10+ Best Keyword Research Tools in 2022 (Including Free Options) (2024)

Keyword research is a crucial element of modern SEO. Whether you’re kick-starting an old blog or developing your content strategy for a new one; good quality keywords are one of the most efficient ways to attract consistent, quality traffic to your site. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best keyword research tools to help you conquer your content.

The 10+ best keyword research tools

1. SEMrush

SEMrush is not just a keyword tool; it is like the Swiss Army Knife of SEO. Instead of producing a list of keywords, SEMrush suggests 5-10 very specific keywords that your competitors are already using. But that’s just one of its many uniquely powerful capabilities.

Standout features

• Uncover long-tail keywords and ad group ideas
• Get yearly keyword trends
• Worldwide CPC distribution statistics
• Access to the complete keyword research toolkit
• Keyword difficulty analysis and organic traffic insights

Pricing

SEMrush is one of the best paid keyword research tools available. It offers a 7-day free trial of the service. You do need to enter your credit card details to get access to the trial though. However, no charges are levied if you choose to cancel your subscription within the 7-day period. Check our SEMrush reviewto help you decide if this tool is right for you.

SEMrush has four different pricing plans. If you pay up front for a year, you can save up to 17% compared to the month-to-month rates.

• Pro – A plan for limited budget sites and freelancers, it starts at $99.95 per month and is billed annually.
• Guru – SEO agencies and small to mid-sized business will find the features in this plan perfect for the day-to-day management of content sites. Guru starts at $191.62 per month. Again, billed annually
• Business – It is ideal for eCommerce stores and agencies, and will set you back $374.95 per month if you pay up front for the year.
• Enterprise – If you have an extensive content strategy, reaching beyond the capacity of the above solutions, SEMrush can custom fit a plan to suit your needs.

2. SEO PowerSuite

If you’re looking for a comprehensive option, SEO Powersuite is one of the best tools for keyword research. Its complete toolkit includes everything you need to improve on and off-page SEO. You’ll get fundamental keyword research features, as well as optimization options for mobile, social media, and more.

Standout features

• Comprehensive SEO audit
• Competitor rank tracking
• Professional SEO reports
• Cloud storage (up to 400 projects)
• White-labeling reports for clients
• Link management and backlink history

Pricing

SEO Powersuite offers a limited free tier, along with two full-featured premium plans.

• Free – There is a free version of SEO Powersuite that may work well if you run a small/personal site and only need to occasionally check your site’s rankings.
• Professional – With this plan you get unlimited SEO audits, link management, and more. You’ll also have access to white-labeling (with watermarks) and cloud storage for up to 20 projects. Professional plans cost $299 per year.
• Enterprise – This option includes everything that the Professional plan does, plus more. You’ll also get white-labeling without watermarks, and cloud storage for up to 400 projects, for $499 per year.

3. KWFinder

KWFinder is a tool designed by Mangools – a developer known for delivering the best keyword research and analysis tools across categories. You can use their beginner guide to get started.

The KWFinder platform makes it easy to find keywords with low SEO difficulty, along with a whole host of other useful features.

Standout features

• A unique and easy to navigate user interface
• Find keywords in any language target, anywhere
• Choose options from the list of powerful keywords
• Get precise statistics for keyword competition
• In-depth SERP overview alongside a list of suggestions
• Use filters to refine the list of keyword suggestions

Pricing

KWFinder is part of a package that includes 4 other SEO tools. This keyword tool only allows a handful of free searches. Select an annual plan to save up to 40% on any of their 3 subscriptions.

• Basic– $29.90 (freelancers and small businesses)
• Premium– $44.90 (new startups and blogs)
• Agency – $89.90 (eCommerce stores and heavy sites)

4. Ahrefs Keywords Explorer

Ahrefs is one of the best keyword research tools available for content creators today. The platform provides a broad keyword report to the user and relies on clickstream data to provide unique click metrics.

Standout features

• Accurate keyword difficulty score
• 1,000+ keyword suggestions
• Supported in over 171 countries
• Click metrics for improving CTR
• Extensive SERP overview

Pricing

Ahrefs has four pricing plans. The rates for freelancers, online marketers, mid-sized organizations, and bigger brands start at just $83 per month if you choose an annual payment plan.

They do have a trial offer ($7 for 7 days) on their Lite and Standard subscription plans.

5. Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is a simple keyword tool option serving up a few basic features. Despite the lack of functionality, however, it’s one of the most accurate sources of keyword data on the market. The data comes directly from Google and the results integrate well with AdSense monetization.

Standout features

• Locate commercial keywords using “top of page” bid range
• Accurate search volume directly from Google’s search engine
• Best choice for business websites

Pricing

Google Keyword Planner is available for free.

6. GrowthBar

GrowthBar is a great tool for marketers and bloggers who are in a hurry, and want ranking difficulty or keyword suggestions to appear along with their search results.

A unique feature they recently added is content outline generation, you can use it to generate content outlines in one click for your blog or website with keywords, word counts, headers, images, links and more.

