Part of having a successful website or blog is targeting the right keywords and phrases. This sounds like it would be an easy task, but with endless possible combinations of words and phrases it can be quite difficult to find keywords that will generate traffic from search engines without putting you in competition with too many other sites.
Fortunately there are a number of tools available online (some free, some not) that can help with the process. I’ve included some basic information about 30 of these tools in this article. Some of these tools are designed specifically for creating and managing pay-per-click campaigns, but they can also be helpful if you’re just trying to optimize your site.
Free Keyword Tools
Keyword Density
Cost: Free
Type in a URL and you’ll see what phrases are used most commonly throughout the page. You have the choice of including meta tags, alt tags, and the title, as well as the choice of 1, 2, or 3 word phrases.
Keyword Research Tool from Apogee Web Consulting
Cost: Free
This tool allows you to see what words and phrases are used in your competitor’s keyword meta tag.
SEO Book’s Keyword Suggestion Tool
Cost: Free
One of the more useful and unique free tools, SEO Book’s Keyword Suggestion Tool not only gives you related words and phrases, but it also shows the search volume and provides links to the results from other keyword tools like Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery. The links help you to save time by not needing to visit a lot of different sites and perform repeated searches.
SEO Book’s Keyword List Generator
Cost: Free
Are you having trouble coming up with a list of keywords for a PPC campaign? Type in your URL and a few keywords and this tool will generate a list for you.
SEO Book’s Keyword Misspelling Generator
Cost: Free
Sometimes searchers will spell words incorrectly. You can benefit from knowing common misspellings and using them in your PPC campaigns. This tool eliminates the need for you to figure out possible misspellings. Type in a word or phrase and you will get a list of possible mistakes.
Yooter Keyword Suggestion Tool
Cost: Free
Find search volume and related phrases with this free tool. It also allows you to export the results into a spreadsheet program (like Excel) via a .CSV file. Requires registration.
McDar Keyword Analysis Tool
Cost: Free
When you enter your URL and a keyword or phrase this tool will provide information on your page and compare it to the top 10 ranked sites by Google for the word or phrase that was entered. The data includes total pages indexed, links and PageRank.
iBusiness Promoter
Cost: Free
IBP is a free tool that shows you search volume and the level of competition for keywords. It also shows you which keywords your competitors are using. Requires download.
Overture’s Keyword Selector Tool
Cost: Free
One of the most frequently used free keyword tools. Enter a word or phrase and Overture will show you related phrases and search volume for each.
Google’s Keywords Tool
Cost: Free
A fairly simple and valuable tool that shows related keywords, search volume, and levels of competition. Provides a large number of suggestions based on pages that are ranking well in Google for the phrase that is entered.
Keyword Suggestion Tool from Wordtracker
Cost: Free
Enter a keyword of phrase and get up to 100 suggestions as well as an estimate of their daily search volume.
Bookmarklet from SEOproToolz
Cost: Free
With the bookmarklet you will drag a link to your browser’s toolbar and the tool will be usable. It will analyze any page that you are visiting to generate related keywords with prices for Google AdWords.
Meta Tag and Keyword Analyzer from Submit Express
Cost: Free
Enter a URL and the tool will show you the meta tags of the page, keyword density, load time, file size, and links found on the page.
Good Keywords
Cost: Free
Includes keyword suggestions, misspelling suggestions, phrase builder and more. One of the more simple programs that still includes multiple tools. Requires download.
Keyword Research Tool from Webmaster Toolkit
Cost: Free
A simple free tool that will help you to find related keywords to a specific word or phrase. It will analyze top-ranked pages in a search engine that you select and report on words and phrases used by those sites.
Keyword Tools with a One-Time Cost
Rapid Keyword
Cost: $69.99 (one-time payment)
Rapid Keyword helps you to find the right keywords by showing results from both Google and Overture’s suggestion tools, as well as by providing possible misspellings. You can analyze the competition by seeing how many competitors are on the major PPC programs for particular words or phrases. Several keyword management tools are included. Offers a one-day free trial and a 60-day money back guarantee.
The Permutator
Cost: $49.99 (one-time payment)
The Permutator includes a keyword suggestions tool as well as various tools to help create and manage lists of keywords. It also includes a typo tool and an ROI calculator. A trial version is available.
