then Keyword Planner is a forecasting tool that is indeed a silver lining.

Filters: 4/5

If you are looking for a keyword research tool with the most elaborate filtering feature, the Keyword Planner comes close. You can sort keywords according to organic impressions share, competitiveness, search traffic, and more.

Keyword Planner is also a few tools that can fish out “adult keywords” right off the bat.

My Favorite Feature: Forecasts (4/5)

Before you introduce a PPC campaign, you should always look at Keyword Planner as forecasts. That is how crucial this feature is, that is in my belief.

Worst Feature: Inaccurate Metrics (-3)

If you need to search for target keywords, you can realistically compete, and you need a lot more than just“high,”  “medium,” “low,” or competitiveness ratings. Keyword Planner is an absurd search volume ranges also offer very little value to bloggers who need to balance keyword competitiveness and profitability.

AdWords Keyword Planner Recap: 15/25

Even though I use keyword research tools for many projects, I still return to Keyword Planner each time for Google suggestions, especially if I need predictions for PPC keywords. The Search Console also assists me in finding keyword ranking opportunities that more likely make me succeed.

 

4. Keyword Tool

Another famous tool in the keyword research space is KeywordTool.io.

At first sight, it may resemble the vast majority of keyword research tools in the market — until you observe that you can also use it to find keywords for Play Store, YouTube, Amazon, and other websites by switching to a different tab.

KeywordTool.io can assist you in finding long-tail keyword ideas by scraping Google Auto-complete suggestions. It is identical to the works of AnswerThePublic.

The main difference is, instead of envisaging keyword results into search clouds, KeywordTool.io offers them using the traditional list view.

You can also sort out results that are either questions or have prepositions; this is always a brilliant way to diversify your keyword pool, find more ranking opportunities, and whip up some more content ideas.

Interchanging to any of the tabs above the search bar also generates new keyword lists for that particular site.

For instance, if you click ‘YouTube,’ KeywordTool.io will immediately refresh the results page with keywords used for video searches on said platform.

 

What is that — are you looking for metrics?

KeywordTool.io has them; namely, each keyword is competitiveness rating, average search volume, CPC, and traffic trend over the past 12 months.

The catch is, these are all protected away behind a paywall that involves a minimum of $89 per month.

Usability: 4/5

I do not have any complaints with KeywordTool.io’s web interface. It is responsive compared to other, more heavy-duty keyword research device.

The only purpose I did not give it a perfect score is the over-promotion of their “Pro” plan; though it is understandable, they do not need to show users three notices on the keyword results page.

Suggestions: 4/5

Compared to other keyword research instrument, the number of keywords you can get with KeywordTool.io does not stick out. But what it deficiency in volume, it makes up for in change.

KeywordTool.io merits a pat on the back to find suitable keywords for Amazon, YouTube, Bing, Google Play Store, Twitter, eBay, and Instagram.

Reporting: 3/5

Don’t get me wrong. I think KeywordTool.io Pro evaluates a decent set of metrics. Unfortunately, it is not hard to find substitutes with way more structures at that price opinion.

Filters: 2/5

KeywordTool.io allows you to include or exclude keywords that comprise specific terms. You can also filter keywords in an ascending or descending order.

My Favorite Feature: Keyword for Different Sites (4/5)

A vast mainstream of SEO campaigns may focus on Google, but that does not mean other search engines and web services are entirely neglected.

KeywordToo.io can provide you with the keywords you need to increase a foothold in these marketplaces.

Worst Feature: Overly Promotional (-2)

It would be biased to consider KeywordTool.io’s paywall as a lousy aspect since we will also talk about paid tools later. Regardless, that doesn’t make it tolerable to present users with three ads on one page.

Keyword Tool Recap: (15/25)

KeywordTool.io may fit the bill if you are looking for a free keyword research tool. But to sort the most out of it, you have to pay for the reward “Pro” version.

 

Best Paid Keyword Research Tools

Being able to execute keyword research for free can be tempting for new bloggers. But, in turn, you will miss out on the benefits of obtaining premium solutions.

If you have the finance for a paid tool, here are your best selections:

5. SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool

SEMrush is not positioned merely for keyword research. Instead, it is a full-blown SEO and digital marketing analytics platform that occurs to have a pretty powerful keyword research device baked in.

To utilize it, log in to your SEMrush account and pick ‘Keyword Magic Tool’ under the “Keyword Analytics” sub-menu or simply click here.

