While there are a plenty of keyword research tools available to help you identify the most relevant keywords for your webpage, website, very few of them deliver the correct and best results. Although, SEO has changed a lot in the past few years; there are a few things that have stuck around.
Content, as you will always hear, is the king. However, the foundation of that content usually comes down to you shaping it around a certain topic. Those topics around which you build your content around are called Keywords.
After Google’s algorithm updates, people wondered if keywords and keyword research are still important. The simple answer to this?
Yes, keywords are still important. Why? Because they help to categorize what your website and post are going to be.
For example, a broad keyword like WordPress Themes tells people and Google that you’re going to be talking about well, WordPress Themes.
Choosing a more specific keyword, or long tail keywords as they are often referred to, help to zoom in a specific area within the keyword mentioned above:
- Best WordPress Blogging Themes
- How to Choose a Free WordPress Theme
- The Top WordPress Theme Shops
This list could go on and on, but the point is that these topics are something that someone would likely type in the search engine. This search makes them long tail keywords that you can target to provide them with the content they want while helping yourself move up the page on Google.
Knowing what your audience is searching for, crafting the information they desire and delivering it to them is a huge plus for any business. But just how do you go about finding the keywords to shape your post around?
Thankfully, there are tools — both free and paid for — that can help you do keyword research that will help you with your SEO efforts.
Google Keyword Planner Tool
If wasn’t enough to say that Google likes keywords, then Google’s Keyword Planner Tool should put your mind at ease a bit. I mean, why would Google offer the option to research Keywords, their search volume, and competition if she would punish people for using them?
The Keyword Planner Tool by Google offers the basics of keyword research:
- Search a general phrase or broad keyword
- Narrow in and a target audience (location, language, search engine, etc.)
- Search multiple keywords at once and see the average monthly search for them
- Save the keywords you think you may want to target
The depth of information you get with this tool is marginal when compared to others on this list. But it does give you something to work with and the power to see just what you’re audience is interested these days.
And free ain’t bad.
KeywordXP Pro
KeywordXP Pro is a keyword research tool that takes things to the next level. It does just about everything the Google Keyword Planner does only better, and it offers even more features that make finding the perfect keywords super easy.
Here are some features in KeywordXP Pro:
- Blog Post Title Generator | Take a keyword, click a button and then have 100 viral type headlines generated to choose from and use in your next blog post.
- Find Long Tail Keywords from Other Sources | Google isn’t the only popular search engine. Sites like Amazon and YouTube are also considered search engines that work with their own database to deliver content based on search terms. Using this software, you can see popular long tail search terms from Google, Amazon, YouTube and many more in order to find that golden egg of a keyword.
- Find Exact Match Keyword Variations | Type on your general keyword idea and sit back as the software kicks up hundreds of keyword variations that may be a better keyword selection.
- Search Volume | Eye an eagle eye view of how popular a search term is and when so that you can plan posts around certain times of the year or ditch an idea that doesn’t see much action.
Overall, the software is very impressive, and it is even the one that is used here on DealFuel. The price for this tool runs close to $150, but DealFuel has a deal running that slashes that price to less than half. And if you’re a DealClub Member, then the price is only $19.
Hurry and grab a copy before it’s gone for good!
Long Tail Pro
Another great keyword tool (and one that I personally use) is Long Tail Pro from the mind of Spencer Haws of Niche Pursuits.
Spencer built the software as a way to simplify his keyword research efforts so that he could get more done in less time, which is exactly how the tool works.
Using Long Tail Pro, you can create campaigns based off of seed keywords (general keywords), see who is dominating page one and other features like their page rank, authority, domain age and similar features to see if it’s worth the effort to try and outrank them.
Here are some of the other features that Long Tail Pro has to offer:
- Generate around 800 keywords per seed keyword your enter
- Google and Bing title competition
- Pre-filter your results to cut down on research time
- Calculate keyword competitiveness
You can try the software out 10 days for free, and then the price goes up to $97 (one-time fee) for the Pro version or $97 + $17 per month for the additional features.
The software is easy to use and also comes with videos and documentation help you understand how it works and how to find the best low competition keywords.
Wrapping It Up
Keyword Research is a great way of taking the guesswork out of your SEO and content efforts. It takes a bit of time to learn the art of targeting the best ones, but it’s never too late to start finding those money makers out there.
These three tools can help you save time and effort in the long run. Though Google Keyword Planner is a great research tool to fall back on, it would be worth your money investing in something more robust.
If I had any advice, it would be to sign up for the DealClub and spend less than $20 on KeywordXP Pro before the deal goes bye-bye. If you like the idea of Long Tails Pro, then sign up for the free trial and give it a test run before you opt in to buying it.
Do you have a keyword research tool or method that you like to utilize? Let us know!
