AnswerThePublic provides key insights into the types of questions people ask about any given topic. Since being acquired by Neil Patel, it is no longer a free tool for site builders to utilize in all of their marketing efforts. Many people haven’t gotten over the shift from the free version to the paid version and may be looking for AnswerThePublic alternatives.
Whether you want a premium tool or something for free, we have the keyword research tools you need to get to the top of the SERPs.
Let’s take a look at what you could be using and why you may want to make the switch.
11 Best AnswerThePublic Alternatives
What are the best ways to see what people put into search engines when looking for content like yours?
A keyword research tool is essential to a robust marketing strategy, and we have compiled the top 11 tools that deserve a second look.
SEMRush Keyword Magic: Best Premium Tool
If you have the budget to spend on keyword research, then SEMRush has one of the best: its Keyword Magic tool. Keyword Magic displays how difficult it will be to rank for a given keyword, what you should know about keyword intent and even the search volume. Better yet, it displays trends over the last 12 months to see seasonal trends.
The SEMRush Keyword Magic tool has a database of 25.6 billion keywords which serves to really unlock the potential for your brand to grow in a given area. Be sure to see our full review of the Keyword Magic tool here.
The only downside to SEMRush’s tool is that it’s a bit spendy at $129.95 per month. However, it gives you access to so much more than just their Keyword Magic tool. You also get competitor analysis, website audits, and loads of other features.
Keysearch: Best for Niche Site Builders
Are you interested in showing up on the search engines but have a limited budget? SEMRush might be a great premium tool for someone who has money to spend, but Keysearch is a great runner-up for niche site builders on a budget. It is super user-friendly and intuitive to get you up and running quickly.
Keysearch specializes in helping you find high-volume, low-competition keywords with competitor analysis. This keyword research tool can also help you find long-tail keywords, long-term trends, and even check your backlinks.
The best part? Keysearch is one of the most affordable premium tools out there. It starts at just $17 per month – a small fraction of what you can expect to spend on Keyword Magic.
See our full Keysearch review here to see if this tool is worth your investment.
Moz: Best Free Tool
Moz is well-known for its work with other prominent tools like Domain Authority checkers. If you are looking for free SEO tools, it’s worth paying attention to Moz. Their free keyword research tools allow you to enter a keyword and immediately receive:
- Top Suggestions
- Monthly search volume
- Organic traffic and click-through rates
- Difficulty of ranking on the search engines
Better yet, you can export that data so that you have it when it’s time to create your content. They draw on 1.25 billion keyword suggestions, which isn’t quite as many as others, but still promise a wealth of information (for free). And it’s growing all the time!
Keywords Everywhere: Best to Pay for What You Need
Keywords Everywhere is an affordable keyword tool that enables you to pay only for what you need. Instead of a monthly subscription, you can sign up for their annual package with a certain number of credits (up to 100,000 per year on their lowest-priced Bronze plan at just $1.75 per month).
One credit is the equivalent of one keyword, so you can see how far your budget will stretch. You can purchase more credits when you run out without upgrading your plan.
Their keyword research tools are best used in combination with their browser extension. It will narrow down your keyword difficulty, cost-per-click data, trends, and competitor analysis for your targeted keywords.
Don’t miss our detailed Keywords Everywhere review to learn more!
SE Ranking
SE Ranking is more comparable to SEMRush’s keyword tool than to Answer The Public because it tends to be far more robust. We have a full SE Ranking review here, as well as a comparison of Semrush and SE Ranking.
But let’s go over some of the highlights of using their SEO tools to monitor your keyword metrics:
- Keyword research tools
- Backlink monitoring and tracking
- Website audits
- Competitor analysis
Under the umbrella of their keyword suggestions, you also get rank tracking. This keyword tool is great for agencies that have to track multiple keyword ideas and related keywords because it allows you to group and tag sets of keywords.
You can identify top keywords based on search volume, grow traffic steadily, and work on refining your search engine optimization — all for a decent price of $44 per month.
Outranking.io
Want to show up in more Google searches for relevant keywords to your brand? You can see all the keywords you want and work on link building with Outranking.io. This Answer the Public competitor harnesses the power of AI to pinpoint high-potential target keywords for your brand.
Then, it clusters them into topics and gives you all the relevant data to decide where you should go from here. Use Outranking to create your content marketing calendar, create content briefs, and even use on-page SEO tools to get those long-tail keywords just right.
It provides internal linking opportunities, integrations with Google Search Console, and strategies to build topical authority. The starter plan is $29 per month.