Keywords Analyzer
Cost: $97
One of the more popular keyword tools, it will help you find search phrases that have low levels of competition for PPC ad campaigns. Keywords Analyzer also helps you to analyze your competition and manage PPC campaigns.
Web CEO
Cost: There is a free version as well as $189 and $389 versions.
Web CEO is SEO software that includes a keyword tool. The keyword tool provides keyword suggestions, search volume, competing sites, and much more. Requires download.
The Dowser
Cost: There are several tools that range from free to $297
You can research and manage keywords with the free tool, or purchase tools for keyword harvesting, misspellings, and more.
Keyword Elite
Cost: $167
With Keyword Elite you will be able to see the keywords that your competitors are bidding on. You’ll also be able to do keyword list generation and management.
Keyword Cruncher
Cost: $37
A keyword analysis tool that works with Wordtracker. With Keyword Cruncher you can import data from Wordtracker and manipulate and analyze the data. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Keyword Tools with On-Going Costs
Wordtracker
Cost: $299 for a 1-year subscription (weekly and monthly options also available)
One of the leader keyword tools, Wordtracker will help you to find the right keywords and other phrases in which they are commonly used. There is an option for a free trial.
Marketo
Cost: Standard version is $49 per user (the first user per organization is free) plus 7.9% of the amount spent on ads managed by Marketo
Marketo is a complete PPC management program. It features keyword tools, bid management and optimization, and testing tools. There is an option for a 30-day free trial.
Keyword Discovery
Cost: $599
Compiles statistics from over 180 search engines. Features include keyword research, suggestions, misspellings, seasonal search trends, and more.
Adgooroo
Cost: Starts at $99 per month
Adgooroo will show you the search phrases that are generating most of the traffic for your competitors. It’s tools help you to identify more specific phrases that will bring more traffic. There is an option for a 10-day free trial.
NicheBot
Cost: $9.97 - $19.97 per month
NicheBot provides a variety of keyword research tools as well as keyword list management tools. It also includes an affiliate product finder.
SEOmoz Keyword Difficulty Tool
Cost: The tool is limited to premium members, which currently costs $49.00 per month
This tool is used to analyze the competitive landscape that exists for particular search phrases. It is intended to show how difficult it will be to achieve high rankings for specific terms.
HitTail
Cost: Basic version is free, HitTail Plus is $9.95 per month
HitTail shows you real time statistics on what keywords visitors are using to find your website. Widgets are available for Blogger, TypePad, SquareSpace and WordPress.
Wordze
Cost: $35 per month
Wordze offers tools such as keyword research, historical keyword data, analysis of competitors, importing keywords, managing projects and more.
August 3rd, 2007
Excellent resource here - many thanks for sharing.
Am bookmarking this one now
August 3rd, 2007
Aaron,
Thanks for visiting and for bookmarking!
August 3rd, 2007
Thanks for including Marketo! Just one small correction: We include one user for free, so the $49 / user charge only applies if you have multiple users in your organization.
August 3rd, 2007
Jon,
Sorry for the mistake. I’ve made a correction. Thanks for visiting!
August 4th, 2007
[...] Steven over at Vandelaydesign.com has a nice list of 30 Keyword Tools to for your website. The list includes both free and paid keyword tools, quite a few of which I have not used, but will check out in the near future. The Brown Baron started “A Brown Look”, a new feature on his blog were he will be sharing new blogs he finds. He kicks this off by sharing CristianR, which is the blog of a Romanian College student. Ed Kohler of Technologyevangelist.com has a groovy post, Leveraging Facebook for Web Applications. I have added this to the bottom of my Facebook post as a related article. Majorleaguesoccernews.com, which is a blog about Pro soccer in the U.S.. His most recent post is a review of the game between New England and New York. Lizzie of Fatladysingz.com has started a new diet program which is based upon the book Faithfully Fit. Carolyn Manning of Productivitygoal.com asks her readers What Can I Do For You? Jon over at Smartwealthyrich.com recently got invited to work with BlogCatalog in a paid position as the Blogger Liason. Congratulations Jon, you the man. [...]
August 7th, 2007
Thanks for including my firm’s free keyword research tool in your list.
