Keyword Tools I’m Using The Most Right Now

One of the recurring questions that I get from people is what tool am I using for keyword research.

The truth is that I never just stick to one keyword research tool.

I tend to sort of hop around, depending on if I’m doing general keyword research or just looking for longtail keywords.

So, if you’re curious about what I’m using right this moment for keyword research, then this post is for you.

**And as always, I’m an affiliate marketer and this post contains affiliate links, meaning I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

What I’m Using For Longtail Keyword Research (Low Competition Keyword Research Tools)

So, I really only have two main keyword tools that I use for finding those low competition keywords that are easy to rank for.

And the beauty of these two tools is that they are super similar and if you wanna know which one to use, it really just comes down to a matter of personal preference.

Those two tools are:

• LowFruits
• KeywordChef

Like I said, they essentially do the same thing so try both and pick whichever one you like the best.

I get bored easily, so I keep credits in both tools and switch back and forth between them.

I’ve also published reviews of each of them in the past.

You can read those at:

• LowFruits review
• KeywordChef review

Are there other tools with similar functionality?

Probably, but I’m happy with these two.

What I’m Using For General Keyword Research

For general everyday keyword research, I have long used Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer – but not only is Ahrefs buggy as hell these days, it’s new credit-based system is not noob-friendly.

All that to say that I’m working on moving away from Ahrefs and their glitchy ass tool.

Lately I’ve been really loving the Keyword Magic tool that Semrush has.

One of the things that I really like about it is that you can do wildcard searches, much like LowFruits and Keyword Chef.

Anyways, if you’ve never used it, then I definitely suggest doing the whole 7-day free trial and taking it for a spin.

I really like how you can see the intent of the keywords as well as how you can view them by topic clusters.

Of course, if you’re coming from Ahrefs, then it takes a bit of getting used to since it is different.

And the site authority scoring on Semrush is quite different from Ahrefs – I think maybe it’s not as easy to game it like you can on Ahrefs?

For instance, I was comparing results recently and a site on Ahrefs was listed as DR72 and on Semrush the same site is AS24 (their equivalent of DR is AS, or Authority Score).

Other Awesome Keyword Research Tools I Use

Though I don’t really consider it a keyword research tool, I do have Keywords Everywhere installed so that I get all that sweet data when I’m searching on Google.

It’s super cheap and if you’re not already using it, then I strongly recommend checking it out.

But what about for my YouTube channels and videos?

So, for my YouTube channels, the only thing I’m using for YouTube keyword research is TubeBuddy.

Their keyword research tool for YouTube is cleverly called Keyword Explorer and it’s pretty awesome.

You even get access to it with a free account.

I love that when you open it up, you’re shown what’s currently trending.

Though it would be cool if they could only show you trending topics that are relevant for your channel!

It also has this cool autocomplete feature, which is really nice when it comes to discovering new keywords for videos.

I also love how easy this tool is to use because all you gotta do is look at that overall score to determine if you’ve found a good one.

Like this one that I discovered while writing this post –

I am totally going to make a video targeting this keyword – you can watch my channel to learn what keyword this is!

So yeah, these are my favorite tools for keyword research right now.

Honestly, the only thing that’s really changed here in the last couple of years is that I’ve been relying less on Ahrefs and more on Semrush.

And, I’m now doing YouTube keyword research.

Hope that helps you pick a tool for your own keyword research!

Shawna Newman

Hey, I’m Shawna. I make a living working from my laptop in places like London, Sydney, Dubai, Rome, Oslo, Bangkok, Las Vegas, Barcelona, and Amsterdam. I share how I do some of that on this website.