10 Best Google Keyword Planner Alternatives To Try in 2023

Google Keyword Planner alternatives take your keyword research to the next level. They often provide enhanced analytics and more detailed data, as well as deeper insights to better develop marketing strategies.

And while Google Keyword Planner is an effective tool for SEO and PPC campaigns, it’s not your only option. There are plenty of search engine optimization programs that can cater to the specific budgets, functionality, and goals of businesses.

So, if you’ve taken this popular tool as far as it can go, or if you’re looking for a more specialized solution, here are the best 10 Google Keyword Planner alternatives to consider.

10 Google Keyword Planner Alternatives For SEO Success

These are some of the most well-known and highly recommended keyword planners that improve your Google keyword ranking:

1. SEMRush: Best Overall Google Keyword Planner Alternative

SEMRush offers a comprehensive range of SEO tools, including the Keyword Magic Tool for advanced keyword research, site audits for identifying SEO issues, and competitive analysis to track competitors’ keywords and strategies.

Here’s why SEMRush is an excellent Google Keyword Planner alternative:

• Competitor Analysis: Unlike Google Keyword Planner, SEMRush offers in-depth competitor analysis, allowing users to see the keywords competitors are ranking for, their backlink strategies, and even their advertising activities.
• SEO Integration: SEMRush integrates keyword research with other SEO tasks like site audits and backlink analysis, providing a more holistic approach to SEO compared to the more PPC-focused Google Keyword Planner.
• Content Marketing Tools: SEMRush goes beyond keywords and PPC to offer tools for content marketing, which is not a focus of Google Keyword Planner.
• User-Friendly Interface: Many users find SEMRush’s interface more user-friendly and easier to navigate, especially when dealing with complex data sets.
• Historical Data and Trends: SEMRush provides historical data and trend analysis for keywords, which can be crucial for long-term SEO and content planning.

Additionally, SEMRush supports content and social media marketing, as well as PPC campaign optimization, making it a versatile tool for digital marketers. Our SEMRush review breaks down even more features and benefits if you’re interested in trying this powerful program.

2. Keysearch: Most Affordable Paid Plan

As a blogger or niche site owner, Keysearch is an excellent choice for your keyword research needs. It’s more affordable than other Google Keyword Planner alternatives yet delivers comprehensive features that make it stand out.

This tool not only provides keyword data and long tail keyword suggestions but also offers competitor analysis, domain overview, rank tracking, YouTube research, and a content assistant.

Here are a few features that make Keysearch a comprehensive keyword analysis tool:

• Broad Keyword Research: Find up to 700 related keywords with a single seed keyword.
• Difficulty Score: Evaluate the competitiveness of each keyword.
• Search Volume Data: Understand the popularity of each keyword.
• SERP Analysis: Get insights into search engine results page trends.

Keysearch offers a database of over 1 billion keywords. The tool gives you a color-coded difficulty score for each keyword, making it easy to identify low-competition keywords. You can also view search volume data and SERP analysis for the past 12 months, providing valuable context for your keyword strategy.

As mentioned in our Keysearch review, what sets this keyword research tool apart is its user-friendly approach and its affordable price. Despite its user-friendly nature and pricing, Keysearch still offers a wide range of advanced features for expert SEOs.

3. Ahrefs: An SEO Industry Standard

If you’re an entrepreneur stepping up your SEO game, Ahrefs is your go-to tool. It’s an industry standard, offering a full suite of services that go beyond Google Keyword Planner.

With Ahrefs, not only can you conduct keyword research and backlink analysis, but you also gain access to historical data and trend analysis for keywords.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can accomplish with an Ahrefs plan:

• Comprehensive keyword tools and strategies
• Detailed keyword difficulty score
• In-depth backlink analysis
• Site audits
• Competitor analysis
• Content marketing tools

Ahrefs excels in providing keyword metrics and analysis, helping you understand the competitive landscape. Whether you’re searching for a keyword phrase or using free tools, Ahrefs offers a user-friendly interface and customizable reporting options.

As mentioned in our Ahrefs review, it can be quite costly to invest in this popular keyword generator. Therefore, it’s best for those who are managing multiple SEO projects in one place or organizations with healthy cash flow.

4. Keyword Tool.io: Best Free Google Keyword Planner Alternative

Looking for a free alternative to Google Keyword Planner? Keywordtool.io is a great choice. This free keyword tool scrapes suggestions from Google, YouTube, Bing, and Amazon, providing a range of long-tail keywords that other tools like Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner may miss.

Here’s what you get:

• Hundreds of suggested keywords for free
• Localized targeting with filtering by country or language
• Keywords can be downloaded as an Excel or CSV file
• Responsive customer service team

However, to access search volume estimations and additional features, you’ll need a paid plan. You can still use this free keyword research tool to optimize your content across various platforms and enhance your SEO strategy.

As you can see in our comprehensive Keywordtool.io review and walkthrough, this program is also more straightforward to use than Google’s keyword planner, making it a great tool for beginners.

5. Mangools: Most Beginner-Friendly Keyword Research Suite

If you’re a blogger, affiliate marketer, SME, or SEO agency looking for an easy-to-use SEO toolkit, Mangools could be your ideal choice. Compared to Google Keyword Planner, it offers a more intuitive design and a wider range of features.

Mangools is one of the best Google Keyword Planner Alternatives, offering a more robust version of similar features, including:

• Comprehensive keyword research tool
• Competitor analysis
• Backlink tracking
• Rank tracking
• SERP analysis

Mangools’ SERPChecker provides valuable insights such as keyword difficulty, page authority, and metrics comparison. It shows what search results look like for specific keywords and how your page might rank.

KWFinder aggregates all crucial data related to keywords, which, when combined with other tools like SERPChecker and LinkMiner, gives you a comprehensive picture.

