Best SEO Keyword Research Tools [2023]

SEO keyword research tools are an essential arsenal in the secret toolbox of every SEO. The right keywords can prove to be the deciding factor between an excellent SEO campaign vs a mediocre SEO strategy.

The best SEO keyword tools are highly useful in selecting niche keywords that can drive more traffic and boost sales. However, not all SEO tools available in the market are the same. Every tool offers some unique features so you must select a tool as per your needs and budget.

For example, an SEO newbie should use a free tool to first learn the concept of keyword research and then move towards the paid tools. Similarly, if you are an experienced SEO professional then you must choose a tool that offers a unique set of features depending on your agency needs or freelancing needs.

Here are the top SEO keyword research tools:

SEO Keyword Tool #1 – AnswerThePublic

Question keywords are the most popular form of keywords due to the rise in voice search. AnswerThePublic is an amazing SEO keyword tool that lets you discover hundreds of useful question and answer keyword phrases. The tool auto-completes data from sources like Google and Bing. 

Related: Complete Guide to Voice Search Optimization

Here is how to use AnswerThePublic for performing SEO keyword research:

Click on New Search located in the top navigation bar and enter your main money keyword. For example, I entered “SEO tools”. 

The tool returned a list of top question keywords that people search on Google and other popular search engines related to my search keyword. 

Related: Top Alternative Search Engines Other Than Google

The results are presented under two headings:

• Visualization
• Data

Under visualization, you see results in a visual form as provided below:

The tool was able to find 30 questions related to SEO tools.

AnswerThePublic also has four different tabs, namely – Prepositions, Comparisons, Alphabetical, and Related.

When I click on the Prepositions tab, I can see different searches having prepositions + my search keyword.

Similarly, when I click on the Comparisons tab, I can see the possible keyword variations where a comparison is made.

The Alphabetical tab displays all the Google auto search suggestions related to the keyword in alphabetical order.

The Related tab shows every other possible variation of the target keyword.

The tool offers an easy option to download all the keywords as a CSV file.

There is also an option for pro users to compare data over time and finding new suggestions as per comparison. For example, you can compare any previous keyword report with the current data.

AnswerThePublic Pricing

The tool lets you conduct three searches a day for free. If you wish to search more then, you need to opt for the paid plans.

Here are the paid plans offered by AnswerThePublic:

For pro membership, you have to pay $99 per month, or you can opt for the annual plan by paying $948 a year ($79/month).

With the pro plan, you will get the following benefits:

• Unlimited searches
• Comparison of data over time
• Export features
• Unlimited users
• Special educational package

SEO Keyword Tool #2 – Ahrefs

Ahrefs is yet another popular keyword research tool in the SEO industry. With Ahrefs free tool, you can search for keywords on four search engines, including Google, Bing, YouTube, and Amazon. I have included Ahrefs on this list because it is easy and free to use tools.

Related: Ahrefs vs SEMrush vs Ubersuggest

Here is how to use Ahrefs for performing SEO keyword research:

Its simple user interface makes it the best tool; you just need to enter your keyword in the given search box, as illustrated in the below image.

After clicking on “Find Keywords,” you will see many relevant keyword ideas similar to the below image. You can switch between phrase match or question keywords.

You will only be able to see KD (Keyword Difficulty) of only the first ten keywords. To see KD’s of all the keywords, you need to buy Ahrefs.

Ahrefs Pricing

Ahrefs is a free tool, but the free version will only display 100 keywords. To use Ahrefs keyword explorer with lots of other features, you need to purchase the tool. Ahrefs offers four different pricing plans:

• Lite: $99 a month
• Standard: $179 a month
• Advanced: $399 a month
• Agency: $999 a month

You can also sign up for ahrefs trial period for 7-Days, and it will cost you $7.

SEO Keyword Tool #3 – Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a well-known keywords research tool provided by Neil Patel. Ubersuggest is one of the best alternatives to Google Keywords Planner because both tools are free and best in the industry.

Related: Ubersuggest Keyword Tool Review

Here is how to use Ubersuggest for performing SEO keyword research:

When it comes to the UI/UX, Ubersuggest offers the best UI because it’s very simple to use for even beginners. Just enter the keyword and click on the search button, as shown in the image below.