This brings up the conversant keyword research interface where you enter a seed keyword and get things going.

Just give the Keyword Magic Device a couple of seconds to bring in long-tail suggestions. It should not take long before you see hundreds of keyword results and a complete set of valuable metrics.

As expected from the best tool, the Keyword Magic Device features advanced filter options that permit you to nothing in on the keywords you need.

You can also explore through the results to find broad matches, exact matches, phrase matches, and related keywords in a snap.

If filters do not do the job of assisting you in choosing the right target keywords, you can employ SEMrush’s “Keyword Difficulty” tool to make simultaneous comparisons.

Under “Keyword Analytics,” click ‘Keyword Difficulty’ and enter the keywords you want to compare.

Upon clicking ‘Show Difficulty,’ SEMrush should show a table with each keyword: features implemented, difficulty rating, and average search volume in Search engine results pages — from featured videos to site links.

Usability: 4/5

Despite being housed in a complete SEO and marketing analytics platform, the keyword research features of SEMrush are easy to learn and use. The parts are not as clear-cut as other tools, but anyone should select them after a few minutes of usage.

Suggestions: 5/5

In my opinion, the Keyword Magic Tool has steadily raked in tons of keyword suggestions whenever I apply it. There may be times when additional tools offered more tips, but SEMrush is never far beyond.

Reporting: 5/5

SEMrush lives up to its label as a marketing analytics program with the total amount of keyword data you can get. The Keyword Difficulty device also gives conclusive insights on which long-tail keyword differences should be targeted.

Filters: 4/5

When it comes to keyword sieves, SEMrush is on par with the AdWords Keyword Planner. Apart from the quality options like search volume, CPC, and keyword difficulty, both tools also let you sieve results based on equal forms.

My Favorite Feature: Keyword Difficulty Device Comparisons (5/5)

The Keyword Difficulty Device lets you pit possible target keywords against each other so you can resolve, which is more lucrative — enough said.

Worst Feature: Bundled as a Package (-2)

Rather than paying for a SEMrush subscription, I wish there is a way to purchase its keyword analytics toolkit apart. But in the end, SEMrush is built as an all-in-one solution for website owners with significant needs.

SEMrush Recap: 21/25

If you can offer SEMrush and have a use for the rest of its logic features, go for it. The only reason to postpone your purchase is to need a simple keyword research device; this is not a fully-equipped SEO or marketing analytics program.

6. Ahrefs

If you see me speak of SEMrush, do not be surprised if I eventually bring up Ahrefs.

These programs are often compared in software reviews — thanks to their identical set of characteristics.

Beforehand we look at its keyword research functionalities; it is worth noting that the Ahrefs “Keywords Explorer” recently acquired a makeover.

It can now cut keyword suggestions for YouTube, Amazon, Yandex, and a handful of foreign search engines.

As for the outcomes, Keywords Explorer implements a card-based method; this makes every bit of information more presentable, easy to find, and readable.

The keyword suggestions are also arranged into four categories: “Having same terms,” “Newly discovered,”  “Questions,” and“Also rank for” — all of which are relatively self-explanatory.

Scrolling further, you will find Search engine results pages (SERPs) data for the original keyword you entered. You can mention it to the position history chart to decide how pages rank over time or look at the SERP overview to understand what it takes to compete.

Go back to the keyword recommendations, click ‘View all’ below each keyword list to view metrics, and access your sieve options. You may also choose keywords one by one to copy, update, export, or add them to a list.

Usability: 5/5

The user knowledge on the Ahrefs Keywords Explorer is slightly better than on SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool. It merely has a more organized, in turn, layout, which makes keyword data more understandable.

Suggestions: 5/5

Suppose you were paying awareness to the screenshots. In that case, you’d notice that Ahrefs yielded more keyword suggestions than SEMrush or any of the tools mentioned above — not to note that Keywords Explorer also creates keyword ideas for a bunch of search engines aside from Google.

Reporting: 4/5

Why am I awarding Ahrefs a lower score than SEMrush for the reporting part? Three words: Keyword Difficulty device.

Filters: 5/5

Ahrefs has all the keyword filter options you will ever need for research. It can also sieve keywords according to “Return Rate,” which measures users’ likelihood to search for the same keyword within 30 days.

