10 Best Keyword Research Tools for SEO
To succeed with SEO (search engine optimization), keyword research is a must. The right keywords can make all the difference in driving traffic to your website and increasing your conversions through search engine marketing.
However, with so many different keyword research tools on the market, it can take time to know which ones are the best for your needs. That's why we've compiled a list of the 10 best keyword research tools for SEO success in 2023, with all their pricing plans and pros and cons.
Whether you're a business owner, SEO professional, blogger, or online entrepreneur, you know that staying ahead of the competition is key to success. Finding the right target keyword and choosing between free and paid tools can be overwhelming.
And in the world of SEO, keyword research is one of the most important aspects of staying ahead. With the correct keyword data, you can identify the best keywords for your website and ensure your content ranks high in search engines.
Need help determining which keywords to target? Let’s closely look at our top 10 keyword research tools for SEO for 2023 and beyond.
SEO PowerSuite
SEO PowerSuite is a comprehensive SEO tool that offers a variety of features to help you improve your SEO campaigns. SEO PowerSuite provides data on keyword difficulty and the number of searches performed for each keyword. This information can help determine which keywords to target in your SEO campaigns.
With its rank-tracking feature, you can track your website's progress in search engines and see where you need to improve. The spy feature lets you know what your competitors are doing to rank higher in search engines, so you can learn from their strategies and apply them to your website.
*Read our RankTracker review and best alternatives article here.
And with the detailed keyword analysis feature, you can research keywords more profoundly and discover their competition level and traffic potential. Overall, the SEO PowerSuite keyword tool is an excellent choice for businesses and professionals who want to stay ahead of the competition in SEO.
Pricing
SEO PowerSuite offers a variety of pricing plans to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.
The most basic plan, known as the Starter Plan, is priced at $99 per month and includes the following features:
- rank tracking for up to 500 keywords
- 5 competitor spy reports
- detailed keyword analysis report
The next pricing tier is the Professional Plan, which is priced at $199 per month and includes the following features:
- rank tracking for up to 1000 keywords
- 10 competitor spy reports
- 3 detailed keyword analysis reports
The third and most comprehensive pricing tier is the Enterprise Plan, which is priced at $499 per month and includes the following features:
- rank tracking for up to 3000 keywords
- unlimited competitor spy reports
- 5 detailed keyword analysis reports
If you're looking for a more comprehensive SEO tool that offers a variety of features, SEO PowerSuite is an excellent choice. Its affordable pricing plans make it easy to find a plan that meets your needs and helps you achieve SEO success.
Pros
- SEO PowerSuite is a desktop software that offers the best-in-class keyword tool
- It has more than three dozen tools to help you with SEO, from rank tracking to on-page optimization, so you'll get much more than just keyword ideas
- It offers competitive intelligence, helping you see where your site stands relative to your competition
- This paid keyword research tool provides accurate and up-to-date data, including CPC estimates
Cons
- The software updates can be expensive, costing up to $500 per year
- It can be a bit overwhelming for beginners, with its wide range of features
- Software is very slow at times compared to competitors
Verdict
SEO PowerSuite is an excellent keyword tool for businesses and professionals who want to improve their SEO campaigns. With its complete suite of features, SEO PowerSuite makes it easy to get data on search volumes, generate keyword ideas, track rankings, spy on competitors, and analyze your content.
The software also offers a variety of pricing plans to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes. And best of all, you can download a free trial version of the software to see how it can help you achieve SEO success.
SpyFu
SpyFu is one of the best keyword research tools on the market. It offers excellent insights into your competitor's AdWords campaigns and organic search strategies. Spyfu also provides detailed data on how much traffic each keyword generates for your competitors. This can be a valuable tool in helping you to optimize your SEO and AdWords campaigns.
Pricing
SpyFu is an online tool that helps you research and tracks your competitor's keywords and ads. It offers three pricing plans: Basic, Professional, and Agency.
- The Basic plan costs $39 per month and includes the ability to track 5,000 keywords and 1,000 domains.
- The Professional plan costs $99 per month and includes the ability to track 10,000 keywords and 2,500 domains.
- The Agency plan costs $299 per month and includes the ability to track 50,000 keywords and 10,000 domains.
Pros
- SpyFu is a great tool for researching your competition's AdWords and organic search strategies
- It offers detailed data on how much traffic each keyword is generating for your competitors
- You can see what ads they are running and how much traffic those ads are generating
- The pricing plans are affordable, starting at just $39/month
- You can get detailed information about their organic and paid search strategies
- There is also a free trial so you can test out its features before making a purchase
- Can become a SpyFu reseller
Cons
- SpyFu can be difficult to use for beginners
- Spyfu is not as accurate as other tools
- Can get expensive if you need more than 5 searches per day
- Limited data compared to Ahrefs
Verdict
SpyFu is one of the best keyword research tools on the market. This can be a valuable tool in helping you to optimize your SEO and AdWords campaigns.
