It’s good to have a few trusted keyword research tools under your belt.  Our teams at Content Refined are currently using two in conjunction: SECockpit by SwissMadeMarketing, and Ahrefs.  We started using Ahrefs a while ago when SECockpit stopped returning results in certain fields and niches (i.e. we stopped getting results for cbd oil related keywords).  Ahrefs has a ton of detail in their results, and I really like the way that they suggest alternatives.

So here are the basic steps for using Ahrefs to determine whether a keyword is competitive.  For our purposes, we are looking for a few key metrics:

• monthly search volume over 500
• keyword density under 30
• most of the other top competitors have a low domain authority

These are the tried and true metrics that Content Refined usually sticks to (unless there’s a unique site that needs something slightly different).  We’ve talked about this before in an article about SECockpit.  For that article the monthly search volume filter was set to ‘over 1000’.  We’ve since found that over 500 is a valuable metric with more opportunities for a lot of sites.

For Ahrefs Keyword Research, follow these steps in this order:

1. Go to ‘Keywords Explorer’ from the headings.
2. Search for the keyword. In this example, ‘ketamine infusion’.
3. Scroll down to ‘also rank for’ and click on the ‘view all #’.
4. Click on KD and put ’30’ in the “To” section. Click ‘Apply’.
5. Click on Volume and put ‘500’ in the “From” section. Click ‘Apply’.
6. Now you’ll have a list of keywords with good metrics.
7. Click on one that looks good, in this example, ‘ketamine infusion therapy’.
8. In the new page, scroll all the way down to the ‘SERP Overview’ section. There you’ll be able to see the Domain Rating (“DR”) of the top competitors’ websites. Make sure that the majority of these are under about 35. In the example ‘ketamine infusion therapy’, most of those DRs are low, which is good!
9. Determine whether this is a good keyword for your needs, and copy the details as needed into your keyword research plan.
10. Begin search again with a new keyword, as much as needed, to complete your keyword research.

I love finding new strategies and tricks for finding the best competitive keywords in any niche.  For Content Refined we also go back once or twice a year and run some data analysis to see which tools are working the best.  We did that last year around this time, and are currently in the process of running a new set of data analysis (I’ll be sure to share the findings for you guys).

Keep me updated about what tools and strategies you guys are currently using in the comments below!

My last post reviewed how effective MarketMuse was at predicting the overall success of content in Google. This post will now dig deeper into many other keyword research tools to try and show which keyword planner and tools can help provide us with more of a competitive edge when it comes to mastering high-quality content and improving our rank in search engines.

One of the most important factors to consider when choosing the best keyword research tool to determine keyword competitiveness is keyword relevance. The more specific you are with your keyword choices, the better it will be. You want to use keywords to attract a more specific audience, rather than a large and more generalized audience.

A good keyword research tool will be able to help determine keyword relevance and it will also help you gain that advantage over your competitors, so you can build a more profitable and relevant marketing campaign.

Keyword research is one of the primary factors when it comes to SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay per click), and any type of content marketing campaign and strategy. Therefore, you want to be able to find the best, so you can provide the best high-quality and the most searched content that you can for your audience. Having the right content can lead your company to more leads and more customers.

A Bit of Info Relating to Keywords and Their Importance

Long-tail Keywords: These are three or four-word keyword phrases that are specific to whatever it is you are selling. With longtail search engine optimization, you are using a technique that targets highly specific niche search terms.

Keyword Suggestion Tools: These tools will provide you with better data that leads to better results. Remember, keywords are the building blocks of your SEO campaign and using keyword suggestion tools like WordStream keyword tool and Free Keyword Tool can help find relevant, accurate, and actionable data for paid and organic searches.

Keyword Difficulty: Otherwise known as keyword competition, this is a metric that is used when doing keyword research as you will see in the results below. The higher the value is, the harder you will find that it will be to compete with others using that keyword. This keyword data should be analyzed next to monthly search volumes and SERP analysis.

Analysis Summary – What Keyword Tools Competition Score Correlated with a Higher Google Rank

The list below was generated to give you a more in-depth view at what keyword tools competition scores correlated with a higher-ranking position on the Google search engine. They are ranked from the best, to the mediocre, to the worst.

• GREAT – KWFinder – 43.23%
• GREAT – LongTailPro – 39.37%
• GREAT – CognitiveSEO – 37.49%
• GREAT – Ferzy – 35.71%

• OKAY – TermExplorer – 28.16%
• OKAY – SEMRush – 24.17%
• OKAY – Ahrefs – 23.07%

• WORST – SECockpit – 17.31%

The results surprised me with both Ahrefs and SEMRush underperforming my expectations and LongTailPro overperforming my expectations. I expected SECockpit to do terrible because I never find the competition score that it provides to be a very reliable analysis of the keyword I am inputting.

Additionally, the accuracy of this keyword tool analysis essentially means that the top 3-KWFinder, LongTailPro, and CognitiveSEO were tied. The margin of error would be larger than the difference between the results.

Based on this analysis, I recommend using one of the top 3 tools as listed above when identifying keywords to create content. It is also now what we do at ContentRefined.com so we can achieve the absolute best results possible.

The rest of this post will provide you with the ability to choose the right keyword tool available to give you to offer you a competitive advantage in targeting keywords. Doing so will result in successfully ranking articles on search engines.

There are so many different websites and companies that have or are starting to develop keyword difficulty or SEO difficulty tools. But once you input a phrase and determine the existing competition and window of opportunity, what weight should the number or percentage that they provide actually hold?

