Best Keyword Research Tools 2023 (Free & Paid)

Table of Content

1. Introduction
2. The Best Free Keyword Research Tools
   1. Google Keyword Planner
   2. Google Trends
   3. WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool
   4. Keyword Tool.io
   5. AnswerThePublic
3. The Best Paid Keyword Research Tools
   1. Keyword Overview By SEMrush
   2. Ahrefs Keyword Explorer
   3. Moz Keyword Explorer
   4. Keywords Everywhere
   5. KWFinder by Mangools
4. Pick the Best Keyword Research Tool and Get Started!
5. FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction

Keywords in your website’s content can help it appear in Google searches for certain keywords. How do you choose? A keyword or key phrase isn’t just something you think of and use. Research is needed to determine the finest keywords for search engines.

As everyone knows how important SEO is for any website to rank, and the same way how crucial are the keywords for any website to rank on, which keyword to target and how to check its information like volume, competition, CPC, etc. could be easily obtained by keyword research tools. 

Finding the correct keywords to target and the information you need to actually rank for them is made easier and your workflow is streamlined with the help of the best keyword research tools. However, you shouldn’t have to empty your bank account or sell your firstborn kid to gain access to valuable keyword information.

In today’s times, as the competition increases, many different keyword research tools are available in the market providing different information related to keywords by the best digital marketing agencies. After in-depth research and analysis, these best keyword research tools are compiled here.

Let’s get into it.

List of Best Keyword Research Tools to Find the Right Keywords for SEO

SEO can benefit greatly from the information provided by free keyword research tools. Businesses can improve their chances of ranking well in search engine results by producing content that makes use of search engine result pages (SERPs). The results of an organization’s SEO initiatives can be monitored over time with the help of free keyword research tools.

There are many keyword research tools available, some of which are optimized for both SEO and PPC, and the ones listed below are the most effective and free to use.

The Best Free Keyword Research Tools

1. Google Keyword Planner

The data in Google Keyword Planner directly comes from Google itself, so using it could be more beneficial. Google Keyword Planner has two main features: exploratory keyword research & discovery and more in-depth search volume & forecasting study.

The “Keyword ideas” feature, like many of the tools on this list, creates keyword suggestions based on a seed phrase and provides monthly search traffic, change over time, competition, ad impression share, and bid ranges. Refine your keyword list by brand, non-brand, source website, and more. Google Ads’ “Forecast” function helps you budget and plan sponsored ads.

Another feature “Top of page bid” lets you know how people are bidding on a keyword. Which shows higher the number of page bids, more the keyword has commercial intent. 

Google Keyword Planner thrives at PPC keyword research. You can chill with this tool as it is free and don’t worry about limits or upgrades. Google Keyword Planner may also show you where ranking organically may save you PPC expenses.

Takeaway: Best tool for Intermediate to advanced PPC keyword research and it’s completely free. 

2. Google Trends

Google Trends is another free tool for keyword research provided by Google. And it’s fun to use while checking what’s trending on the search engine.

Multiple search keywords can be entered, and results can be narrowed by geographic area, browsing history, and subject area. Following that, it will return a list of related keywords and an analysis of how much popularity there is in a certain keyword, what triggered the interest, and where the traffic is coming from.

You can use this information to prepare seasonal content if doing so is beneficial to your business, as well as track the seasonality of keyword trends. For online retailers, such as those, this is crucial in order to capitalise on seasonal and holiday shopping trends. Like, valentine gifts and block friday sales.

Also you can find keywords with low volume and competition that are on the rise. Then, you can go ahead and start trying to rank for those keywords today in order to build up your traffic, backlinks, and authority.

Takeaway: Easily Identify the real-time and historic value of a keyword.

3. WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool

Most free keyword suggestion tools offer limited results and limited utility, especially when it comes to keyword research for PPC. But, WordStream gives you hundreds of relevant keyword results, plus additional, actionable information like competition level and estimated CPC, all for free!  

You can also narrow your search by industry or location. You can use the tool to get the best 25 keywords right away. Enter your email address to receive the complete list as an instant download. 

It’s an awesome alternative to Google’s Keyword Planner. 

Takeaway: It’s a free keyword research tool with strategic advice.

4. Keyword Tool.io

The Keyword Tool.io isn’t the most sophisticated research tool, but it can be helpful if all you need is a list of long-tail keyword recommendations relating to a single keyword. It’s free, and you don’t even have to sign up for an account to use the basic version.

In a matter of seconds, Keyword Tool’s free version can create over 750+ keywords using Google’s autocomplete feature. In order to generate keyword recommendations, Keyword Tool lets you pick from among 192 different Google domains and 83 different languages.

Google’s Autocomplete feature is the basis for Keyword Tool’s ability to create useful long-tail keyword suggestions. Google Autocomplete takes a number of criteria into account when making its suggestions, including the frequency with which a certain term has been used by users in the past.

Takeaway: It’s the best keyword research tool to get long-tail keyword suggestions.

5. AnswerThePublic

Only the first three questions each day on AnswerThePublic are free. Additional capabilities such as monitoring and notifications, personalised viewing, data comparison across time, and folders are available in the commercial version, which starts at $99.

With the help of Answer the Public’s keyword generator, you can easily compile the data-rich report needed to prove the campaign’s success. The United States, Australia, Afghanistan, and other countries are supported by this keyword research tool.

You can see different type of queries related to keywords:

• Questions: who, what, where, when, why, which, can, and ho
• Comparisons: vs, or, and
• More: which, are, will, can, like

Takeaway: Best for Finding question keywords and targeting People Also Ask in the SERP.