It also allows you to explore competitors’ profile featuring – backlink data, organic keywords, Google/Facebook ads info and related insights.

Standout features

• Generate content outlines with AI
• Keyword rank tracking
• Accurate ranking difficulty
• Long tail keyword suggestions
• Exportable keyword data
• On-page word count

Pricing

GrowthBar offer a free 5-day trial, after which you will be charged based on the plan you choose. The higher-tier plan will let you search unlimited keywords. You’ll get the following rates when you pay annually.

• Standard– $29/month
• Pro– $79/month
• Agency – $129/month

7. Long Tail Pro

It’s no secret that long-tail keywords are the new standard of SEO. Long Tail Pro keyword tool generates long-tail keywords for niche sites and has even found a cult following with content producers for micro-niche sites.

Standout features

• Powerful, detailed keyword metrics
• Easily find long-tail keywords
• Provides recommendations for attracting highly convertible organic traffic
• 2,500+ SERP lookups every 24 hours

Pricing

Long Tail Pro is a premium tool and does offer a 7-day free trial (subscription to be cancelled before 7 days). Subscriptions start as low as $24.75 per month (when billed annually). Long Tail Pro currently offers three plans to users.

• Starter– $24.75/month
• Pro– $44.75/month
• Agency– $98.08/month

8. Majestic

Majestic is an all-in-one SEO tool to keep a track of your site’s health. It’s an ideal tool for new blogs and small businesses that don’t have the resources to invest a lot of complicated support for search engine optimization.

Standout features

• All SEO features are available in a single toolkit
• Find easy-to-target phrases
• Research competition on each keyword
• Trustworthiness vs. authority graph for website analysis

Pricing

Majestic allows you to sign up and run 3 free searches to help you get a feel for the service. The keyword checker, however, is only available in PRO and API plans. You can grab the SEO toolkit for $83.33 per month when you select the annual billing option.

9. Keyword Tool

If you’re obsessed with keyword data mining, try Keyword Tool. The platform is regarded as one of the top keyword research tools on the market and offers analysis for multiple search engines including Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, and the App Store.

Standout features

• Find great keywords using Google Autocomplete
• Supplement your social media marketing with Instagram and Twitter keyword analysis
• Export results to CSV
• Simple UX for beginners

Pricing

Keyword Tool is very similar to Google Keyword Planner. It’s free for first 750+ keywords and extremely easy to get started with. The Keyword Tool “Basic” plan starts at $69 per month and is billed annually.

10. Serpstat

If you’re searching for a full SEO suite, Serpstat is an excellent option which combines website analytics, a keyword research tool, SERP analysis, backlink analysis, a rank tracker, and website audit features. It’s an all-in-one solution meant to streamline everything you would need for comprehensive SEO.

Standout features

• Understand your competition using the competitor graph feature
• Find keyword difficulty and keyword trends
• The most budget-friendly option on our list

Pricing

Similar to a couple of the other options we’ve listed here, Serpstat can be used a few times for free by signing up for their trial membership. To use the service regularly though, you need to get yourself set up with one of their subscriptions. A Lite plan goes for $55 per month if you pay up front for the year. Otherwise it’s $69 on a month-to-month basis.

11. Moz Keyword Explorer

The Moz Keyword Explorer serves up easy to use, out-of-the-box keyword recommendations. Moz’s SEO tool boasts all the features you’d expect from the very best keyword research tools, plus two very unique data points.

Organic CTR score– This click-through rate demonstrates the number of clicks you’re expected to attract on page 1 of Google.

Priority score– The priority score is a mixture of all the individual factors a typical tool uses to suggest keyword options. It combines data on CTR, search volume, and keyword difficulty to help you select the best terms for your project.

Standout features

• Get related keyword suggestions
• Organic CTR and Priority score for smart targeting
• Moz offers a one month trial period

Pricing

Sign up for a free Moz account and get 10 free queries per month. The Keyword Explorer is not a standalone researching tool, to get full access to this useful little asset you will need to pay for the entire SEO suite. You can get the keyword research features with the Moz Pro plan, which starts at $79 per month if paid annually (or $99 if paying month-to-month) with the option to do a free 30-day trial.

12. SpyFu

SpyFu is the #1 choice for analyzing your competitors’ SEO strategies. Their keyword tool uncovers valuable, virtually untapped keywords and makes a huge difference if you’re working in a highly saturated niche.

Standout features

• Compare different websites competing for a single search term
• Discover ranking difficulty and historical rank changes
• Additional modules for in-depth domain analysis

Pricing

SpyFu is a little different from the other tools we’ve listed here as they offer monthly results, not real-time feedback. You can subscribe to SpyFu for $33 per month if you choose the annual billing option.

Which is the best keyword research tool for you?

If budget is your chief concern, narrow your search to Google Keyword Planner or Serpstat. If you need a more robust set of tools, you’re going to be looking at KWFinder, SEMrush, or Moz Keyword Explorer.

Do you have any questions about choosing between these tools? Ask away in the comments!

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