My Favorite Feature: Foreign Search Engine (3/5)

Perhaps you manage a multilingual website or target users who choose a different, non-English search engine. Whatever happens, Ahrefs can help you find keywords for those facilities, unlike most keyword research tools locked to Google. But since it is probably a non-issue for most English-speaking bloggers, I think it is only worth three out of five points.

Worst Feature: Bundled as a Package (-2)

You probably saw this coming. It is the same story with SEMrush is keyword research features. If you want to use Keywords Explorer, you will have to cough up the money for a monthly Ahrefs subscription.

Ahrefs Recap: 20/25

Ahrefs is congested to SEMrush than any other instrument — not just for keyword research but also for everything else.

7. KWFinder

We have two heavy-hitters on this list, namely:

1. SEMrush
2. Ahrefs

Let’s call it down a bit and go for a spare, straightforward keyword research device.

KWFinder may look like the Ubersuggest start page. The significant difference is that, with KWFinder, you can also search for question-based phrases and Google Auto-complete suggestions.

I only had to make use of KWFinder once to realize that it is Ubersuggest on steroids. There are more keyword data loaded on one page, and their metrics are also more accurate.

KWFinder also enables creating keyword lists — a much-needed feature that a free tool like Ubersuggest can not and does not provide.

To use lists, mark the checkboxes to the left of the anticipated keywords and click ‘Add to list.’ You will be inquired to create a new plan if you have not made one yet.

Usability: 5/5

KWFinder is as to-the-feature as you can get with keyword research devices. All the information you require — from keyword ideas to your lists — are always within two clicks away.

Suggestions: 4/5

For search engine keywords, KWFinder’s outcomes are comparable to that of Ubersuggest, but it is a tad more extensive. It may not grant you the most keyword idea, but its ability to find questions and Auto-complete recommendations have earned it extra points.

Reporting: 3/5

As a paid keyword research software, you had expected KWFinder’s reporting features to be significantly better than a free device like Ubersuggest. Sadly, that is not the case. Keyword difficulty, search volumes, average CPC, CSV reports — all of these elements are already available via Ubersuggest.

KWFinder does deserve credit for permitting you to save keyword lists and view your account as a keyword search history.

Filters: 3/5

As with the other KWFinder-Ubersuggest comparisons I have made in this section, their keyword sieve options are also related with only three minor differences:

• First, KWFinder lets you discover keywords within a specific word count range; Ubersuggest does not.
• Second, KWFinder lets you conceal keywords that are already on your lists, which Ubersuggest does not.
• Third, KWFinder charges you $29 per month to access these filters, where Ubersuggest remains free of charge.

My Beloved Feature: Interest Over Time Graph (4/5)

It is good to look at my keywords as long-term savings. Before I build content around them, I will like to ascertain that they will remain relevant over time. And that is why I presume KWFinder’s “Interest Over Time” tracker makes it commendable of your purchase.

Poorest Feature: Only 200 Related Keywords for the Basic Plan (-3)

For a specific reason, the KWFinder developers decided to limit the amount of related keyword suggestions their entry-level users can acquire to only 200. That is why I advise against buying their “Basic” plan and spend the extra $10 for up to 700 keyword suggestions.

KWFinder Recap: 16/25

If you are eager to spend money on a more reliable and robust version of Ubersuggest, then KWFinder is indeed worth picking up.

8. Serpstat

I know my readers have already made money and would like to continue developing their blog.

That said, I will present you with an alternative platform that does a lot more than keyword research.

Serpstat is a versatile marketing platform that can help you with keyword research, content marketing, SEO, and PPC. You only need a page URL, keyword, or domain to fire up the tool from the homepage.

Once any of these is available, click ‘Search.’

If you entered a keyword, Serpstat would show you the usual — a list of long-tail keyword variations for both SEO and PPC, the keyword’s average search volume, a competitiveness score, and the projected keyword difficulty rating.

But where is the fun exploring features that are relatively similar to what we have covered so far?

Suppose you have a challenger whom you are struggling to overtake in search rankings. Would it not be appreciable if you can skip the number-crunching and just study the keywords that work for them?

With Serpstat, it is possible.

Just enter your competitor’s top post’s URL or their domain address, and you are golden.

You can also perform this with Ahrefs, SEMrush, and most marketing and SEO logical platforms out there.

If that is not okay, you can also proceed to ‘Search Questions’ under the “Keyword Research” sub-menu, enter a keyword, and find search-users questions that can fuel your content strategy.