On the next screen, you will see the results like search volume, SEO & Paid difficulty, and CPC (Cost Per Click). 

By just scrolling down a little bit, you can see the mobile vs. desktop traffic comparison chart.

You can now see the related keywords by clicking on “Keywords Ideas” from the left-hand side navigation.

After clicking, Ubersuggest will display all the keywords similar to the searched keyword, as shown in the image below. You can switch between suggestions, related, questions, prepositions, and comparison tabs available on the same screen.

You can see the SERP results on Google with estimated visitors, links, domain scores, and social shares for each page on the right-hand side.

Related: How To Check Google Rankings

You can also copy and export the keyword list in a CSV format for future use.

Ubersuggest Pricing

Ubersuggest is free to use the tool. However, if you need more features like site audit, competitor analysis, and backlink checker, you must purchase the premium plan. It offers three different pricing plans.

• Individual: $12 per month
• Business: $20 per month
• Enterprise: $40 per month

With all plans, you get a 7-Day free trial.

SEO Keyword Tool #4 – SEMrush

SEMrush is a popular SEO tool that provides an all-in-one marketing toolkit, including advanced keywords research tools. You can use it for all your marketing needs, such as competitor analysis, keywords research, content marketing, social media marketing, etc.

Related: SEMrush Review

How to use SEMrush for performing SEO keyword research:

Follow the below steps:

Step 1: Visit SEMrush and enter your email and password. Click on the register button given below. You also have the option to register via Google.

Step 2: Click on skip trial and skip other steps.

Step 3: On the next screen, click on the “Keyword Magic Tool” from the left navigation.

Step 4: Enter your keyword in the search box and click “Search.”

SEMrsuh will display the results on the next screen, as shown in the image below.

Here, you can see tons of keyword ideas with search volume, keywords trend, KD (keyword difficulty), CPC, and a number of results. SEMrush provides various filters to use:

• You can switch between broad, phrase, exact and related match keywords

• You have advanced filters like include and exclude keywords, and you can specify word count, search volume, KD, CPC, and other.

• You can also find question keywords by clicking on the “Questions tab.”

• On the left-hand side, you can see an option using which you can filter the keywords list as per your requirement.

Related: SE Ranking vs. SEMrush: Which Is Best?

SEMrush Pricing

SEMrush Offers a seven-day free trial. After the trial period, you need to choose between any of the paid plans:

• Pro: $99 per month
• Guru: $199 per month
• Business: $399 per month

SEO Keyword Tool #5 – Wordtracker

Wordtracker is the best free SEO tool coms with competitor’s keywords analysis. The Wortracker provides keywords for sources, Google, eBay, Amazon, and YouTube.

How to use Wordtracker for performing SEO keyword research:

To new keyword ideas, type your seed keyword in the search box and hit “Search.”

After some seconds, Wordtracker returned a list of best question keywords that people search on Google and other popular search engines.

As you can see, you have some excellent options on the screen:

• You can switch between Google, Amazon, YouTube, and eBay.

• Next, you can save or export the results of your keywords for future use.

• On the right side, you will get some options like you can include any specific keyword and can exclude any key terms which you don’t want to include in your keywords list. Just below that, you will have an option to save keywords to a list. To use this feature, just click on keywords, and they will automatically add the list.

Wordtracker Pricing

It is a free tool for up to 10 searches only with only 32 keyword results. If you wish to search more, Wordtracker comes with three pricing plans:

• Bronze: $27/month
• Silver: $69/month
• Gold: $99/month

You can also choose a 7-day trial to test the tool.

SEO Keyword Tool #6 – Moz

Moz offers a database of 500 Million search queries. With this tool, you can do in-depth keywords analysis in just a few minutes.

Related: What is Moz Spam Score? Complete Guide

How to use Moz for performing SEO keyword research:

You have to create a new account to start using this tool. You can follow the below steps for the registration process:

Step 1: Click on “Create an account.”

Step 2: On the next screen, fill all the details like email, name, and password, then click on the register button.

