Finding targeted traffic makes keyword research a critical component of success in affiliate marketing. Using keywords effectively can bolster your SEO strategy and help you earn more from affiliate commissions. This guide will explore some of the best keyword research tools for affiliate marketers, highlighting their features and advantages.
This will help you discover high-search-volume keywords or niche-specific keywords that can heavily impact your campaigns by driving specific traffic with more chances of converting.
Best Keyword Research Tools
There are many keyword research tools out there; however, we’ve compiled a list of the most popular and widely used tools.
1. Google Keyword Planner
As the name suggests, Google Keyword Planner emerged from none other than Google itself. This platform is super valuable for advertisers and affiliate marketers alike allowing them to optimize marketing strategies effectively.
The tool offers insights into keyword suggestions along with details on search volumes and competition levels while also estimating bidding costs. You can enter either seed keywords that you’d like to target or a website URL to generate a variety of keyword ideas and also evaluate if they’re worth giving a shot.
Price:
Google Keyword Planner is free. You only need a Google Ads account to use it.
Key Features:
- Keyword Suggestions – helpful keyword ideas based on what your audience has already been searching for.
- Trends in Search Volume – allows you to discover trends in search volume.
- Competition Insights – shows you how competitive each keyword is so that you can evaluate the keyword difficulty level.
- Location and Language Targeting – lets you narrow down results to certain locations and languages.
2. Semrush
Semrush is one of the best SEO tools there are, and it’s packed with great keyword research features and much, much more. It provides robust information regarding search frequency, keyword competitiveness, CPC (cost-per-click), and SERPs (search engine result pages) analysis. In addition, Semrush also offers advanced features like analyzing your competition and domain comparisons to further simplify your research process.
Price:
Starts at $139 per month for small businesses and goes up to $499 per month for enterprises.
Key Features:
- Keyword Difficulty Score – Evaluates how competitive a keyword is.
- Competitor Keyword Research – Find the key terms your competitors are ranking for.
- Keyword Management – Keeps all keywords in one place and also tracks their performance.
- Backlink Analysis – Offers great insights into domain authority and backlinks.
3. Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer is known as the most extensive keyword database. It offers keyword difficulty, monthly search volume, search engine result pages (SERPs) analysis, and clicks for a certain keyword. Based on gaps in your competitors’ content, it also suggests keywords to create content centred around that.
Price:
The Lite plan starts at $129 per month.
Key Features:
- Accurate Search Volume Data – Provides reliable estimates of monthly search volumes.
- Keyword Difficulty Score – Evaluates the difficulty of ranking for specific keywords.
- Content Gap Analysis – Identifies opportunities regarding what your competitors are missing out on.
- SERP Overview – Analyzes search engine results pages.
4. KeywordTool
KeywordTool.io focuses on suggesting long-tail keywords from autocomplete queries on Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, and other platforms. This shows keyword metrics, such as high search volume, high CPC, and high competition and helps you tap into new opportunities.
Price:
The pro basic starts at $69 / month and goes up to $159 / month.
Key Features:
- Long-Tail Keyword Generation – Offers extensive lists of long-tail keywords.
- Platform Diversity – Provides keyword suggestions on multiple platforms.
- Search Volume Data – Estimates monthly search volumes for each keyword.
- Competitor Analysis – Analyzes competitor keywords and search trends.
5. Free Keyword Research Tool
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Looking for a simple tool that offers straightforward reports on keywords, then look no further. Ryan Robinson’s Free Keyword Research Tool is a super beginner-friendly alternative.
It doesn’t offer advanced features like other tools; however, if simple keyword research is your goal at the moment, it’s worth a shot.
The tool can pull up relevant queries for a keyword plus a ballpark figure of monthly search volumes, and keyword difficulty.
What makes this tool special is that it also suggests unique content angles to help you with content creation.
Price:
Free forever
Features:
Keywords Suggestions – Suggests keywords based on a consumer’s queries.
Search Volumes – Gives a report on search volumes of a keyword plus its difficulty score.
Content Ideas – Gives unique ideas based on keywords to help you create unique content.
