Google Adwords Keyword Planner Alternatives

If you’ve talked to me about SEO, you know keyword research is at the heart of my SEO process. I’ve long believed it is a core part of search engine optimization and I focus an entire lesson on it in my online SEO course.

For years I’ve lived by the Google Adwords Keyword Planner. I knew the data was skewed towards pay per click advertisers, but honestly, I didn’t care. I could put in my own suggestions, import a keyword seed list, or even a URL and receive back hundreds of ideas with monthly search volumes. I was happy because it served both me and my clients well.

Oh Google, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Then last week something changed and I felt as though my SEO world crumbled. I’m okay with change and adaption, but when you take away an old friend, I’m a bit saddened. And that is what happened. Google stripped away search volumes in their Adwords Keyword Planner and left us users with extremely vague ranges of search that are virtually useless.

You can regain these figures, but you’ll need to start an Adwords PPC campaign and spend an amount big enough to bring back your data. I’ve always referred to PPC as digital cocaine for marketers, so I’m not willing to do that just yet.

I’ve been a Google cheerleader for over a decade. Almost fifteen years in fact. I’ve always supported their tactics and felt that they were in the best interest of their users. But this one I can’t quite get behind. I’m baffled by it and I felt like I was shunned. But I’ll move past my heartache and I’ll focus on finding a new source of information.

So What’s a Jilted SEO Girl to Do?

Set out and dig through all the Keyword Planner alternatives I could find and document my findings. So I did just that on Friday and Saturday. And today, I’m giving you my findings.

There are some good options available. Some are free and some cost money. With anything in life, the really good stuff will require you to spend a little money but I think you and I both expected that to be the case.

Before you jump into my list, let me quickly state that I do not recommend all of these as suitable options. My goal is to provide you with a complete list of all the Keyword Planner alternatives I reviewed and detail out the information I gathered along the way.

Images From My Research of Google Keyword Planner Alternatives

What Are My Top Choices for Best Keyword Research Software?

If you’ve read through my list and tried each option out, you might be a little confused still and just not sure which one is right for you. After all, I did give you lots of options.

While I gave you my pros and cons, your list of favorites might look a little different. Everyone is unique with different needs and objectives. Thus there isn’t a right or wrong answer here. There are just lots of options.

I already have a subscription to Spyfu and I think this will work great for checking search volumes and looking for keyword alternatives on a day to day basis. The reports are great and my subscription offers me valuable information on my websites, my competitors, and my SEO clients.

Spyfu will fall short when I’m doing a major revamp our websites or when I’m working when a new client has engaged me for SEO consulting. In those cases, I desperately need the import feature so I can bring in hundreds of keywords from my own seed list of ideas.

I absolutely have to have a software tool that allows both import and export and really can’t live without these features. The only Keyword Planner alternatives I found that offer this are KW Finder and the Moz Keyword Explorer. Of those two options, both offer geographical segmentation but only the Moz Keyword Explorer supports the use of negative terms.

So for me, the best option is Moz’s Keyword Explorer. I know this tool is expensive and I wouldn’t recommend it for the average website owner. Yet for SEO consultants, it is necessary and the $50 per month is worth it because it will save quite a bit of time.

If you are a user of my SEO courses, please do not think you have to go the Moz route with me. I’d suggest the KW Finder as it offers a lot of great information for a fraction of the cost.

If you’re attending my upcoming SEO Bootcamp, we’ll be using a lower cost alternative and I’ll finalize this as we get closer to the event.

Feedback Request: If you’ve already moved over to one of these tools, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment below and let our readers know which Keyword Planner alternatives worked for you.