The Best Paid Keyword Research Tools

Businesses and individuals can benefit from using paid keyword research tools to discover the most effective keywords to use in their marketing strategies. These tools can analyze search engine data to provide the most popular keywords and the level of competition for those keywords. By using this data, marketers will be able to pick their keyword targets with greater precision.

1. Keyword Overview By SEMrush

Are you looking for an advanced SEO keyword research tool? Semrush is here, don’t look anywhere else. It provides a lot of keyword information and facilitates in-depth exploration of aspects such as search engine results page (SERP) elements (featured snippet, reviews, site connections, picture pack, and so on) and granular analysis of current results.

As a bonus, Semrush provides a wide variety of keyword research tools, such as content-driven keyword research and competitive keyword gap analysis, in addition to the more basic traffic and search volume data.

Semrush is an all-inclusive keyword research tool with applications in content marketing, competitive analysis, pay-per-click advertising, and social media promotion. It facilitates the acquisition and development of a larger online following in a shorter amount of time. You may begin your risk-free trial and receive a comprehensive website audit on their main page.

It costs you $119.95/month with a seven-day free trial.

Takeaway: Best for Advanced SEO & PPC Experts and Large Businesses.

2. Ahrefs Keyword Explorer

The Ahrefs Keywords Explorer is quite similar to SEMrush, however it has a lot more features and is easier to use.

Ahrefs goes above and beyond when it comes to providing useful keyword ideas. The largest database it operates on contains 5.1 billion keywords from over 200 nations, allowing it to spot opportunities that smaller databases would overlook.

Ahrefs gives you some flexibility in your keyword research by letting you see it in a variety of contexts. You can conduct a search using any one of many different resources, including but not limited to Google, YouTube, Bing, or Amazon.

The “Keyword Difficulty” feature of Ahrefs will let you know exactly how many backlinks can help you rank on the first page of google, which makes it more unique and awesome.

It costs you $99/month with a seven-day seven-dollar trial.

Takeaway: Ahrefs provides a comprehensive SEO toolkit that is not free but has many useful features. And it’s always getting better and more advanced as new features are introduced.

3. Moz Keyword Explorer

Moz is the best keyword research tool that provides not only the standard keyword information you need, but also rank tracking, website audits, and page optimization reports.

This keyword research tool will find the top 10 results for a given keyword once you enter it. Then, based on the pages that currently rank for that phrase, it will give that keyword a “Difficulty Score.” If you want to see the top 10 results for each keyword, you can look at the search volume statistics and then open the SERP.

You may optimise your keywords for international audiences, conduct in-depth research on long-tail keywords posed as questions, and access sophisticated data on your competitors’ use of those keywords. Those are but a few of the many benefits that the Moz Keyword Explorer provides.

10 free searches a day and the minimal paid plan starts with $99/month. 

Takeaway: Best for beginner to intermediate SEOs.

4. Keywords Everywhere

Chrome and Firefox users can install the freemium browser extension called Keywords Everywhere. It is a helpful tool for keyword research that can be used immediately in your browser when you type in questions while you are exploring the web.

You may use it to find out more information about specific words. Not only does it work for Google, but it also works for Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner, YouTube, and a great deal of other websites.

You can lessen your load with the help of the Keywords Everywhere tool if you are tired of spending an endless amount of time on individual keyword research tools. 

It works on credit system 1 credit for 1 keyword, $10 to $100 paid plans are available for 100,000 to 1,000,000 credits, which expire after one year. 

Takeaway: Best freemium extension for keyword research.

5. KWFinder by Mangools

Because of its intuitive user interface, robust feature set, and attractive appearance, KWFinder is a good choice for novice bloggers. It provides a variety of research alternatives for one-of-a-kind keyword chances.

The “Keyword Difficulty” feature will automatically show the Keyword difficulty score next to every keyword. Another great thing about KWFinder is that its keyword suggestions aren’t just the term you typed in with words added or removed.

You can easily find the question-based SEO keywords, Autocomplete Keywords suggestion, Organic search Keywords using Domain, In-depth SERP overview, and much more.

5 searches per day are allowed in the free version of KWFinder, and each search returns 25 related keywords and 10 competitor keywords. Paid plans begin at $29/month.

Takeaway: Best for Small Budget SEO teams.

Pick the Best Keyword Research Tool and Get Started!

You might have a question: Which Keyword Research tool is the best?

Every keyword research tool can be the best in its own way, but not for everyone. Choose the one that fulfils your requirements and is easy for you to handle your SEO techniques. Which is compatible with other SEO tools to improve your work speed.

The best keyword research tools we looked at above are just slightly different ways to provide the same thing. Some people just use one spoon to feed you and some make it fancy. 

However, choosing a single keyword research tool is not the thing, you have to research it in multiple tools in different ways to get the ground idea. Don’t choose a single keyword research tool. 

FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Information does Keyword Research Tool Provide?

With the help of keyword research tools, you can find out which keywords will provide the best results and gain valuable insight into the questions that your target audience is actually searching for on Google. The insights obtained from these real search keywords can inform both your content strategy and your broader marketing strategy. It gives information related to searched keywords like, suggested keywords, search volume, CPC, keyword difficulty, and much more.

2. What Makes the Best Keyword Research Tool?

The following factors could make the keyword research tool the best:

• Data it provides
• Data sources
• Keyword optimization tips
• Free plans and upgradations

3. What are the Benefits of Keyword Research Tools?

The best Keyword Research Tools not only help you plan your SEO strategy but also help you find high value keywords in a short span of time. In this competitive era, keyword research tools give you valuable information to stay ahead out of the competition. It enables you to keep track of your metrics and performance each day, which help you to enhance your digital marketing strategy. In short, keyword research tools are everything you need in your SEO development in the initial stage.