Skip to content Despite receiving less traffic than more general phrases, the long-tail keywords are correlated with better quality traffic and visitors who are often further along their path of purpose. The good news is that selecting the best long-tail keywords for your website pages is a very straightforward process that is made much easier and faster when you utilize the correct keyword research tools.
In this post, we will go through the ten best keyword research tools for conducting keyword research for your website content. But before we get started, let’s go over two key points to keep in mind while you conduct your research: relevance and (if relevant) location.
Related: How to Determine Which Keywords Your Prospective Customers Use
Relevance of Keywords
When it comes to picking the proper keywords for SEO, relevance is the most crucial thing to consider. Why? Because the more particular you are, the more effective you will be.
If you operate a firm that builds swimming pools, for example, you’re more likely to generate qualified leads if you choose a keyword like “fiberglass in-ground pool installation” rather than “swimming pools.” That’s because someone searching for “fiberglass in-ground pool installation” is either seeking for information or someone to conduct the installation… and that person might be you!
Optimizing for “swimming pools” has its place, to be sure. However, there’s no denying that this term will draw in a far broader audience that may or may not be interested in what you have to offer. Instead, focus on long-tail keywords that are relevant.
Keywords with a Geographical Scope/ Location-Based Keywords
Location-based searches are another important thing to consider when optimizing for the proper keywords. Users of search engines typically add their location in their search while seeking contractors and services in their region.
If you just operate in one geo-location, you should consider adding location-based keywords to all of your pages, as visitors from other places won’t benefit you much. If your company has many locations, it’s also a good idea to build a distinct web page for each one so that your brand is visible when consumers search for specific places.
So, how do you pick the best keywords for your company? For obvious reasons, we strongly discourage guessing. Instead, there are a variety of methods for researching and locating long-tail keywords that are appropriate for your company.
Here are the ten best free and paid keyword research tools that can help you find excellent long-tail keywords for your SEO strategy fast and efficiently.
Related: Tips for Building a Successful SEO Strategy in 2022
Free Keyword Research Tools
1. Google Keyword Planner
Google has a number of tools that make keyword research simple, and their free AdWords tool, Keyword Planner, is a wonderful place to start, especially if you utilize AdWords for some of your campaigns. (Note: To use Keyword Planner, you’ll need to register an AdWords account, but it doesn’t imply you have to produce an ad.)
When you enter one or more keywords, or even your website URL into Google Keyword Planner, it will return a list of similar keywords along with basic data that show how competitive each one is and how many searches it receives on both a global and local level.
It will also provide historical data and information on how a list of keywords performed in the past, as well as construct a new keyword list by multiplying several lists of keywords together. It may also help you set competitive bids and budgets for your AdWords ads because it’s a free AdWords tool.
Unfortunately, when Google switched from Keyword Tool to Keyword Planner, they removed a lot of the more fascinating features — but you can compensate by using Google Trends to fill in some of the gaps.
2. Google Trends
Another free Google tool is Google Trends. It allows you to filter by location, search history, and category as well as enter multiple keywords. Once you’ve entered that information, it’ll show you how much web interest there is for a specific term, what sparked it (for example, press coverage), and where the traffic is coming from, as well as comparable phrases.
The nice thing about Google Trends is that, unlike other keyword research tools, it doesn’t only provide you with static keyword volume figures. Instead, it creates vibrant, interactive graphs that you can engage with, download, and even embed on your own website. It will also provide you with more dynamic information about a keyword, such as the relative popularity of a search phrase over time.
Surprisingly, its data excludes repeated requests from a single user over a short period of time, resulting in cleaner results. It also clusters together queries that it believes are related, such as misspellings.
Is there a way to use Google Trends in a different way? If you’re attempting to choose between two keyword variants for the headline of your most recent blog article. Simply use Google Trends to compare the two and see which is being sought more frequently.
3. Keyword Tool.io
Keyword Tool is a really basic online term research tool, but it might be beneficial if you’re searching for a list of long-tail keyword recommendations connected to the one you already have in mind. It’s also completely free; you don’t even need to make an account to utilize the most basic version.
Keyword Tool generates a list of appropriate long-tail keyword ideas using Google Autocomplete. Google Autocomplete suggests search words based on a variety of criteria, including how frequently users have searched for a given keyword in the past.
This sort of tool might assist you in determining what people are looking for in relation to your themes. Bloggers, for example, may use a tool like this to come up with search-friendly blog article names.
Again, the free version only generates keyword recommendations in alphabetical order and does not provide information on search volume or cost-per-click (CPC). You’ll need to upgrade to Keyword Tool Pro to receive that information. The Pro edition also allows you to export the keywords for use in content development, SEO, CPC/PPC advertising, and other marketing operations.
Related: A Complete Guide on How To Conduct a Keyword Research
Paid Keyword Research Tools
4. Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
Price: $99/mo. for Lite; $179/mo. for Standard; $399/mo. for Advanced Ahrefs Keywords Explorer is comparable to SEMrush, but with more features and a more user-friendly interface.
It can, for example, assess how many searches result in actual page visits. Because Google provides quick replies to certain inquiries, not all of them do so. You may identify traffic-generating keywords and avoid dead-end possibilities using Clicks and Clicks Per Search data.
Ahrefs goes above and beyond when it comes to the number of relevant keyword recommendations. It has the largest database – 5.1 billion terms from over 200 nations – so it can spot chances that other technologies might overlook.