Previously in “Rank in Google with Certainty,” I only analyzed Ferzy, SEMRush, and SECockpit on a very basic level. For this article, I expanded that research to include Ahrefs, LongTailPro, and CognitiveSEO while also including search volume influence (based on feedback from you in my last article).

I have also analyzed competition domain authority, trust flow, headline click-through-rate, and more; but look for that to be shared in another post!

Now for the Fun Stuff (if You are a Data Geek!)

Using some articles from my various money site portfolio and all of ‘Content Refined’ created content, I have been able to compile enough data points to provide some statistical insight into predicting the performance of ranking an article around a certain keyword.

I have broken down the six different keyword tools into two tiers and you will find that the results within the tiers are statistically indifferent.

So here are the results…

Worst Performing Group (Worst Ability to Predict)

• SECockpit

SECockpit keyword difficulty tool uses a percentage system. The percentage systems that show scoring below 30% and as close to 10% while maintaining a reasonable search volume, is a typical metric we use when determining if the keyword tool is effectively predicting. However, with only a moderate correlation of 17%, SECockpit has shown the very least predictive tendency of the tested tools.

• Ahrefs

Ahrefs provides an absolute number score out of 100 to determine the difficulty you would encounter to rank for a searched keyword. While it only held a statistical correlation relevance of 23%, I do like that it provides a suggested required number of backlinks to go with the score.

I was actually surprised by this result. The guys at AuthorityHacker, who always do great work, had found AHrefs tool to be the best when it came to Keyword Difficulty, but we found it to not perform very well.

• SEMRush

With SEMRush, you get a percentage score out of 100 with being below 70-75% as a target. Still only holding a moderate 25% correlation, SEMRush is the best of the tools found in our 2nd tier.

Best Performing Group (Best Ability to Predict How an Article Will Rank)

• Ferzy

Ferzy is a newer tool on the market and will provide an absolute score out of 100 with varying levels of ratings categories. At a 35% statistical correlation, it offers to be one of the strongest predictors of keyword difficulty and ability to rank of the tools tested.

• CognitiveSEO

CognitiveSEO is new to me and they recently came out with a new keyword difficulty and content analyzing tool. Both of these tools seem to work great and at a 37% correlation rate, it compares and competes well with some of the more well-known tools.

The content analyzing tool offers MarketMuse some competition and it comes at a more reasonable price. However, the difference in effectiveness is still to be determined…(more to come on this in the future).

• LongTailPro

Behold the LongTailPro, the final keyword research tool we analyzed. Coming in with a statistical correlation at just under 40%, it is the most predictive keyword tool, however, it is not by much.

I was surprised by these results because LongTailPro has been around for a long time and I would have thought one of the newer tools would have come out with a better predictor.

• KWFinder

Mangool’s KWFinder had not been used by me or the team until it became the most popular and most suggested and asked-about tool in the comments. Based on the recommendations I have received, I have gone back and completed the analysis to wrap up assessing the various keyword difficulty tools.

KWFinder’s tool assesses the keywords on a scale out of 100 while also giving the user a very user-friendly dashboard that provides additional search volume and SERP charts.

In my short time using KWFinder, I am very impressed with the value. In our statistical analysis, the overall correlation was 43% with keywords that have >1000+ monthly searches having a correlation of 41%. KWFinder has shown the highest correlation so far of any keyword tools researched and this remains true across various search volumes.

The tool instantly becomes an intriguing option for any level of operation with its variable pricing and added SERP Tracking features. More time spent using the tool will provide more insight, but this tool is the absolute leader of all the tools we have so far analyzed.

• Term Explorer

Based on recommendations, here is the statistical analysis for Term Explorer keyword analyzer difficulty. Term Explorer provides a score out of 10 to its users and this score is what can then determine the level of competition of the keyword in terms of using the keyword to rank. From our brief analysis, it appears a score below 2.00 is a good number to reference for researching and is a number you will want to maintain and stay below.

Overall, the correlation was 28.16% for Term Explorer; a moderate correlation that places the tool somewhere between the 1st and 2nd tiers. Its ranking scale makes it an attractive tool to operate and its ability to maintain projects and track given keywords regularly is also a plus.

Question – What if we Adjust for Search Volume?

When the varying search volumes for a keyword were separated, the results varied by little. The three successful tools we reviewed before held their ground in being the most successful predictors.

Summary

In conclusion, the results shown offer that there is a significant competitive advantage available if you are using the right keyword suggestion tool to find relevant keywords. Ensuring that you follow a keyword data strategy of 500-1000+ monthly searches and a low recommended score from the varying scoring systems from tier 1 tools, you can start your content creation process on the right foot and provide it with a stronger chance of ranking well in the end!

But remember, when looking to rank your content, there are so many factors involved that this one step of the process can only provide so much insight and competitive advantage.

While it is necessary to find good keywords, the rest of the process must be completed at the same level of effort and quality to maintain the opportunity to rank. So, combining a keyword difficulty tool with a content analyzer tool, backlink analyzer tool, and so on, is essential to maximize opportunities.

Look forward to an upcoming post where I will wrap up this round of statistical analysis by exploring additional tools and factors that help you rank such as domain authority, trust flow, and headline score. Finding out that there may be an auxiliary tool for helping rank could make all the difference.

Hope you are enjoying these more statistically driven posts!

If you have any questions or ways we could expand on this analysis, please let me know!

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