Here is a list of keyword research tools:
- Semrush
- KWFinder
- Keyword Insights
- SE Ranking
- Ahrefs
- Google Keyword Planner
- AlsoAsked
- Keyword Surfer
- Serpstat
- Google Trends
Keywords are one of the most crucial and important parts of SEO.
The fundamental basis of SEO is keyword research.
After that, other factors like on-page optimization , writing SEO-friendly content , good user experience, content that satisfies user intent, and several other ranking factors can help you achieve your website goals.
Many companies invest thousands of dollars in keyword research to get a targeted keyword list like this.
But you don't have to. Just follow this guide...
The keywords you choose to focus on in your digital marketing efforts are crucial to your website’s organic ranking. That’s okay. If you’re running a SaaS business or an e-commerce business, you still need to use a keyword generator software that follows modern standards (in the AI age) and helps you generate a highly targeted keyword list for your business.
Choosing the right keywords isn’t always easy or intuitive, and you need a lot of data to know if a given keyword is the right one for you. Additionally, you need to keep your domain authority and topic authority in mind when choosing the right keywords for your business.
If you’re completely new to keyword research tools and the keyword research process , here are some past guides that can help you understand the basics:
Fortunately, there are many keyword generator tools that can help you determine which keywords will work best for your overall web strategy.
There are two main types of keyword research tools:
- Basic Keyword Research: Using Seed Keywords to Find Profitable Keywords
- Competitor-based keyword research: Find proven keywords that are helping other websites drive traffic.
Personally, I find competitor-based keyword research to be more effective because the purpose of keyword research is to find profitable keywords.
What could be more profitable than something that’s already working for someone?
All you need to do after that is create a page targeting that profitable keyword and reap the benefits of keyword research.
In this exclusive guide, I cover two types of keyword generator tools.
Most of these keyword research tools are paid, and only a few are free.
Best Keyword Research Tools: 2025 Edition
1. Semrush
“What is the easiest keyword research tool for SEO?”
Answer:
Semrush is not a typical keyword research tool ; it offers much more than just researching keywords.
It allows you to conduct keyword research in a number of ways:
For example:
- Use seed keywords to find keywords
- Find keywords that drive traffic to your competitors
- Keyword Gap Analysis
The simplest feature that I like the most is the ability to find keywords based on URL. All you need to do is add a URL (or a competitor’s URL) and it will show you all of the ranking keywords for that page or the entire site.
In addition to keyword data, you can also see monthly search volume, keyword difficulty, and PPC CPC.
Keyword suggestions are another handy feature of Semrush, which displays “Keyword variations” and “Related keywords.” This can help you discover more search terms that you can target.
This makes it easier for you to find short-tail and long-tail keywords that you can target and beat your competitors . The Keyword Difficulty Score feature will help you identify the low-hanging fruit.
You can get in-depth keyword data such as:
- Keyword traffic
- Keyword Difficulty Score
- Search Engine Reports
- Adsense CPC
- And many other details you need to do keyword research properly.
You also have the option to sort your keyword list based on the Keyword Difficulty Score, which can help you find less competitive keywords and add them to your Keyword Manager for content production with just one click.
It also provides the following features:
- Keyword Manager : This lets you add keywords to your list and view updated data. It helps in better keyword management as you research profitable keywords.
- Keyword Difficulty Tool: View keyword difficulty scores.
- Keyword Clustering – This is a new feature that Semrush has recently added. Using this tool, you can quickly create keyword clusters and gain topic authority.
Semrush is highly recommended and is the number one keyword research tool.
Get a 14-day (completely free) trial of Semrush
2. Keyword Finder
If you’re looking for a tool that focuses entirely on keyword research, KWFinder is your best choice. They are new to the market, but one of the fastest growing SEO tool companies.
KWFinder helps you get keywords that can help you get highly targeted traffic. Using the question-based keyword research option, you can quickly find long-tail keywords related to solving problems. There is no doubt that content that solves problems can help us get more targeted traffic and conversions.
