Posted by SEO'd in A lot of people ask me about the tools that I use to conduct keyword research for my projects. Keyword research is the most important part of the process of any SEO project. You see, you can master all the ranking factors. You can get all the links in the world, but if you are not targeting the right keywords, you are just not getting the best out of your traffic. Many bloggers, webmasters, and small business owners tend to be cheap when it comes to keyword research tools. People don’t mind paying $30 for a business lunch but paying $30 a month for a premium keyword service suddenly becomes too much to bear. In reality, all webmasters need to take advantage of at least one premium keyword research tool if they truly want to get the best out of their SEO campaigns. With that in mind, here are 8 services that I have used and continue to use for my own SEO projects:
Keyword Discovery: has been one of the best keyword research tools around for years. The data that you can dig up by using this service can help you plan those long-term SEO projects more effectively.
WordTracker: has been around for years. It’s a great tool if you are looking to expand your keyword list and find new keywords to target on your website. Provides you with the means to expand your keyword list and find the keywords that can actually drive traffic. It does differ from KWD as far as its data source is concerned.
Wordze: one of the better “classic” keyword research tools on the market. It tells you what keywords are getting how much traffic. A great way to find those hidden gems and optimize for keywords that are not too tough to get ranked for. I personally love all the convenience of the service. It’s easy to export things and get a decent amount of research done in no time (read Wordze review).
Compete: Compete is not a cheap service by any means. It can cost you a bit of money to get your hands on all the useful information that this service can provide you with. It can tell you how long people have spent on your website, and what keywords have brought you the type of traffic you are looking for.
Keyword Country: this is one of those tools that is not getting too much attention but is very powerful. It’s used by both Adwords and Adsense experts. Great way to put the right foot forward in a new niche.
Keyword Spy: one of the most powerful keyword spying tools on the market. It’s a bit more pricey than SpyFu, but it provides you with a more useful set of data. If you intend to promote affiliate products on your site or just want to find out what keywords people are bidding on, this tool comes in handy. Even if you have one of the first 3 tools on this list, you are still going to need a spying tool to stay on the top of what your competitors are doing.
SpyFu: one of the best tools I have ever tried. Great way to create huge keyword lists from your competitors’ websites. If you are planning to get started in a new niche fast, this tool comes in handy. It does have some small glitches, but SpyFu, SpyFu Kombat, and other keyword tools provided with this service provide you with loads of data to tackle.
Google: if you have reviewed all the above tools and still find them too expensive or don’t see the need for them, you can always rely on Google keywords tool to conduct your keyword research. It may be free, but it’s very powerful.
What’s your favorite keyword research tool?
[...] still believe that you are going to need one of those premium keyword research tools to maximize your SEO efforts. At the same time, Market Samurai is a very interesting tool to try if [...]
[...] are plenty of places to look for new keywords. I have talked about top keyword tools that allow you to dig up keyword ideas fast. But you don’t have to spend money to dig up new [...]