Are you trying to increase your SEO score in the coming year? With so many businesses and operations moving to digital formats, search engine optimization is now more vital than ever. To get it right, you need to know the correct tools for the job.

With so many on the market, it can be hard to decide which is the right fit for you and your business. Below, we give our must-know guide on the best SEO research tools for 2021.

Google Trends

Despite being a tool created by the search engine giant, Google Trends still remains a relatively unused property. It allows you to look at changes in search terms over a period of time. Using this, you can see how popular certain words are at various points in the year.

It is useful for any business, as it can stop you from chasing false leads. Trends that have huge spikes then drop is yesterday’s news, and their popularity has gone. Trends that have steady search terms are more related to evergreen, consistently searchable terms.

One excellent feature is that it allows you to compare multiple keywords over a set period. This allows you to check to see which of two or three-terms is more popular or is a much more regular search term. It is also good for use if your business is impacted by seasonal trends.

Another great feature is the related queries. This gives you a list of questions people are asking related to your search term. You can also get a breakdown of geographical locales that are hot for that term, and ones where it is not frequented so much.

KW Finder

The beauty of KW Finder is that not only does it have a multitude of tools for use on your own SEO research, it also has a lot of features that allow you to track competitors. This makes it really easy to keep track of what they are ranking for and how they are doing it.

KW Finder is a great SEO research tool for finding long-tail keywords. These are words that you should find it much easier to rank for. It also has a  very user-friendly interface, which ranks competition using a color scale and tells you how many searches have been made for that term in the past month.

They support a geographical search tool, so you can narrow searches down to local areas. It presently has over 52,000 geolocations on offer.

The pricing plan is relatively cheap, though a little hard to work out. Payment is made by the search or you can buy in bulk. A subscription is also available that really ramps up the searches to an almost unlimited level.

SEM Rush

SEM Rush remains one of the most popular and efficient SEO tools. It goes beyond a simple keyword research tool, and branches out into other aspects. Essentially, it is a great all in one SEO solution.

It works by suggesting 5 specific keywords that your competitors are already using. It provides keyword analysis, difficulty level ratings, and insights into organic traffic. In addition, you will get yearly keyword trends and distribution stats.

It is available for a 7-day free trial. After this, it is structured in four different tiers going from pro to enterprise plans. If you cancel after the 7-day trial ends, then you will not be charged.

Answer the Public

Answer the Public is a little different from the other SEO tools that are out there. It could be your best friend, or it may not be for you at all. Either way, it is well worth a try.

It works on the premise that around 20% of Google searches in a day are totally unique, and so do not show up on regular analytics. That means they will never appear on keyword analysis platforms. Answer the Public gives you a way to see these unique search terms and gives you related keywords to go along with them.

Not only will it tell you what people are searching for, but it also lets you see what the public is thinking. This makes it valuable for marketing teams as well as SEO experts.

Answer the Public does offer a free service, but it is extremely limited. The paid plan will give you unlimited searches and access to historical data.

Keyword Tool Dominator

Keyword Tool Dominator is a very utilitarian and functional keyword tool. What it lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in scope. In fact, it lets you compare searches on platforms you may not have considered before.

Letting you check search history on eBay, Walmart, Amazon, and Etsy shows that the world does not begin and end at Google. This can give you a fantastic competitive advantage, especially if you are a business that is looking to sell products online.

Each tool will give you an overview of the keywords. Some of these can even be narrowed by geographical location. It will also give you a list of related search terms.

They do offer a free service. This is however limited to 3 searches a day, though you can download the onscreen information.

Spyfu SEO Research

Spyfu is another great tool that provides more than just keyword research. It actually tracks words used in the Google AdWord platform, so it becomes a fantastic way to spy on your competitors.

It goes into much more depth than Google’s own keyword research tool. This is because of its ability in PPC campaigns as well as search traffic. You then have the option to compare both of these sets of traffic.

If this was not enough, you can also see keywords that convert better. This allows you to track the quality of a keyword as opposed to the volume. This can prove invaluable if you are searching for high-quality leads.

In letting you go beyond simple search terms, the platform gives you a backdoor to some great SEO tactics. The paid plans all offer unlimited searches. Unfortunately, it does not currently offer a free or trial service.