August 8th, 2007
First of all, thanks for including my little bookmarklet in this great resource :-).
I’ve noticed though that there is a mistake in the price for Keyword Discovery - you say it’s $49.95 per year, whereas it is in fact either $599 per year or $69 per month.
August 8th, 2007
[...] 原文作者：Vandelay 翻译：Parandroid 原文出处：30 Keyword Tools to Use for Your Website [...]
August 8th, 2007
Marcin,
Thanks, I made the change. Thanks also for the link back to this post.
August 8th, 2007
[...] 1 – Start with the questions that you get all the time – This is pretty obvious, but make sure that you accomplish something with your FAQ by posting answers to questions that readers are likely to have.2 – Look for opportunities to integrate keywords and phrases into the questions and answers – This is where the search engine benefits come from. Do some research to find which keywords your potential visitors are likely to include in a search. [...]
August 13th, 2007
[...] Here’s a great list. 30 Keyword Tools to Use for Your Website “Part of having a successful website or blog is targeting the right keywords and phrases. This sounds like it would be an easy task, but with endless possible combinations of words and phrases it can be quite difficult to find keywords that will generate traffic from search engines without putting you in competition with too many other sites.” __________________ Your Partner in Success, Linda Buquet :: Affiliate Management Consulting, Promotion & PR 5 Star Affiliate Programs :: 50+ High Paying, Honest Affiliate Programs 5 Star Affiliate Blogs :: Visit the 5 Star TOP 50 Affiliate Directory [...]
August 14th, 2007
Thanks for the great links. I am just beginning to learn about SEO and all of the info out there is overwhelming.
August 24th, 2007
Great list!
Thanks a lot for this work!
Just a little question: which of these tools you’re using for your blog?
August 25th, 2007
Solid list of research - thanks for taking the time to put these together. I’ve seen most, but there’s just so much information, that I forget. Just bookmarked
August 25th, 2007
Profitable eBay,
I think I’ve tried all of the free tools. Recently I’ve used the Overture and Google tools.
Charleston,
Thanks for bookmarking! I’m glad there is some stuff here that you can use.
August 27th, 2007
[...] Keyword Tools - A list of solid keyword tools for you to use for all your SEO needs. [...]
September 6th, 2007
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September 9th, 2007
[...] 30 Keyword Tools to Use for Your Website – 97 visitors. [...]
September 28th, 2007
Try this Easy and powerful keyword search tool
http://keywordcountry.com
October 21st, 2007
Thats a nice list of stuff to do, I was looking for something like this for a long time now. But the happiness of finding a site you know about in the serps is a nice feeling
October 21st, 2007
Cool. I’m glad you were able to find this through a search.
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October 24th, 2007
[...] If keyword research is done at the start of a project you’ll be ahead of the game and able to build the site around the words and phrases that you want to target. Fortunately, there are a number of useful tools to help with this process, and many of them are free. (For more information see 30 Keyword Tools to Use for Your Website) [...]
October 25th, 2007
[...] 5 posts (excluding the 4 lists posts mentioned above) that included a number in the title (30 Keyword Tools to Use for Your Website, Top 10 SEO-Related WordPress Plugins, 9 Essential Tools for Bloggers, 8 Tools to Help You Find the [...]
October 29th, 2007
[...] For a more in-depth look at the resources available, check out 30 keyword tools to use for your website. [...]
November 8th, 2007
I use google trends all the time http://www.google.com/trends
This can display search queries based on a 3 year time frame and you can see if the term is gaining in popularity or decreasing. You can also find if a term has certain seasonal popularity like fitness equipment or gardening.
November 8th, 2007
Brady,
You’re right, it’s a good tool. Thanks for the addition.
November 12th, 2007
I’ve spent a lot of money on keyword research tools, and so recently I put together an affiliate website which compares the tools.
I interviewed several of the designers of the keyword tools in order to get accurate information, along with my own research:
http://www.keywordresearching.com/compare.php
Thanks.
November 12th, 2007
Joshua,
Looks goo. Thanks for sharing.
January 5th, 2008
Hi:
My current site never reflected my personality and the communication with designers - well, they weren’t creative enough, - just check out the website and see how boring and non-dynamic it is.