Whether you’re brainstorming keyword ideas or analyzing search volume, Mangools provides a user-friendly interface that allows you to share information directly with team members and clients.

6. Longtail Pro: Great for Finding Niche-Specific Keywords

Founded by Niche Pursuits’ Spencer Haws, Longtail Pro simplifies keyword research and offers unique features that set it apart from competitors like Google Ads Keyword Planner.

Longtail Pro specifically targets long tail keywords, which are longer and more specific keyword phrases that users may search for. These are helpful because they typically have lower competition and higher conversion rates.

Some strengths of this program include:

• A detailed keyword competitiveness score (KC)
• Real-time rank-tracking
• Excellent training videos for newcomers

The KC score is a game-changer, providing a quick assessment of how difficult it is to rank for a specific keyword. The Rank Tracker keeps tabs on your keywords’ performance in search engines, offering valuable insights into their progress over time. To top it off, Long Tail Pro includes a free SEO video course, great for beginners aiming to master keyword analysis and selection.

Whether you’re searching for long-tail keywords, analyzing monthly search volume data, or hunting for the best keyword research tools, Long Tail Pro is a reliable choice.

7. Keyword Insights: Best For Keyword Brainstorming and Clustering

Keyword Insights, developed by seasoned SEO professionals Andy Chadwick and Suganthan Mohanadasann, is a potent tool for those involved in content creation and SEO. It’s particularly useful when you’re brainstorming keyword ideas, clustering them into topics, and crafting detailed content briefs.

Compared to Google Keyword Planner, Keyword Insights not only provides similar functionality but also adds extra value with its unique features. Some of these features include:

• Comprehensive Keyword Discovery: Generates thousands of related terms and keyword ideas from a single seed keyword in moments
• Intelligent Keyword Clustering: Allows grouping of similar target keywords on a page so users can create comprehensive content outlines and strategies.
• Keyword Distill: This keyword tool simplifies competitor analysis in a clear and actionable format

The program also offers a variety of SERP, competitor, and content tools that are infused with AI and machine learning capabilities.

Its user-friendly interface and quick operation make it easy to use, and the company offers a 4-day trial for $1. This should be enough time to fully explore the keyword tool and decide if it’s a good fit for you.

8. Surfer SEO: Great for Optimizing Content with Secondary Keywords

Surfer SEO, unlike Google Keyword Planner and other keyword tools, offers an advanced approach to SEO optimization. Ideal for SEO professionals and content creators, it provides a comprehensive suite of tools that analyze and compare your content against top-ranking pages in search engines.

Unlike the Google Ads platform, Surfer SEO goes beyond the basics of keyword popularity and difficulty. It scrutinizes over 500 on-page signals, including text length, meta tag structure, and keyword density, to deliver data-driven insights. This allows you to prioritize keywords effectively and devise powerful keyword strategies.

Here are the basic features of Surfer SEO for creating keyword strategies:

• SERP Analyzer: Analyzes the top-ranking pages for a specific keyword so you can emulate competitors
• Content Editor: Helps create SEO-friendly content with the support of AI writing features
• Audit: Evaluate your page’s SEO performance in order to make well-informed improvements

To use SurferSEO, feed the program a primary keyword. The program will suggest secondary keywords for you to include in your content. This helps optimize your page’s rankings by giving search engines more context about what your content is about.

It saves you the time and hassle of manually researching keywords. And its AI-driven functionality ensures you’re using the right keywords for your content.

9. Moz: Powerful Local SEO Capabilities

Moz is a comprehensive SEO toolkit designed not only to enhance your website’s visibility, rankings, and sales but also to boost your local SEO.

With its Moz Local feature, it helps you accurately create and manage your local business listings on Google, Facebook, and other sites. This makes it easier for consumers to find and choose your business.

Moz is one of the most popular Google Keyword Planner alternatives for the following notable

• Keyword Explorer: Access to over 500 million keywords
• Detailed Keyword Data: Monthly volume, keyword difficulty, organic CTR, and SERP analysis
• Spam Score: Identifies potential spam links on your website
• Moz Local: Optimizes your local business listings

Beyond finding the right keywords, Moz offers detailed keyword data that aids in managing topics and prioritizing keywords effectively. It might take some time to figure out all of its functionality initially, as many customers say the program is complex. But once mastered, it’s an invaluable keyword tool in your SEO arsenal.

10. Word Stream: A Simple and Easy-to-use Option

WordStream’s Free Keyword Suggestion Tool is an invaluable resource for digital marketers and SEO professionals. It provides a comprehensive array of keyword data, including search volume, Cost Per Click (CPC), and competition level.

This tool is designed to help paid search marketers gain industry-specific insights and perform thorough keyword analysis to inform their PPC campaigns.

Key features of this free keyword tool include:

• Comprehensive Keyword Suggestions: Get a wealth of keyword suggestions by simply entering a keyword or URL.
• Industry-Specific Data: Gain competitive insights tailored specifically to your business sector.
• CSV Download: Conveniently download your keyword list in CSV format for easy uploading to Google Ads or Bing Ads.

This tool stands out from the rest by sourcing its data directly from the Google and Bing keyword research APIs. You can filter your keyword results by industry, location, and country to make them more relevant to your specific needs. Therefore, this makes it an excellent tool for both PPC and SEO keyword research.

The Bottom Line: 10 Best Google Keyword Planner Alternatives

There are plenty of Google Keyword Planner alternatives to choose from, but the right fit depends on your specific needs and budget. Take the time to assess the features of each tool and determine which one aligns with your goals.

With the right keyword tool in hand, you’ll have the power to boost your website’s visibility, rankings, and ultimately drive more traffic and sales. So give a few of these keyword research tools a try and watch your results soar.