We almost lost our beloved keyword research tool—Keywords Everywhere.

If you’re a copywriter, digital marketer, web developer or anything else in between, you know how valuable keywords are. But if you’re not in the industry, you must know that keywords are searched terms that have value over the internet. It’s true—Keywords Everywhere was almost shut down according to the developer. He added that it was either that or roll out payment methods to keep using it. Luckily, they went with the latter.

This tool is undeniably everyone’s favorite keyword research tool. It’s convenient and it searches keywords from all search engines, something that seasoned copywriters often do. While most tools provide what everyone  “Googles, Keywords Everywhere encompasses Youtube (yes, Youtube is a search engine), Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines that are used by other people (and yes—some people use those search engines) and that data is important. So now that Keywords Everywhere requires credit, what other keyword research tool can we use? Or is Keywords Everywhere payment worth it? Why did they roll out credits now after being free for many years? Let’s take a look into what happened and what we can do.

Enter Artificial Intelligence Again

Previously, we talked about how artificial intelligence must be met with ethics and pragmatism. Coincidentally, Keywords Everywhere was sort of experiencing a problem quite similar. According to their website, the number of bot users that would query for their API exceeded the number for real users. It went so high that the their hardware needed upgrading  until it couldn’t handle the number of bot queries anymore. They also stated that they tried to implement corrective actions against these bots like blocking IP addresses and accounts and even putting up a captcha requirement. However, this proved ineffective. And it seems that those automated scripts were always a step ahead of them so they had no choice but to roll out the credits.

By allowing payments, bot activity would cease immediately and Keywords Everywhere would be stable again for real users. The damage extent of the bot activity on Keywords Everywhere wasn’t stated, but clearly the company had some trouble with it. With this, pragmatic use of artificial intelligence come into question again. If AI can be programmed to make queries like that on a keyword research tool, up to what extent can AI do to manipulate or override the system?

Alternative Keyword Research Tools

In line with the announcement, Keywords Everywhere became a paid tool starting October 1, 2019. But not to worry, the payment is only $1 for 10,000 keywords—very cheap. Some companies and freelancers, like you, might opt for something free instead. On this article, I’ll list copywriter’s favorite go-to keyword research tool.

1. Google Keyword Planner

Google remains to be the largest search engine on the internet. In fact, Google searches have become the most commodified search engine that their own keyword research tool is one of the best free tools out there. The best part about Google Keyword Planner is that they provide the details you are basically looking for. Stuff like CPC, search volume, and competition are provided outright and can be easily used for data analysis. 

Using Google Keyword Planner does act like a planner, since you can input many keywords as a baseline before it would pull up the results. So, you can place different keywords with similar themes to check what people are really searching for. This could be great when mapping out what angle your article should be so you can capture people’s attention properly. The only downside is you need to have a Google account to use it. But most of us do anyway.

Pros: 

• Full details (CPC, competition, etc.)
• Allows multiple keyword input
• Absolutely free

Cons: 

• Needs Google Account
• Limited to Google searches

2. Ubersuggest

Neil Patel’s own keyword research tool should be given some credit. Next to Keywords Everywhere, this is one of the most encompassing free keyword research tools available online. Also, the research tool has the necessary keyword details and Ubersuggest expands on data it provides that it’s worth a second look.

Basically, it gives metrics on the very keyword you searched for similar to Google Trends. This is great because then Ubersuggest acts like Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends all-in-one. It also gives keyword ideas and content ideas per country, a feature we badly need. Also, the ‘content ideas’ tab is a unique feature of Ubersuggest that should be looked into. This tool gives blog ideas when you’ve run out of creative juices.

However, Neil Patel’s free version of course has limited suggestions. Signing up to his website offers more keyword suggestions, personalized searches, and tracking of daily rankings. It’s good to note that you can link your Google account to his website for convenience. But subscription is ultimately up to you.

Pros: 

• Full details (cpc, competition, etc.)
• Multiple features that get updated frequently
• Absolutely free

Cons: 

• Needs account subscription to use full potential
• Can be intimidating to use at first

3. Keyword Sheeter

Keyword Sheeter (they changed their name, finally) is my go-to keyword research tool when I need more ideas. It’s simple and very easy-to-use. You just type a keyword you have thought of or researched on and it sheets out tons of other keywords that would give you other keywords people search for. It has positive and negative filters so you can add or remove keywords you want to be shown or not.

This tool is user-friendly, but it doesn’t have the details that other tools give. As such, I use Keyword Sheeter in conjunction with other tools and use the gathered data to make a keyword map.

Pros: 

• Simple to use
• Give multiple keyword ideas
• Free

Cons: 

• Doesn’t have keyword details
• Requires account subscription for other features

Or Just Pay for Credits

Keywords Everywhere is still king due to two things: convenience and accessibility. Installed as a Chrome or Firefox extension, Keywords Everywhere functions without getting in the way. That’s useful for multiple searches and it works for all search engines, something other keyword research tools can’t do. As an SEO analyst, you should take note of keyword searches on Youtube, Bing, and Yahoo and consider their important data. Yet, Keywords Everywhere is still the best one that can provide those data. 

The credit system is relatively cheap. In addition, they said they will use the money to make Keywords Everywhere more available globally or possibly roll out more features in the future. For $1 for every 10,000 keywords, that’s not bad. It would take tons of blogs and queries (like bots do) to make that money spent a liability.

The Power of Keywords

Nevertheless, a keyword research tool merely provides a preview of popular searches in a specific amount of time. That said, one tool cannot determine the best keywords for every single minute. As researchers, we need to make room for more tools in our blog-making processes and article research. Indeed, it’s up to us how to use these tools and keywords that ultimately matters. Keywords Everywhere has provided a free tool for many years and merely adapted a combative action that potentially harms how keyword research is done. So I say $1 is still worth the power of keywords.

Keywords are powerful tools you can use to boost your searches. One of the most effective ways to use keywords is to use them in a blog with unique content. Need someone to help you with blog banners? DotYeti offers unlimited graphic design services for a flat monthly fee. Sign up and get started today for as low as $449 a month!