KWFinder offers both free and paid plans. For most users, the Basic plan is best.
However, you can see the effectiveness of the KWFinder keyword research app by using a 10-day free trial account.
Get a 10-day free trial account
3. Keyword Insights (Keyword Research + Clustering)
If you’ve been doing SEO for a while, you probably know that keyword research is more than just finding profitable keywords. You also need to establish relationships between different keywords using a technique called clustering, and you should follow a hub-and-spoke model to gain topical authority.
This new entrant is called Keyword Insights and is a one-stop solution for professional SEOs that helps you do everything you need to research keywords. With Keyword Insights, you can do the following:
- Research Keywords
- Clustering Keywords
- Export keywords and get a hub-and-spoke report on research topics
- Create a content brief and send it to your authors
- Use real-time SEO data for content optimization
Depending on your needs, you can use any of the above features. Since I already have a keyword research tool called Semrush, I usually use Keywordinsights to do keyword clustering and generate hub-and-spoke content strategy reports.
[Get 750 points for just $1](http://127.0.0.1:86/visit/keywordinsights)
4. SE Ranking (Affordable Keyword Research Tool)
If you’re looking for alternatives to Semrush and Ahrefs for keyword research, you’re in luck today — you can find SE Ranking Tool.
SE Ranking offers everything you’d expect from a modern keyword research tool, but it also provides additional features you won’t find in popular tools like Semrush or Ahrefs.
What are these characteristics?
Let's take a look.
Using the SR Ranking tool, you can:
- Single keyword research
- Bulk keyword research
- Keyword Grouping (Clustering)
- Find Keyword Difficulty Score
- Keyword search volume
- Global traffic volume for the keyword (=helps evaluate traffic estimates= )
- Keyword Manager
- historical data
Once you’ve identified the keywords you want to rank for, you can use the SE Ranking Content marketing tool to write and optimize your content.
SE Ranking offers all the features you need, from content research to content production. They offer a variety of plans that are perfect for individuals, freelance SEOs, and agencies. As an agency, you will receive premium support from the SE Ranking team to help you migrate or get started with them.
Overall, if you’re on a budget and looking to start over, SE Ranking has what you need.
Try SE Ranking (free for 14 days)
5. Ahrefs Keyword Explorer Tool
Ahrefs is one of the most popular keyword tools.
What I really like is the thorough details, including keyword difficulty. Ahrefs also uses clickstream data to show how many clicks you’ll get from search engines. You can use the keyword generator tool to generate ideas for Google, Bing, Amazon, YouTube, and other search engines.
This is very useful after the knowledge graph integration because many keywords may have huge traffic, but they hardly get any clicks from search engines. The reason is that they get answers directly from Google search results. An example of such a query is: "date of birth of any celebrity".
Another thing that makes Ahrefs keyword research tool stand out is its excellent user interface and the amount of data it provides. Ahrefs also offers many other features, such as backlink analysis and SEO site audits. You can read a detailed review of Ahrefs here .
You can also create a list of keywords to target right from your Ahrefs dashboard. You don’t have to use Excel, which can save you a ton of time.
[Try Ahrefs for free for 7 days for only $7](http://127.0.0.1:86/visit/ahrefs)
6. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner tool is one of the most used and popular keyword research tools .
The only reason it’s so popular is that it’s free and integrates directly with Google AdWords.
To start using this tool, you need to have an AdWords account (which you can create for free).
- Features: The best feature of the Keyword Planner tool is the in-depth information it provides about Google (the largest search engine).
- Limitations: This is a limitation in a way: if you want to know how your site or a keyword performs on other search engines, you won’t find it here.
- Pricing: Free to use.
The Keyword Planner tool is a great basic tool for the early stages of your website’s SEO.
This is my favorite free tool, but if you need a more detailed and competitive analysis, I recommend using one of the premium tools I’ve listed in this keyword research tool resource.