6. Ubersuggest
Neil Patel is the man when it comes to SEO and keyword research, such that he built Ubersuggest – a tool for keyword research and SEO analysis. Ubersuggest also gives great insights into CPC estimates, search volume data, and SEO difficulty scores.
Price:
Starts from as low as $12 / month to $40 / month.
Key Features:
- Keyword Suggestions – Generates keyword ideas based on seed keywords.
- SEO Difficulty Score – Assesses the competition level for each keyword.
- Content Ideas – Provides recommendations for creating engaging content (the best part).
- Backlink Analysis – Offers insights into backlinks and domain authority.
7. Answer The Public
It’s a unique tool that poses keywords in the form of questions. It gathers data like what people have been searching across all search engines and brings that to your disposal.
The best part?
Even if your potential buyers are using seed keywords, AnswerThePublic gives you a list of popular queries in the form of long-tail keywords. This will give you ideas for content creation around those keywords.
Price:
You can maximize your business growth using this tool starting at $5 per month. Unbelievable, isn’t it?
Key Features:
- Search Query Visualization – Presents search queries in organized categories of questions (how, when, why) and prepositions.
- Long-Tails – Generates keywords based on real-time queries.
- Content Ideas – Gives loads of ideas for creating new content.
8. KWFinder
If you’re looking for a user-friendly tool for finding long tails with less difficulty scores, KWFinder should be your go-to software. It offers insights into search volumes, CPC (cost per click), SERPs (search engine result pages), and obviously, the keyword difficulty scores.
But that’s not all, it also has great features for conducting keyword research for local businesses, keyword management, and competitor analysis to 2x or even 3x your SEO efforts.
Price:
$49 / month to $129 monthly subscription.
Key Features:
- Suggests Longer Phrases – Highlights long-tail keywords with far less competition.
- Keyword Difficulty (KD) Score – Measures the difficulty of ranking certain keywords.
- Local Keyword Research – Helps with spotting local trends and respective keywords for a specific location.
- Search Engine Result Page Analysis – Understands your competition through SERP analysis
9. SpyFu
Looking for an all-in-one tool that analyses your competitors from A to Z, studies their keyword strategies, and measures SEO performance?
SpyFu is the solution for you. As the name suggests, it literally “spies” on your competition and allows you to tap into opportunities that you otherwise would’ve missed out on – just like your competitors.
As icing on the cake, it allows you to see the keywords they’re targetting, their ranking in organic search, and even their ads.
All of this will help you take your affiliate marketing game to the next level by letting you identify profitable keywords and then double down on them as well.
Price:
The basic plan starts at $39 / month and goes up to $79 / month.
Key Features:
- Competitor Keyword Analysis – Gives you a list of keywords for which your competitors rank.
- Pay Per Click (PPC) Ad Insights – Analyzes competitor ad campaigns and keywords.
- SEO Performance Metrics – Provides real-time data on keywords and organic search rankings.
- Keyword Grouping – Organize all of your keywords in one place for your convenience.
10. Moz Keyword Explorer
Like any other keyword research tool, Moz Keyword Explorer offers comprehensive keyword research. It also offers insights into SERP analysis and keyword suggestions. Plus, optimizing keyword targeting is a bonus.
However, what differentiates Moz Keyword Explorer from other keyword research tools is its ability to do website and link analysis.
Price:
Starts at $49 / month.
Key Features:
- Keyword Suggestions – Gives keywords depending on a user’s intent. Different types of keywords come into play here.
- Opportunity Score – Helps prioritize keyword opportunities based on potential impact.
- Search Engine Results Pages Analysis – Studies SERPs to understand your competition and their content gaps.
- Link Analysis – For competitive analysis, provides insights into backlinks and domain authority.
In a Nutshell
On-point keyword research is a must-do for affiliate marketers who want to optimize their content to eventually get a bigger cut from overall revenue. All the software elaborated in this guide offers an array of features to pull it off.
The right keyword tool can help you study your competition and tap into otherwise forgotten opportunities. Once you find the right fit tailored to your needs and learn how to capitalize on that to stabilize your business growth, the rest is achievable.