I need a web design that uses Flash - Dynamic Flash so there is movement and weekly new shot clips posted and about 6 other short clips and an archival system so people can order and pay donation for (paypal) the full dvd of the short (which will have a description written about it.)
Thank you so ,much, awaiting yur reply.
Aeliot
Pls reply (i didn’t see any movement in your profiles - and is you use flash & Dyna-flash.) Thank you very much.
January 7th, 2008
17 Keyword Tools
January 7th, 2008
Free Keyword Tools
January 9th, 2008
Did you try to compare results across various tools? I’m a little bit puzzled because I’ve just subscribed with WordZe and for certain searches the results differ significantly from the ones obtained with Wordtracker’s free version.
January 22nd, 2008
[...] course, keywords should be used in titles, headers, anchor text, alt tags, etc. Designing a website without knowing [...]
February 5th, 2008
[...] course, keywords should be used in titles, headers, anchor text, alt tags, etc. Designing a website without knowing [...]
February 11th, 2008
[...] draw this traffic. Part of this is knowing which keywords and phrases you want to target. Do some keyword research if necessary and come up with a few terms to target and optimize the site [...]
March 6th, 2008
Nice list. I’m currently developing my own keyword tool, and have looked at many of those listed above for ideas.
Hopefully my own tool will make it onto the list one day!
March 6th, 2008
[...] this is related to your blog content. How can you select the best keywords? I coming with some free tools for [...]
March 9th, 2008
i think best one is Google’s Keywords Tool . forever google!
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March 18th, 2008
Here is a free keyword tool:
KWAN
It searches the webpage and gets 100% revelant kwywords.
April 6th, 2008
[...] One aspect of Search Engine Optimization is keyword research to find the right words and phrases to target. With effective research you may be able to find some keywords that can be used in your new posts to draw search engine traffic. Personally, I don’t go overboard with keyword research, but I do occasionally use some free tools online to identify the best words and phrases to use. If you are looking for some effective tools to use, see 30 Keyword Tools to Use for Your Website. [...]
April 14th, 2008
I don’t understand how you can say IBP is free … its not free … I think its ok! 9 out of 10 times the emails it gets for you are bad emails. They are all suggestions. It chews up the resources like there is no tomorrow and then you have to try to do it all over again. I think its ridiculous. Why do I need to feed it the competitor list? It should go and get the top 100 or 200 competitors and get its backlinks. There are other tools out there that are much much faster!
April 19th, 2008
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/?seed=shemale&adult_filter=adult_only&suggest=Hit+Me
no registration)))
It’s best service for me.
The excellent list. Thanx
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Keyword Elite is again another nice and useful IM product from Brad Callen…it is easy and simple to use compared with other IM products..^^
Thanks for featuring this on your site..^^
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[...] In order to maximize search engine traffic your site should be targeting specific keywords and phrases. Ideally you’ll find words and phrases that have a high search volume and low competition. Of course this is easier said than done, but some solid keyword research can really help to boost your effectiveness with search engines. For more information and resources see 30 Keyword Tools to Use for Your Website. [...]
June 12th, 2008
I have found an amazing find here… ive book marked this page and many of the links you have posted.
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[...] Keyword Tools to Use for Your WebsiteVandelay Designs 30 keyword tools for your website.http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/seo/30-keyword-tools-to-use-for-your-website/Keyword Selector ToolKeyword Selector Tool. Not sure what search terms to bid on? Enter a term [...]
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July 25th, 2008
Thanks for including my firm’s free keyword research tool in your list.
September 18th, 2008
[...] Keyword Tools to Use for Your Website http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/seo/30-keyword-tools-to-use-for-your-website/ page_revision: 3, last_edited: 1221737135|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z (%O ago) edittags history files [...]
February 16th, 2009
[...] 30 Keyword Tools to Use for Your Website [...]
March 1st, 2009
Thanks for these valuable links to keyword related sites. It just goes to show you that you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on software packages to obtain some decent results although I guess that suites of these types of softwares are always worthi investing in saving time along the way…
April 13th, 2009
thanks !! very helpful post!
April 18th, 2009
I like the info here. keep it up!
May 13th, 2009
yes, keyword plays a major role in SEO for that we require keyword tools by which we can good results to our website.