You may also use Ahrefs to do competitive research. Their Site Explorer tool reveals rivals’ keyword tactics, while Content Gap compares competitor terms to your own to uncover potential winners.
Ahrefs will also send you emails regarding even the tiniest changes in your rivals’ rankings. Backlinks have a direct influence on ranking, and Ahrefs’ strongest muscle is backlink research.
Backlinko creator Brian Dean says Ahrefs is his go-to tool for backlink analysis: “In terms of index size, freshness, and general usefulness, I’ve examined over 25 link analysis tools, and none come close to Ahref’s.”
5. Moz’s Keyword Difficulty Tool
Price: $99/month for Standard; $149/month for Medium; $249/month for Large; $599/month for Premium
One of the most essential features of Moz’s premium package is its keyword difficulty tool. It’s an excellent tool for determining the competitiveness of a keyword and identifying low-hanging fruit.
When you enter a term into this tool, it will provide the top ten results. Then, depending on the pages that presently rank for that keyword, it will award a “Difficulty Score” to that term. You may check the search volume for your keywords and then go to the SERP to see the top 10 results for each phrase.
Perform you want to do some keyword research to see which keywords are the most competitive? You may use the tool to check who else is ranking for your keywords, as well as details such as each site’s page authority and the number of root domains connecting to their page.
You may also export all of this information as a CSV file for further examination.
6. SEMrush
Price: $69.95 per month for Pro, $149.95 per month for Guru, and $549.95 per month for Business.
SEMrush is a competitive research tool that allows you to monitor your rivals’ keywords to see if there are any possibilities to overtake them in Google and Bing’s organic search results.
You can examine the competitive environment by comparing a variety of domains, including their popular keywords and rankings in Google’s organic, sponsored, and shopping search results.
Position monitoring is a more advanced version of Google Trends that allows you to follow a keyword’s position in the SERPs and examine its history of climbs and falls. Their vibrant, graphic charts are also quite useful for immediately grasping trends and evaluating data.
7. Term Explorer
Price: Basic: $34/month; Pro: $97/month; Agency: $499/month
Term Explorer provides the most comprehensive research reports of any keyword research tool available. Over 10,000 keyword variants may be generated from a single seed phrase.
Best of all, the tool does an excellent job of keeping the findings as current as possible while also pulling in a slew of supporting information.
It’ll tell you the number of results, link strength, trust score, and keyword difficulty for every result on page one of search engine results pages (SERPs). You may use the tool to examine domain age, page ranking, and links, as well as the word count, page rank, links, outbound links, and the number of keyword occurrences in the title, URL, and headers for individual websites, to help you get a hold on your competition.
You may also export all of this information as a CSV file for further examination.
Note: There is a free version of this program that will execute five minor keyword tasks and five keyword analyses per day, with no queue priority, if you just intend on using it a few times each day.
8. Serpstat
Price: Lite is $69 per month, Standard is $149 per month, Advanced is $299 per month, and Enterprise is $499 per month.
Serpstat gives you a list of historically successful terms that rivals have used to boost their search rankings. It also calculates the worth of your keywords based on other parameters such as the number of search results and the cost-per-click.
The program will produce long-tail keywords, which are low-volume keywords linked to your business, as well as more suggestive terms. Furthermore, if your company is global, you may modify terms in the tool’s database to other nations.
Finally, Serpstat allows you to assess the relevance of your web pages as well as study patterns that may appeal to browsers.
If you want a detailed analysis of keywords that work well for rivals, Serpstat will come in handy. It’s also a terrific way to ensure that your page has a decreased likelihood of losing its positive SERP rating.
9. GrowthBar
Price: Free 5-Day Trial, $29/month for Pro, $79/month for Scale
GrowthBar is a keyword research tool, competitive analysis, rank tracking, and content generating SEO software solution for businesses and bloggers. You may use GrowthBar to look at your competitors’ backlink data, paid Google advertisements, organic keyword ranks, and even Facebook ads. A simple and easy-to-use dashboard also reveals crucial data points and provides recommendations.
GrowhBar’s AI-powered blogging platform is what sets them apart. GrowthBar produces a framework for you to follow in order to develop SEO-optimized content when you enter a term you wish to rank for. GrowthBar does this by utilizing OpenAI GPT-3, the world’s biggest language model.
10. Accuranker
Price: Beginner: $19.95/mo; Pro 300: $29.95/mo; Pro 600: $44.95/mo; Pro 1K: $74.95/mo
Accuranker is a keyword rank tracker with a unique feature: It’s really quick while yet being quite precise. If you’re used to spending hours tracking the growth of your keywords’ rankings, this will save you a lot of time.
What are the other benefits of this tool? It comes with built-in proxies that allow you to quickly see who is ranked where in the SERPs for any particular term. You’ll like its scheduled weekly reports function if you plan to provide keyword analytics to your boss or team.
It’s also one of the most effective rank trackers available, providing highly localized search engine rankings for your keywords. It’s an excellent tool for examining which sites rank in different regions if you’re promoting your business to an international audience.
Finally, it offers Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Social Monitoring, and YouTube interfaces, allowing you to monitor data and predicted search traffic for your keywords directly from your AccuRanker dashboard.
Now that you’ve learned about all of these useful keyword research tools, get out there and start researching your best SEO keywords.
