If you've tried to use the free Google Keyword Tool recently, you may have been surprised to discover the following message:
And if this message has caused you fear, trepidation or disillusionment, take a deep breath and keep reading!
There are still lots of good options available to you, so it's no time to panic.
Here are some great free keyword tools you can use in place of the beloved Google Keyword Tool!
4 Free Alternatives for your Keyword ResearchÂ
Below you will find 5 of my favorite keyword research tools, along with the benefits and limitations of each.
Don't forget to leave a comment at the end of this post if I've forgotten your favorite tool!
1. Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is a free keyword tool that relies on Google Suggest and other suggest services.
Intuitive and easy to use, UberSuggest quickly supplies you with hundreds of keyword suggestions related to the keyword or phrase you plug in. In terms of the sheer quantity of suggestions, this is one of my favorites.
While this is an excellent tool for giving loads of extremely relevant keyword suggestions, it's downfall is that it doesn't give you an idea of the competitiveness of a term.
Biggest pro: Heaps and heaps of keyword suggestions
Biggest con: Doesn't indicate level of competition.
2. SEO Book
Powered by data from WordTracker's Keyword Tool, the SEO Book Keyword Tool provides a wealth of data, including daily traffic estimates from WordTracker, Google, Yahoo and Bing, as well as links to various other keyword tools including Google Keyword Planner.
In my tests, SEO Book returned somewhat fewer keyword suggestions than some other tools, however as it also links to various other tools (which you can use for more in-depth research), it's still a handy little tool.
As with most other free keyword tools, SEO Book doesn't give you an idea of the competition surrounding your keywords, and you do need to create a free account to access the tool.
Biggest pro: Links to other keyword research tools (okay, I know you could just go to these urls yourself, but having them provided right on your keyword report is pretty handy!)
Biggest con: Doesn't indicate level of competition.
3. Bing Keyword Research Tool
Based on up to 6 months of search data, this tool pulls it's data from the Bing search engine (in case you hadn't guessed).
After typing in your keyword or phrase, you're given a list of other related keywords, as well as a rather confusing little ‘trend' graph (really helpful if you have the eyesight of say, an eagle).
Keyword suggestions are currently limited to 100, so if you need a more hefty list of suggestions, I'd recommend using a tool like Ubersuggest.
Biggest Pro: Based on actual, historical search data (albeit a smaller sample than Google's)
Biggest Cons: Doesn't indicate level of competition, and you must be signed in AND have verified a website in order to access tool.
4. Google Keyword Planner
In terms of free tools, there's still no beating Google; even with the shift from Google Keyword Tool to Planner.
Offering hundreds of both relevant ad group (for PPC) and keyword suggestions, Keyword Planner offer data such as average monthly search volume, competition, and average cost per click (for AdWords users).
Although there are other free keyword tools that compete in terms of number and quality of keyword suggestions, none of them come to close to Google Planner when it comes to competitive keyword research.
Biggest Pro: Gives an idea of level of competitiveness of keyword.
Biggest Con: You must be signed in to your Google AdWords account.
Final Thoughts
For basic keyword brainstorming, any of the above tools will give you a solid start. But for more in-depth keyword research, I'd recommend using the Google Keyword Planner.
While we know from experience that even Google's own keyword tools aren't entirely accurate in terms of traffic numbers or competition, for a free tool, it's probably your best bet.
So there you have it – My 4 Free Alternatives for Your Keyword Research!
What free (or paid) keyword tool do you use? Would you recommend it? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below!
About Author
Thank you, Kim! You always provide the best help just when I need it!
Hi Kim, I leverage the power of Rank Tracker as part of the SEO Power Suite. I wouldn’t use anything else now. It extracts data from various sources including Wordtracker and Google.
Thank you so much, this article came just in time. I started a new website and wanted to get a good start with my keywords and could not get to the google keyword tool. Great information and it is very helpful, that you posted pros and cons of the different tools.
The Ubersuggest and SEO Book helped me a lot just yesterday I opened this blog. It really helped me, Hope, in the future it helps me. Thanks
And the best one is Long Tail Pro. I am using this tool for the last 3 months and I have made loads of money out of it. I would recommend you to try that. Anyways, Thanks for the article 🙂
ahhh, thanks! Glad you got some value from this one.
Glad to hear you discovered a new tool.
Thanks for the additional resources, Rhea!
Thank’s for the awesome blog, i am fresher seo and i didn’t know how to plan keywords and manage keywords. after reading this blog i am sure i can play best with keywords.
Hello Kim Garst. Thank you for sharing these awesome keyword research tools hope for good results.
Thank you so much for your comment. These tools should help you get your keyword research done. Let us know how you make out once you use them. – Boom Care Squad – Aida
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I find it almost unbelievable that there was a Bing Keyword Research Tool and I was not aware of it. I wonder why it’s such a big secret and not many marketers speak about it. Anyway, I have to check it out as it will be good for my sites that get good traffic from Bing. Thanks for the info.
nice article….. really like it very much…
Extremely educational Post about keywords.. keywords essential word apparatuses that don’t demonstrate the level of rivalry are basically futile as a first line of assault. Ubersuggest is good but however just as a component of your munitions stockpile and research.
i think that all of tools to provide good keywords research to choice suitable keyword for our website but keyword Revealer is one of best 5 keyword research tool.
Thank you. Thanks to the information about the SEO of your I reconstruct and improve my web.
Great post! I’ve been trying many keyword research tools and can say that there’s no single indispensable one that solves everything.
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