Keyword Research Tools
Last week I told you all about Moz and my introduction to Keyword Research Tools. I imagine many aspiring SEOs and digital marketing professionals like me were thrown right in or started to dabble without a ton of training. No one said – “Eric, you must use these tools”. It was a lot of trial and error I developed some favorites and stumbled upon some hidden gems.
What is a Keyword Research Tool?
A keyword research tool primarily helps you understand how often a word is searched on the internet and how difficult it is to rank at the top of a SERP for the keyword. Many tools integrate pay-per-click cost for the selected keyword.
There are plenty of keyword research tools on the internet. Some are free – but most have a premium or monthly subscription for added features. Although there are keyword research tools that only deliver volume and competition levels – most tools have an abundance of additional features.
How Much Should You Pay for a Keyword Research Tool?
Keyword research tools vary in price – but there are usually options for every budget. Google Ads Keyword Planner is a free option – while other tools can cost several hundred dollars per month. The most important factor in when deciding on a keyword research tool is to determine your frequency of use.
If you are serious about content marketing, it’s pretty important to have a solution. You might go from producing 1-2 blogs per year to 1-2 blogs per month. Most likely you will see website traffic growth. If you focus on specific categories and terms, you can maximize your efforts and really make a dent on the competition.
Depending on your industry and local competition, you could possibly find yourself in a situation where your only hope is to rank for long-tail keywords. This means you could really use (or need) a good keyword research tool.
What Are Some Notable Keyword Research Tools?
Although I would love to go in-depth with every tool, I will give you the basics. We can revisit this topic in the future.
Some of my favorites or tools I’ve used are:
and Ubersuggest.
Ubersuggest – Bonus Listen
The Ubersuggest chrome extension has been the easiest way for me to show clients how important keyword research can be. It’s a simple extension on chrome that displays the top suggested keywords when you use Google.
I’ve had many client calls (on Zoom) where I just share the screen and show them what I am talking about. This free tool is a game changer. I’m also including a quick bonus listen below from Neil Patel (Ubersuggest).
The Premise of Experts on the Wire
The episode I’m recommending this week is an early cut from 2017. Most of the tools and techniques are still available – but the podcast is a bit more polished in 2020.
When I was doing my original research for “keyword research”, the name Dan Shure kept showing up. I actually listened to several interviews with Dan before I put it all together – he was the host of Experts on the Wire. I actually profiled his podcast in February when talking about Google Analytics for SEO.
Dan has a compelling backstory and I buy into his methodology. His podcast features weekly interviews with Digital Marketing and SEO specialists. The featured episode today is a bit rough – but you still get some valuable information.
Why Did I Pick a Podcast about Keyword Research Tools?
Tools make life a lot easier. I am one that loves to try and make everything from scratch. Over time I realized that it’s nice to have a homegrown product but it’s very likely that something out there already exists. That product or technique is probably better.
I’m not saying that you should never try and create something new. I’m saying that you should research for solutions first and add-on if these solutions don’t exactly give you what you want.
Dan’s podcast goes through some very creative ways to use common SEO and Keyword Research tools. Along with one of his co-workers, he discusses how you can:
- Use Wikipedia to find valuable terms.
- Take full advantage of free tools like Google Keyword Planner.
- Find topics and FAQ from Answer the Public.
- Best way to use Google Autosuggest
- Use Bing
The entire article was posted in 2017 on his website. Check out his 12 Keyword Research Tools and Creative Ways to Use Them blog.
The Podcast: “12 Creative Ways to Use My Favorite Keyword Research Tools”
The podcast is full of tips and tricks. At the end things go of the rails a bit (mostly because of background noise). If you don’t want to listen, you can always read his article.