Step 3: After clicking on the button, you need to verify your account via a link sent to your email address.

Step 4: After successful activation, click on the Moz Pro>Keyword Explorer from the top menu, as shown in the image below.

You can now start your keyword research, just enter the keyword in the search box, and hit “Analyze,” as shown in the image below.

Now, it will display results in having tons of related keywords ideas. You can see monthly search volume, difficulty, organic CTR, keywords suggestions, and SERP analysis for the provided keywords.

To see all the keywords suggestion, just click on the “See all suggestion” link below:

Here, you will find hundreds of similar keywords with all the matrices such as volume, relevancy, etc. You can also apply filters to your keywords list and export it to a CSV file.

Moz Pricing

Moz offers a 30-day free trial. Under the free option, you can perform ten searches per month. Moz also has four different pricing plans:

• Standard: $99 per month
• Medium: $149 per month
• Large: $249 per month
• Premium: $599 per month

SEO Keyword Tool #7 – Soovle

Soovle is a very simple and easy to use SEO keyword research tool. Using this tool, you can find relevant keywords in Google, Wikipedia, Amazon, Answers, YouTube, Bing, and Yahoo. The best part is that you will get all these keyword suggestions on a single page, as shown in the image below.

Related: Amazon SEO: Complete Guide

You can also export the keywords in a CSV format by clicking on the export icon.

Soovle Pricing: 

Soovle is free to use.

SEO Keyword Tool #8 – Keyword Keg

Keyword Keg is one of the best keyword research tool which supports 11 APIs, including Google, Bing, Amazon, and others. It is a great keyword research tool for both freelancers and agencies. 

According to Keyword Keg, it offers five different tools in a single package:

• Find Keywords Tool: You can enter up to 30 keywords at once and get keywords suggestions from 11 various APIs.

• Import Keywords Tool: You can import your keywords list and get quick metrics. You can import keywords list generated from SEO tools such as Ahrefs, Google search console, and other tools.

• Related Keywords Tool: You can also see the related keywords and the search volume, and other search metrics.

• “People Also Ask For” Keywords Tool: With this, you can search for keywords that come under “People Also Ask For” displayed on Google SERP results.

• Merge Words Tool: With this option, you can enter any keywords and generate different combinations from these keywords.

How to use Keyword Keg for performing SEO keyword research:

First, you have to enter your seed keyword in the search bar and click on the search icon.

As you can see in the image above, you will see some options and filters:

• Countries: You can select global or any specific countries. The tool supports seven countries, including the US, UK.
• APIs: This option allows you to add your desired search engine; it supports Google, Bing, Amazon, Ask, and many others.
• Result Type: In this option, you can select which type of keywords you want in results like questions, comparisons, etc. Here I include all of them.

Keyword Keg comes with an excellent feature that I like to use, and the feature is “Strict Mode.” With this mode, you will get the exact match keywords to your phrase. Just click on the “Strict Mode” checkbox to use this feature, as shown in the image below. You can also enable strict mode, which only shows the exact results as your keyword.

The tool returned a list of top keywords that people search on Google and other popular search engines related to my search keyword.

As you can see, you will get keywords, search volume, CPC, keyword competition, on & off-page difficulty, and keyword trends.

Keyword Keg comes with features like you can enter up to 30 keywords at once, export list in CSV, Excel, and PDF format.

Keyword Keg Pricing

This tool only shows three keywords for free. If you want to see more results, then you can purchase their premium subscription.

Keyword Keg comes with four pricing plan:

• SEO Freelancer: $38 per month
• SEO Consultant: $76 per month
• SEO Expert: $194 per month
• SEO Agency: $762 per month

SEO Keyword Tool #9 – LSIGraph

LSIGraph is a popular SEO keyword research tool. LSI stands for “Latent Semantic Indexing). 

LSI keywords are keywords that are related to your primary keyword.

Here is how you can use LSIGraph for SEO keyword research:

It is very simple to use; just enter your main keyword in the box and click on the “Generate” button.