SpyFu offers a free trial to test its features before making a purchase. And if you're not satisfied with the product, SpyFu offers a no-questions-asked refund policy. So if you're looking for the best keyword research tool with powerful competitive intelligence features, SpyFu is a great choice.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is another respected name in the SEO industry, and their Keywords Explorer tool is one of the best on the market. They are, however, much more expensive than most keyword tools on this list. But their advanced filter options let you fine-tune your results to find the right keywords for your needs.
Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO tool that offers a variety of features to help you improve your SEO campaigns. Ahrefs provides keyword data on difficulty and the number of searches performed for each keyword. This information can help determine which keywords to target in your SEO campaigns.
Ahrefs is a powerful keyword tool that offers features like competitor analysis, rank tracking, and more. With Ahrefs, you can find untapped keywords with high search volume and low competition. They're also the most complete tool for monitoring inbound links.
Pricing
Ahrefs is one of the best keyword research tools for SEO, although one of the more expensive ones. It has a variety of pricing plans to suit different needs.
- The cheapest plan is the Lite plan, which costs $99 per month.
- The most expensive plan is the Agency plan, which costs $999 per month.
Pros
- Comprehensive SEO tool
- Offers a variety of features to help improve your SEO campaigns
- Provides data on difficulty, as well as the number of searches being performed for each keyword
- Detailed data on search volume, CPC, competition level, SERP features, and more
- Advanced filter options let you fine-tune your results to find just the right keywords for your needs
- A powerful SEO tool that offers features like competitor analysis, rank tracking, and generating fantastic keyword ideas
- Best keyword research tool
Cons
- Some people find that Ahrefs can be difficult to use when they are starting out.
- Ahrefs is not as accurate as other tools
- Can get expensive if you need more than 5 searches per day
- Limited data compared to SpyFu
Verdict
Ahrefs is extremely popular among SEO professionals and agencies today. Check ranking difficulty, organic traffic, and SERP features. The downside is that the information provided is overwhelming for most, and the fact that they're one of the most expensive tools on the market is also a big no-no for many.
Ahrefs is more advanced than other tools in the backlinks department, but there are better, cheaper options for keyword research like SpyFu, or Semrush. Speaking of which...
Semrush
The SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool is another excellent option for researching keyword ideas. SEMRush is perhaps the most popular Ahrefs alternative there is. Their handy filter options let you narrow down your results to find the perfect keywords for your needs.
SEMRush helps build domain authority and highlights not only great keywords and competitor data, but shows you fantastic new link building opportunities to take advantage of and up your SEO game.
Pricing
SEMrush is another paid tool that works out at $99.95 per month for annual subscriptions or $119.95 should you decide to pay monthly rather than yearly. It offers data on organic traffic, search volume, competition level, CPC, and more.
SEMrush offers four pricing plans:
- Pro for $99.95/mo
- Guru for $199.95/mo
- Business for $399.95/mo
- Custom for $549.95/mo (contact SEMrush for more details)
The Pro plan is best for small businesses and bloggers, while the Guru plan is best for agencies and larger businesses. The Business plan offers the most features, including competitor analysis, position tracking, and backlink analysis.
Pros
- Semrush offers a variety of features to help you improve your SEO campaigns, including data on keyword difficulty, as well as the number of searches being performed for each keyword.
- Semrush provides in-depth data on keyword difficulty, organic traffic, and SERP features.
- The SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool is another great option for keyword research.
- With Semrush, you can find profitable keywords for your website and improve your search engine ranking.
Cons
- One of the most expensive of all the options
- Limited data when compared to other tools
- The user interface is not always easy to use
- Customer support can be slow
Verdict
Semrush is one of the market's best-known and most popular keyword research tools. They also offer a free trial, so you can try it before buying, which is always an excellent option.
We highly recommend Semrush if you're looking for an all-in-one SEO toolkit, especially if you want to research competitors and see what works for them. Because if it works for your competitors, it's likely to work for you.
Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool provided by big G, so you know the data will be accurate and up-to-date. All you need is a Google Ads account. With Keyword Planner, you can get detailed information on search volume, competition level, and more for any given keyword. Best of all, it's free to use!
This is by far the best of the free keyword research tools out there and top-rated for a good reason. It provides data on average monthly searches, competition level, and suggested bid price. This is a valuable tool for keyword research. It includes the average monthly searches for a given keyword and its competition level. When used in combination with Google Search Console, you'll get a ton of valuable keyword data.
Pricing
FREE! Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that offers features like keyword suggestions, estimated CPC, and traffic estimates. With the Google Keyword Planner, you can find high-traffic keywords for your website and create effective ad campaigns.