I would also like to mention that Serpstat’s keyword filters are quite impressive.

Aside from sorting keywords based using word count, search volume, CPC, and so on, you can also merge multiple filters for a more sophisticated set of keywords.

For instance, if you want to find keywords with a search volume of 1,500 to 6,000 but don’t want to leave out wronged keywords, you need to combine two filters with an ‘Or’ connector.

Usability: 4/5

I hardly recommend tools that are difficult for my readers to learn and use. Serpstat is no exception. The interface runs like butter, clean, and well-laid-out.

Suggestions: 4/5

Serpstat does not offer as many long-tail keyword concepts as Ahrefs, but it is commendable to segregate keywords for paid and organic campaigns.

Reporting: 4/5

From a keyword research viewpoint, Serpstat’s reporting abilities are undoubtedly among the best. It doesn’t have the SEMrush Keyword Difficulty tool, but it does have exceptional reporting features.

For illustration, Serpstat can give you a list of your contenders for your seed keyword in PPC advertising. You can even get a trailer of their ads — a great way to get the ball rolling in PPC if you have not tried it beforehand.

Filters: 5/5

Not many keyword research tools can use compound filters like Serpstat. Therefore, it deserves a perfect mark.

My Favorite Feature: Combined Filters (4/5)

It may appear like a broken record, but Serpstat’s filters are clearly in a league of their own. It is not exactly a game-changer, but it is still a massive keyword research time-saver.

Poorest Feature: Only 100 Results Per Report (-4)

Whether you consider KWFinder’s 200-keyword limit for the base payment plan is too much, you should know that Serpstat caps all records, not just keyword research, and to only 100 results for the cheapest plan. The next pricing option, which gets a considerable increase of up to 15,000 products per report, costs $50 more.

Serpstat Recap: 17/25

Let’s face it — the only challenge with Serpstat is the base version’s restrictions. Instead, it can potentially give you more keyword results for less contrast to Ahrefs and SEMrush, which produces only up to 10,000 results per report for $99 and $99.95, individually.

9. SpyFu

Now that we are comparing tools that unveil competitor keywords, it might be an excellent time to introduce SpyFu, an analytics tool planned to help you spy on your contenders.

Unlike other tools that work by expanding seed keywords, SpyFu focuses on assisting you to grab your opponents’ target keywords.

As such, you can use the tool by entering the domain of your top competitor.

You can also use their trademark and let SpyFu automatically decide their address. However, you will get a report aligned on their domain’s AdWords and SEO capabilities.

If you decided to enter a domain, as you should, SpyFu would award you a bird’s-eye view of your competitor’s keyword plan.

Some of the data you will find include an estimate of their monthly organic clicks, distributing their traffic between paid and organic channels, and the number of organic keywords they have.

The illustration below shows that our friends at Grammarly heavily prioritize SEO and content marketing over PPC.

SpyFu also hauls in a couple of distinctive reports on the overview page.

I find the “Competitor Shared Keywords” report intriguing, as it shows diagrams that let you discover the paid and shared organic keywords between two to three competitors.

Furthermore, you can spy on your competitor’s target keywords in both paid and organic listings under the “Top Keywords” section. This is where you will come across SpyFu’s weak point, which is the filters.

 

You could only sort the results based on the competitor’s rank losses, page one positions, and rank gains for competitor keywords. Also, you can fashion a filter that only includes keywords with a precise term.

You get a ragbag of filter options for associated keywords that only make the page look jumbled, which is weird since they let users specify custom ranges — they should have just revealed those and got it over.

Usability: 4/5

SpyFu is not the most accessible tool to use, but it certainly won’t take you hours to figure everything out. Be mindful that they perform a “traditional” interface where the menus are at the top of the page. Every time you want to go to another page, you have to scroll up, making the overall experience slightly sluggish.

Suggestions: 5/5

SpyFu is not just nearly the number of keywords you get; it is also about the effectiveness and quality of those keywords in PPC or SEO. Naturally, the quantity of keyword suggestions you get relies on the website you are trying to investigate. If you try to examine the keywords of a big-name brand, I promise that SpyFu can step up to the occasion and give you tens of thousands of keywords you need.

Reporting: 5/5

SpyFu’s overview page alone is overfilled with keyword insights and data that would otherwise be undetectable using other tools. You could even discover keywords that multiple competitors target or generate white-label reports, just if a team operates your blog.