 

The tool will return a list of keyword suggestions, as shown in the below image:

You can see the tool returns tons of LSI keywords. You can see a keywords list on the left-hand side, and on the right-hand side, you can see top-performing content for that keyword.

With this tool, you can also change the country and export the keywords list, but these features are available on a paid plan. 

LSIGraph Pricing

LSIGraph is a free tool to use, allowing users to search up to 3 times per day. The tool also comes with three standard pricing plans:

• Basic, $27 per month
• Premium: $37 per month
• Agency: $54 per month

SEO Keyword Tool #10 – KeywordTool.io

KeywordTool.io is an excellent alternative to Google Keyword Planner. The tool provides up to 750+ long-tail keywords for free, even without creating an account.

How to use KeywordTool.io for SEO keyword research:

First, you need to type your keyword in the given search box and click on the search icon. There are tons of filtering options that come with this tool. For example, you can search the top keywords in Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, Instagram, and Twitter.

Related: YouTube Keyword Research Tools

When you click on the search icon, the tool loads results with hundreds of keyword opportunities.

KeywordTool.io returns three types of keywords, i.e., Unique keywords, Question Keywords, and Propositions.

Besides, you can also filter your results by adding specific search terms within the search results.

You can also add up to five negative keywords.

However, you need to buy a pro subscription to get data related to search volume, CPC, and keywords competition.

KeywordTool.io Pricing

KeywordTool.io is free to use for everyone, but it will only display keywords, not search volume and other data. The tool offers three pricing plans:

• Pro Basic: $69 per month
• Pro Plus: $79 a month
• Pro Business: $159 a month

With all plans, KeywordTool.io offers a 30-Day money-back guarantee.

SEO Keyword Tool #11 – SpyFu

SpyFu is one of the popular keyword tools for PPC research, but it also offers valuable keyword data for SEO.

How to use SpyFu for SEO keyword research:

To start using SpyFu, type your keyword in the search box and click on the search icon.

The tool will display results, as shown in the image below. 

You can see monthly search volume, similar keywords, and question keywords.

Apart from this, you also get some extra information like:

• Estimated clicks for keywords.

• Comparison of mobile vs. desktop.

• Keyword difficulty.

You can also click on the “Related Keywords” tab to see keywords similar to your searched keyword.

SpyFu Pricing

SpyFu offers three pricing plans:

• Basic: $39 per month
• Professional: $79 per month
• Team: $299 per month

SEO Keyword Tool #12 – Keyword Tool Dominator

Keyword Tool Dominator is an underestimated keywords research tool with the best industry features. You can search for keywords on Google, Amazon, Bing, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, and YouTube. 

Related: SE Ranking Review: Most Underrated SEO Tool

How to use Keyword Tool Dominator for SEO keyword research:

Type your keyword in the search box and hit on the search icon, as shown in the image below. You can also select a country of your choice.

The tool returns a list of the top keywords based on your searched term.

You can filter the results like adding specific search terms, adding negative keywords, word count, etc.

Keyword Tool Dominator Pricing

The tool is free to use for up to two searches per day. However, it offers a premium plan for unlimited searches that costs you $44 one time fees for a lifetime.

SEO Keyword Tool #13 – Keyword Finder

Keyword Finder lets you search unlimited keywords for free. You can search for keywords as many times as you want each day.

Here is how to use Keyword Finder for SEO keyword research:

It’s very simple to use; you just need to type the keyword (you can add up to 10 keywords at a time) and click on the “Find Keywords” button, as shown in the image below.

After a few seconds, you will see lots of useful keyword ideas.

As you can see in the above image, the tool generated 204 keyword ideas, and the best part is that you get all these keywords for free. 

You also get basic filters like search volume, CPC, competition, and negative keywords filtering in this tool.

You can also copy or export your keyword list to PDF, Excel, and CSV.

Keyword Finder Pricing

As I have already said, it’s completely free to use.

SEO Keyword Tool #14 – QuestionDB

QuestionDB is another useful tool for researching question-related keywords. You can say that QuestionDB is a nice alternative to AnswerThePublic. 

Here is how to use QuestionDB for SEO keyword research

First, you need to type your subject and click on “Generate,” as shown in the image below.