AlsoAsked.com
AlsoAsked.com is one of the leading keyword research tools that has a function very similar to the AnswerThePublic. You type in a seed keyword (or upload a CSV with up to 1,000 keywords) and let AlsoAsked show you the most searched for questions with that topic.
Unlike some of the other AnswerThePublic alternatives found here, you will quickly see that the platform looks the most like the original. It creates a beautiful graphic with the most commonly asked questions on the search engines. It might not be as detailed as SEMRush, but it gets the job done for a fraction of the cost.
Plans start at just $12 per month for up to 100 searches (or get three free searches per day).
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
Ahrefs has been around for a while, so it makes sense that their keyword research tools would make it onto the list of excellent AnswerThePublic alternatives. Their keyword tool, Keywords Explorer, draws on a database of 7 billion keywords with new ones being added each month.
Get accurate search volume, click metrics, and keyword difficulty scores with a single search. It’s even great for a global audience as it serves 171 countries. Ahrefs pulls data from ten other search engines instead of just Google. You can enter up to 10,000 keywords all at one time, saving you time and effort.
Like the SEMRush Keyword Magic tool, Ahrefs is a bit on the pricier side of things. A Lite plan will set you back $99 per month which is more than Answer The Public.
Exploding Topics
Are you looking into keyword research tools because you want to spot upcoming trends based on the search volume of a particular keyword? Exploding Topics might be the right fit for you instead of using Answer The Public. They synthesize all of the chatter on the World Wide Web and predict where you could capitalize on a growing trend.
They claim that they can predict trends months and possibly even years before they officially surface online. This could be beneficial for coming up with target keywords for your company and the items you want to sell in an eCommerce store.
If you’re looking to the future, this Answer the Public alternative might be the right fit for you at an affordable $39 per month.
Answer Socrates
Answer Socrates may not be as visually appealing as other AnswerThePublic alternatives, but that doesn’t mean you should discount this free tool. It’s intuitive and easy to use, though it does lack advanced features like you get with a premium option. However, if you’re just getting started with keyword research, then this might be a great fit.
They will take your keyword and show you questions people are asking on that topic, with a framework of questions like:
- Are
- Can/Can I
- How/How Do
- Should/Should I
- What
- When
- Where
- Why
- Who
However, this keyword tool won’t show you monthly search volume or any trends. You don’t even get a clear picture of what your competitors are doing with these keywords. It’s more of a free brainstorming tool to get you thinking about keyword ideas and the search engine.
Nozzle
Nozzle is another premium option among our AnswerthePublic alternatives, and it can help you optimize your search engine. The keyword data found here will demonstrate how competitors rank for search queries and how it evolves.
This gives you a clear window on how to rank against them for related keywords.
They also specialize in keyword clusters, which give you keyword suggestions to make your content as relevant and marketable as possible. You can upload as many keywords as you want, and they will give you far more keyword data than you could hope to get with a free tool like Answer Socrates.
Plus, it’s still relatively affordable compared to the other SEO tools, with its cheapest plan starting at $49 per month.
DIY AnswerThePublic Alternatives: Google SERP Analysis
Maybe you want to work a little more closely on your local SEO or just don’t have the budget to spend on these Answer the Public alternatives. That doesn’t mean you can’t analyze keywords and start to show up in the search engine results.
It just means you need to get a little creative and clever with leveraging Google’s free tools.
Google Keyword Planner
First, you can hack many of these outcomes with Google Keyword Planner. This tool gives you access to what people are searching for so that you can create advertisements. However, you don’t necessarily have to run an ad campaign to utilize the feature.
You can use Google Keyword Planner to generate ideas for new keywords relevant to your brand, track trends in your existing keywords, and forecast upcoming performance for selected keywords. This is a powerful tool for running advertisements based on your keyword research tools.
Google Search Engine Results Pages
Second, you can see the results in the Google SERPs. Specifically, you want to scroll until you hit the People Also Ask or People Also Search For sections of the SERPs.
This pulls the most current trends and relevant keywords from Google’s updated listings. Plus, it formats the data similarly to Answer the Public in the form of other questions people ask. It takes mere minutes to do a few quick Google searches of your seed keyword to get ideas for how to bolster your SEO strategy.
You don’t have to pay a dime for these Answer the Public alternatives, and you can use Google’s relevant keyword suggestions for your content marketing.
Final Thoughts: Which AnswerthePublic Alternatives are Right for You?
No matter your budget for keyword research tools, there are AnswerThePublic alternatives for your brand, niche site, or business. While some of these tools are premium (with a major price tag), others are affordable and even provide a free version. It’s up to you what you want to spend to get all the keywords on your site.
Where will you turn for Answer the Public alternatives? This list should get you thinking about what your site needs most!