View Google AdWords Keyword Planner
7. Also Ask: People also ask about keyword research tools
AlsoAsked expands the breadth of your topic research. Using this tool, you can discover a large number of people who also ask questions related to your main keyword. These questions can be further used to create new posts/pages for your business or you can use it as a FAQ to improve your content.
This is a freemium “people also ask” keyword research tool where you can get free research every day or pay for credits to do more research.
8. Keyword Surfer by SurferSEO
Keyword Surfer is a Chrome extension that allows you to view keyword volume and keyword CPC directly on the SERP page. It is a free keyword research Chrome extension provided by SurferSEO, an SEO content optimization tool.
It allows you to discover new search queries using the autocomplete feature of Google Search. Since you can see monthly traffic and related keyword data on the SERP page, it makes it easier to create keyword lists for your projects.
This free tool can be a great complement to other, more feature-rich tools for your content marketing efforts.
This extension will also show you more keyword ideas based on your search, allowing you to discover more profitable keywords.
Install the Keyword Surfer Chrome extension
9. Serpstat
Serpstat is another comprehensive keyword research tool that I recently discovered. They do an amazing job of helping us identify winning keywords.
The Serpstat Keyword Tool provides you with the following details:
- Search volume
- competition
- CPC
- Keyword Difficulty Score
You can choose to search by country in Google.com or Yandex search engine. The Keyword Trends section helps you understand keyword search trends.
The detailed Keyword Difficulty Score section shows the top 10 web pages ranking for that keyword, along with details like Page Rank, external backlinks, and referring domains. This type of data is very useful when you need to assess whether you can rank for a specific keyword.
For those using PPC, the Serpstat keyword research page also shows you which domains are advertising for your target keyword in Serpstat searches and what type of ads they are running. This is not often seen in lists of the best keyword research tools.
Small businesses use Serpstat to research keywords, build new links, and develop a strategic SEO platform.
- Pricing: Serpstat only includes free data with registration.
The monthly price is $19 .
I would not recommend you to pick up all the tools listed above, instead stick to one or two keyword research software and get familiar with their systems.
If you’ve been using the Google Keyword Planner tool for a while, you have a good foundation to start using any of the paid and professional tools listed here. Check out some of these tools and decide which one is best for your business strategy.
10. Bonus: Google Trends
Google Trends is a free keyword research tool that provides a wealth of data straight from Google. You can count on information like keyword popularity, interest by region, and related queries.
You can also compare two or more search queries to see traffic trends. This is the only tool that lets you see keyword popularity in different countries.
Once you know in which region/country your target keyword is popular, you can use other keyword research tools to measure keyword search volume. Overall, this should be a free keyword tool and part of your keyword strategy.
My suggestions:
- If you are looking for a simple yet brilliant solution, choose Semrush .
- If you are researching keywords for a micro-niche site, use KWFinder
Whatever you choose, you can use these SEO keyword generator tools to boost your website’s organic traffic.
FAQ:
How should you use keyword research tools in your organization?
Typically, your SEO staff or content strategist should use the tool to mine and generate new profitable SEO keywords. However, since these tools are easy to use and you know your business well, you may consider using them yourself.
Free Tools vs. Paid Tools: Which KW Tools Should You Consider?
Free KW tools provide limited data that doesn’t reflect the real situation. If you really want to grow your business, you should choose one of the paid tools and experience its benefits for yourself. Most paid KW research tools offer a 7-14 day free trial, which is enough for you to try it out before spending money on it.
How to check traffic for keywords?
Using any of these keyword tools, you can check traffic for any keyword in any geographic location.
Here’s a quick guide to checking keyword traffic using the Semrush tool.
- Log in to your Semrush account
- Click Keyword Overview under Keyword Research
- Add your keywords and select a location
- Click on Search and it will show you the keyword traffic for your target keyword
(See screenshots for better understanding)
What is the best keyword research technique in SEO? There are many techniques for keyword research. In my opinion, " keyword gap analysis " is perhaps the best technique for researching keywords in SEO.
For more information on SEO, check out:
Are you using one of the keyword research tools from the above list? How has your experience been so far? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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