Pros
- The Google Ads Keyword Planner is a free keyword research tool that offers features like keyword suggestions, estimated CPC, and traffic estimates.
- With the Google Ads Keyword Planner, you can find high-traffic keywords for your website and create effective Google Ads campaigns.
- The Google Ads Keyword Planner is accurate and up-to-date, provided by Google itself.
- Great at tracking monthly search volume
- Better than most paid keyword research tools
Cons
- Limited data compared to other keyword tools on this list
- Difficulty estimating traffic levels
- Inaccurate monthly search volume data
Verdict
If you Google "keyword research tool,” this is precisely what you'll see at the top of the list. Using this together with Google Search Console, you can start targeting the right customers with the right keywords and see an increase in traffic and conversions over time.
The best way to get started is to create a Google Ads account and enter a few seed words or phrases related to your business. From there, the tool will generate a list of related keywords and give you information about how often people search for those terms.
You can also use the planner to get ideas for new ad campaigns and measure the performance of past campaigns. You won't find better free keyword research tools.
KWFinder
KWFinder is a great keyword tool for those looking for affordable paid keyword research tools.
Plans start at just $29.90 per month if you choose the annual plan; otherwise, it's $49 per month.
You'll get access to detailed data on searches made, competition level, PPC difficulty, CPC & more!
KWFinder is only one of the tools in the Mangools suite, so you'll be getting a lot of bang for your buck with this deal. Also backed and used by the popular SEO blog (that even I read), Backlinko. So that says something about quality and value for money.
KWFinder is a prevalent keyword tool and offers features like difficulty score, SERP analysis, and more. With KWFinder, you can find long-tail keywords with low competition and high search volumes. If you're looking for a cheap keyword research tool, it doesn't get much better than this.
Pricing
KWFinder offers four pricing plans - Lite, Standard, Advanced, and Agency.
- The Lite plan is for individuals and starts at $29 per month.
- The Standard plan is for small businesses and starts at $99 per month.
- The Advanced plan is for larger businesses and starts at $199 per month.
- The Agency plan is for agencies and starts at $299 per month.
Pros
- Kwfinder is a user-friendly tool that makes it easy to find keywords relevant to your business
- It offers a variety of filters to help you narrow down your search and find the best keywords for your needs
- Kwfinder also offers competition keyword data for each keyword, so you can be sure you are targeting the right keywords
- The pricing is affordable and there is a free trial available
- Great at finding relevant keywords for more keyword rankings.
Cons
- Limited data
- Low search results
- Inaccurate keyword competition data
Verdict
KWFinder is a popular keyword research tool that offers features like keyword difficulty score, SERP analysis, and more. With KWFinder, you can find long-tail keywords with low competition and high searches. KWFinder also offers a free trial to try it before buying.
Moz Keyword Explorer
Moz is one of the most well-respected names in the SEO industry, so it's no surprise that their keyword research tool is top-notch. Plus, their nifty SERP features and SEO tools let you see how your keywords perform in the search engine results pages.
Moz's Keyword Explorer is a free keyword research tool that offers features like SERP analysis, keyword difficulty score, and more. With Moz's Keyword Explorer, you can find profitable keywords for your website and improve your search engine ranking.
Let's look at the cost for Moz keyword explorer:
Pricing
Moz Keyword Explorer is free to use up to a specific limit; after that, plans start at $99/month. This keyword research tool offers data on search volume, competition level, CPC, opportunity score, SERP features, and more.
Moz is a tool that offers three pricing plans: individual, team, and agency.
- The individual plan is $99/month and allows users to track up to 5 projects and 500 keywords.
- The team plan is $249/month and allows users to track up to 10 projects and 2500 keywords.
- The agency plan is $999/month and allows users to track up to 50 projects and 25000 keywords.
Pros
- Get great keyword ideas fast
- Check keyword competition
- See SERP features for any keyword
- Get keyword difficulty
Cons
- The tool is best suited for small businesses and bloggers who don’t have the budget to invest in more expensive keyword research tools.
- The free version of the tool only allows you to track 10 keywords at a time, which may not be enough for some users.
- The user interface can be confusing and difficult to navigate for some users.
Verdict
Moz's Keyword Explorer is a powerful tool for finding keywords relevant to your business and audience. It offers several ways to find keywords, including using Google Autocomplete, looking at related terms, and sorting by topic. The tool lets you get information about each keyword's competition and measure the potential traffic for each search term.
Also to note is that in most SpyFu versus Moz keyword explorer comparisons, the former comes out on top more often.
Long Tail Pro
Long Tail Pro is another excellent option for those looking for an affordable keyword research tool.