Filters: 3/5

While SpyFu is incredible in usability, keyword suggestions, and reports, I hope their filters were superior.

My Preferred Feature: Most Valuable Keywords (4/5)

The fact about SpyFu is that it doesn’t want to be trapped spending hours in keyword research. Rather, it encourages you to spy on your opponents and leverage the keywords that already work for them.

On the overview page, there are four categories you can use to get these keywords; these are:

• most valuable keywords
• newly ranked keywords
• page one keywords
• keywords called “almost there.”

Most awful Feature: Paid Keywords May Return Zero Results (-2)

Though the SpyFu team tracks heaps of keywords, the tool sometimes produces zero paid search keywords in some sites. Feasibly, because they don’t have an active PPC campaign, they only target a local audience or use “exclusive keywords” that no other brand would adjust. SpyFu also won’t track PPC keywords if your competitor only started advertising in less than a month.

SpyFu Recap: 19/25

If you have been trying to surpass a close competitor in SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages), SpyFu can help you formulate a tactic using their SEO keywords. SpyFu can also give you perceptibility over a competitor’s backlink profile and AdWords tactics — not the features you would look for in a keyword research tool, but they are still advantageous.

 

10. Keyword Revealer

To finish, let me wrap up this post with another trivial tool called Keyword Revealer. Making use of the tool, the first thing I noticed is that there are only two items in the main menu; these include:

1. Keyword Brainstorming
2. Keyword Research

Consulting ‘Keyword Research,’ you can execute what you should know by this time as the standard way of doing keyword research. You enter a seed keyword, fiddle with the region or language options if you must, and then click ‘Search.’

All the metrics you admire regarding keywords like average monthly searches, CPC, and competitiveness are there. Keyword Revealer even breaks in an estimate of your monthly profits for each keyword should you use them in your PPC campaign.

Keyword Revealer’s filters are not too shabby, either. They are not outstanding by any means, but they should be enough to help you find the keywords you need.

Same old things, isn’t it?

Things get a bit more fascinating once you try out Keyword Revealer’s “brainstorming” tool.

Recall AnswerThePublic’s search clouds? Well, that magnificently sums up what the brainstorming tool does.

Usability: 5/5

Keyword Revealer does a brilliant job of keeping keyword research modest. You launch the tool, submit a seed keyword, draw-out long-tail variations, and convey the results.

Suggestions: 4/5

To be candid, you won’t get tons of keywords with Keyword Revealer. However, It allows unlimited keyword results even with the cut-rate plan.

Reporting: 4/5

It is unnecessary to be an expert in marketing to understand that Keyword Revealer’s “profit” metric won’t reflect the income you will get using a PPC keyword. Still, the developers have earned a high score for instigating something unique.

Filters: 3/5

As said earlier, Keyword Revealer’s filters are nothing special. They get the job done, but functionality-wise, they equal the filter options of free tools like Ubersuggest.

My Favorite Feature: The Price (3/5)

Keyword Revealer is maybe one of the most affordable keyword research tools in town. You get unlimited keyword designs for only $7.50 per month. If that doesn’t get my cost-conscious readers motivated, then nothing else.

Worst Feature: Can not Check Domains (-2)

As a premium tool, I expected Keyword Revealer to be proficient in some domain analysis, a quality that even free tools like Ubersuggest have. I won’t denounce it by much, though, since they never publicized such part.

Keyword Revealer Recap: 17/25

Keyword Revealer is a useful tool that veered away from any advanced characteristics that could only complicate keyword research. It is a plain-speaking tool backed by the potential to produce unlimited keyword suggestions.

The Tally

Done picking the next keyword research tool you will use? If not, here is another look at the scoreboard:

 

Top-Tier

• SEMrush => 21/25 points
• Ahrefs => 20/25 points
• Spyfu => 19/25 points

Above Average

• SerpStat => 17/25 points
• Keyword Revealer => 17/25 points
• KWFinder => 16/25 points

Great Places to Start

• KeywordTool.io => 15/25 points
• Google Keyword Planner => 15/25 points
• Ubersuggest => 15/25 point
• AnswerThePublic => 14/25 points

Conclusion

I hope you loved this exhaustive assessment of my top 10 keyword research tools of all time.

Based on what you have learned, what keyword research tool will you choose?

I know each blogger has their preferences and needs. That is why I’m asking you to share your thoughts in the comments section and foster our aspiring Master Bloggers community with me.

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