After submitting your request, it will display the question keywords related to your search query.

As you can see in the image, the tool returns 83 keywords related to our subject. You also have an option to show the source link, which you can enable via checking the box as below:

To download the keywords list, you need to purchase this tool.

QuestionDB Pricing

QuestionDB is free to use for up to 10 searches per day. The free version shows just ten keywords.

To see the complete list of keywords, you need to purchase the tool that costs you $10 per month. Pro subscription will allow you to perform unlimited searches with unlimited keywords.

SEO Keyword Tool #15 – KWFinder

KWFinder is the best tool for finding long-tail keywords with low SEO difficulties. It is provided by Mangools. It comes with extraordinary features like hidden keywords, local keywords research, and many others that make it a value for the money SEO tool.

How to use KWFinder for performing SEO keyword research:

Step 1: Visit the site and create an account.

Step 2: Enter your email, password, complete the human check verification, and click on “Create my Mangools Account.”

Step 3: Now, you need to confirm your account via the link sent to your email.

Step 4: After successfully activating your account, you see a message similar to the image below, which means that you have successfully unlocked a 10-day free trial. Click on continue to the dashboard.

Step 5: On your Dashboard, click on “Start with keyword research.”

Step 6: After clicking, a new window will open where you have two options, either enter the keyword or search by the domain name. Here I am using the first option, which is “Search by Keyword.” Now enter the keyword and select your country & language, and finally hit on “Find Keywords.”

Now, it will display tons of relevant keywords. On the left-hand side, you will see a keyword list.

And on the right-hand side, you have keyword difficulty, search volume, and SERP results.

With KWFinder, you can also find questions and autocomplete keywords, as shown in the image below.

You also have lots of filters to apply on your keyword list to make it better.

KWFinder Pricing

KWFinder offers a free trial period for only 10-days, but you need to buy the premium plan after the trial period. It offers three pricing plans mentioned below:

• Basic: $29.91 per month
• Premium: 35.91 per month
• Agency: $71.91 per month

SEO Keyword Tool #16 – SEObook Keyword Tool

SEObook Keyword Tool is fast, free, and more detailed compared to other tools. According to SEObook, it is the best alternative to Google’s Keywords Planner.

How to use the SEObook Keyword Tool for performing SEO keyword research:

To use this tool, you need to create an account. Below I have provided a step-by-step registration guide.

Step 1: Open the website and click on the “Sign Up” button.

Step 2: Enter your email address and a username and click on “Claim Your Free Tools.”

Step 3: Now, you have to activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent to your email address.

Step 4: After successful signup, login to your account.

Step 5: After that, you need to enter the main keyword and hit “Submit.”

You can now see lots of keyword ideas with details such as search volume, impression, clicks, CTR, and other metrics.

The tool will show results for both the US and the UK audience.

SEObook Keyword Tool Pricing

The tool is a completely free tool to use.

SEO Keyword Tool #17 – Jaaxy

Jaaxy is an advanced keyword research tool, with over 500 million keywords database all over the world. Jaax also helps you in doing competitor research.

How to use Jaaxy for performing SEO keyword research:

Before using Jaaxy, you need to create a new account. Follow the below steps to register for the tool.

Step 1: Open the tool on your browser.

Step 2: Enter your name, email, and password then click on register.

Step 3: Now, on the next screen, you can see a search box where you have to type your keyword similar to the image below.

The tool will now display the results, including keywords with searches, traffic, difficulty, and other essential matrices.

Jaaxy Pricing

Jaaxy is a free tool with up to 30 searches for new users. To search more, you need to purchase the premium plan. It offers two pricing plans:

• Pro: $49 per month
• Enterprise: $99 per month

Conclusion

SEO keyword too selection is your own personal choice. Note down your needs and budget before investing in any tool.

Most of the advanced tools will ask for your credit card information before you start using them even though they claim to be free for the first few days.

However, the paid tools are the ones that offer the maximum information for selecting the finest keywords. Start with the basic free tools and then as you gain experience and get hold on your concepts, move on with a paid tool.

Which SEO keyword tool do you like the most? Let me know in the comment below.