You'll get access to detailed data on search volume, CPC, competition level, PPC difficulty & more!
With Long Tail Pro, you can find profitable keywords for your website and improve your search engine ranking. The pricing is affordable, and there is a free trial available. Talking about price:
Pricing
Long tail pro is one of the best keyword research tools available on the market. It offers a variety of pricing plans to fit the needs of different businesses.
- The basic plan starts at $37 per month and includes access to the Long tail pro keyword research tool, as well as 500 keyword suggestions per month and 2,000 results per search.
- The pro plan costs $67 per month and includes 3,000 keyword suggestions per month and 10,000 results per search.
- The agency plan is best for businesses that need to track multiple websites or want to receive email alerts when new keywords are found. It costs $147 per month and includes 10,000 keyword suggestions per month and 50,000 results per search.
Pros
- Easier to rank for long-tail keywords
- Lower competition for long-tail keywords
- More targeted traffic from long-tail keywords
- Longer keyword search queries
- Greater customer intent with long-tail keywords
- Increased profits by targeting the right customers
Cons
- can get expensive
- can be difficult to use for SEO beginners
- not as accurate as other keyword research tools
Verdict
While Long Tail Pro is a popular keyword research tool, it is less accurate than KWFinder. If you are looking for a more precise and affordable alternative to Long Tail Pro, Kwfinder is the better option available.
SERPStat
SERPStat is also an excellent option if you're looking for a good keyword research tool. You'll have access To detailed data like search volume trends over time and related keywords, competitor analysis features, backlink analysis features, CPC, etc.
Pricing
SERPStat offers four pricing plans:
- The basic plan starts at $69 per month and includes 2 projects, 10,000 rows per project, and 1 user.
- The standard plan costs $149 per month and includes 5 projects, 50,000 rows per project, and 3 users.
- The advanced plan is best for businesses that need to track multiple websites or want to receive email alerts when new keywords are found. It costs $499 per month and includes 20 projects, 200,000 rows per project, and 10 users.
- The agency plan is best for agencies that need to track multiple websites or want to receive email alerts
Pros
- Offers a free version with limited features
- 30-money-back guarantee
- User-friendly interface
- Affordable pricing plans
Cons
- The free version only allows you to track 10 keywords at a time, which may not be enough for some users.
- The user interface can be confusing and difficult to navigate for new users.
Verdict
SERPStat is a great keyword research tool for those on a budget. It offers a free version with limited features and affordable pricing plans for those needing more features. However, the user interface can be confusing and difficult for new users. Nevertheless, SERPStat is a solid option for those looking for a good keyword tool for market research.
SECockpit
SECockpit is a bit pricier than other options on this list, starting at $67/month on the annual plans and $97 should you choose a monthly schedule.
However, you'll get access to some of the most comprehensive data available, including information on search volume, CPC, competition level, PPC difficulty, SERP features, related keywords, language support, filters, and more.
Pricing
SECockpit also offers four pricing plans:
- The basic plan starts at $67 per month and includes 1 project, 500 keywords, and 2 users.
- The standard plan costs $97 per month and includes 3 projects, 1,500 keywords, and 5 users.
- The advanced plan is best for businesses that need to track multiple websites or want to receive email alerts when new keywords are found. It costs $147 per month and includes 10 projects, 5,000 keywords, and 10 users.
- The agency plan is best for agencies that need to track multiple websites or want to receive email alerts. It costs $297 per month and includes 25 projects, 15,000 keywords, and 25 users.
Pros
- Offers a free trial
- User-friendly interface
- Affiliate program available
Cons
- No monthly plan available
- Pricey compared to other options
Verdict
SECockpit is a great keyword research tool for those who need access to comprehensive data. However, it is pricey compared to other options since no monthly plans are available. On the plus side, they offer a 7-day free trial with unlimited access to all their tools, so check it out.
Conclusion
Doing your keyword research is essential if you want your website to rank high in search engines and drive traffic in 2023 - there are no two ways! Luckily, there are plenty of great tools on this list to help you with your research so you can find the perfect keywords for your site.
In this blog post, we went over 10 of the best keyword research tools for SEO success in 2023; consider giving some of them a try to see what works best for you and your website goals.
To stay ahead of the competition in SEO, you need to use the best keyword suggestion tool. These ten tools will help you find the best keywords for your website to improve your search engine ranking and drive more traffic to your site. Try out these tools today and see how they can help take your SEO game to the next level. Try Google's free keyword tools if you're unsure where to start.
There are a lot of different factors that go into ranking high in Google searches - and keywords are one of them. That's why choosing the right keyword research tool for your needs is essential. With so many options on the market, it cannot be easy to know where to start - but this list should help point you in the right direction!
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Do you have a favorite keyword research tool that we didn't mention? Let us know in the comments below!