Ahrefs Keyword Explorer

Ahrefs has been one of the leading SEO keyword research tools for a while now, and it still holds up well. It provides metrics through the use of click data, providing a broad and wide-ranging keyword report. To back it up, it has an extremely efficient way of managing keyword difficulty levels, so you can target easy keywords.

It has a range of metrics for improving your click-through rate. Over 1000 keyword suggestions are provided, along with extensive SERP overviews.

Pricing plans start at a trial offer which costs $1 a day for 7 days. An annual payment plan for larger organizations is around the $80 per month mark, though you do get a lot for your money.

Serpstat

Serpstat is a very useful tool both for SEO keyword research and searching. It also has some very unique features not available on other platforms.

The most useful of these is its tree view analysis tool. It visualizes how keywords are spread out around your website. This can be a real eye-opener, as you can see if pages you did not expect have strong rankings.

By using this, you can change tactics and target stronger pages instead. This can happen quite often and many times people do not realize it. It can often happen if a page gets shared or begins to trend.

It also has great tools for researching your opposition. By using their URL, you can perform an analysis that will let you see which keywords they are ranking for, and any that may be missing from your own campaign.

It also provides you with the option to search for related terms and longtail keywords in your chosen niche. However, its range of filters and options far outweigh those of many other research tools.

The pricing is very reasonable, based on how many users are on the tool. For a starter plan that allows one user, you get full access to all the features. This increases as you add more users to the account.

Moz Pro

Moz is a great, all-round service for everything SEO. It is most famous for delivering its page authority tool. This is their own method of determining the SEO strength of a page related to search engine rankings.

While this feature is free and can be used by anyone simply by typing in a URL, it is not the only great feature Moz has in store. One very innovative feature is the Moz toolbar, which allows you to see your website data while you are browsing online.

They also have a host of education tools and help. A live chat portal lets you get assistance on anything at any time you wish, which is great for anyone just trying to get to grip with the basics. In fact, they are so into SEO, they even host their own conference.

However, its real strength lies in its precise page analysis tool. Input the URL of your page, and Moz will tell you exactly what to do to improve it. This can be everything from adding keywords in headers to labeling your images better.

Longtail Pro

Just as the title suggests, Longtail Pro is specifically used for targeting long-tail keywords. It is great for specific interest sites and can generate keywords for extremely small markets and niches. All of these keywords are easily findable in their search function.

It also does a great job of recommending extras. This means you are provided with a host of options for convertible, organic traffic.

It does come with a free week’s trial, and you must cancel the subscription before it ends to avoid another month’s billing. Annual billing is $25 a month to start, and it offers three packages.

Jaaxy

Jaaxy is a no-frills SEO keyword research tool, but it is very powerful. Its strength lies in the number of suggested keywords it gives you, often going beyond that which other tools would miss out on. All of this is provided with a host of data including competition levels, traffic, and search volumes.

It also lets you know how many other websites are trying to rank for a term. The lower the number, the easier it becomes for you to get ahead in the page rank. The best thing about it is that it comes for free.

Majestic

Majestic has a lot of fantastic features unique to its program. Some of them are extremely useful and give you an alternative way to approach keyword ranking. They are famous for having a list named the Majestic Million, in which they rank the top 1 million websites.

Of course, it does have lots of tools that are closer to home. You can get a general overview of your site, including all the keyword placements and backlinks. It also has a number of comparisons, tracking, and analysis tools.

There are also plenty of opportunities to spy on competitors. You can check the backlinks of rival websites, even comparing multiple ones at the same time. The metrics for this are also extensive, including trust flow and referrals.

Their free sign up gives you the option to run three searches and get a feel for the program. To check any keywords, you will need to sign up for a paid plan. It is one of the higher-priced research tools at $83 per month, but it is well worth the expenditure.

Embed SEO

Once you have the correct SEO research tool, the hard part begins. SEO is not something you do then forget about. It needs to be embedded in everything you continue to do, and all the content you put out.

If you need assistance, then Brand Lume should be your first stop. We are a digital marketing firm that can help you with everything from SEO, PPC, branding, and everything websites. Contact us for a free conconsultation or check out our fully managed SEO service to see how we use all these tools to get your website ranking today!