The 5 Best Tools for Finding Competitor Keywords

All successful search marketing campaigns begin with keyword research.

In order to build strong PPC campaigns, advertisers should focus on relevant, high-intent keywords, organize campaigns into logical, relevant ad groups, and eliminate wasteful negative keywords. Furthermore, keyword research is essential to driving organic traffic to your content.

Occasionally, however, you need to know what your competitors are doing. What are the keywords that my competitors are using?

The use of competitive keyword analysis can help you gain a valuable edge over your competitors in a crowded market. The question is, how do you find those keywords your competitors are using in their paid and organic search campaigns?

In this article, you will find five competitor keyword research tools and tactics that you can use to keep up with your competitors (or leave them behind).

The five tools we’ll be discussing in this article are:

1. WordStream
2. Semrush
3. Spyfu
4. Ahrefs
5. Google Keyword Planner

1. Wordstream

The WordStream tool provides you with an instant list of keywords that your competitors are using. As opposed to other tools, it’s completely free to use, and you’ll be able to get a lot of information without registering. The only thing you have to do is provide your email address.

How does it work?

• Visit wordstream.com/keywords.
• Enter your competitor’s website URL.
• Click Find My Keywords.
• Confirm the URL, choose an industry (optional), and enter a location.
• Click “Continue”.
• Click “Download all Keywords” to send them to your email.

2. Semrush

Semrush is a tool that helps you research your competitors and their strategies. You can use it to find out what keywords they are targeting, what ads they are running, and what backlinks they have. It also provides information about your own website, such as how much traffic you are getting and where it is coming from.

How does it work?

• Go to www.semrush.com/analytics/organic/overview.
• Enter your competitors’ URL
• Create a free account by entering your email and choosing a password. Click “Create your account”.
• You’ll then be redirected to a dashboard with your competition’s organic performance information.
• In the “Top Organic Keywords” card, click “View all organic keywords”.
• As an alternative, click the “Overview” tab and then click “Positions”.

3. Spyfu

Spyfu provides a great tool for comprehensive competitor analysis, even at its free level. Along with a list of your competitors’ top keywords, you’ll also get a list of their top competitors, inbound links, top pages, and keywords that are listed on page one. Even a cursory comparison between your domain and that of your rival is possible.

How does it work?

• Go to spyfu.com.
• Type in your competitor’s URL
• Under the header, tap the “SEO Keywords” tab between “Kombat” and “Ranking History”.

4. Ahrefs

Ahrefs offers you premium features for competitive keyword research. With the full keyword profile of your competitor, you can see ranking gains, ranking losses, and rich snippet wins. In addition, the tool offers sophisticated filtering options to find and exclude certain keywords, as well as a way to export up to 500,000 rows of keywords for safe-keeping.

How does it work?

• Go to ahrefs.com/site-explorer.
• Click “Sign up”
• Choose a subscription level.
• Inside the dashboard, tap “Site Explorer”.
• Type your competitor’s URL.
• On the sidebar, under Organic search, tap “Organic keywords”.

5. Google Keyword Planner

With its powerful filtering and sorting features, Google Keyword Planner lets you see what your competitors’ top keywords are. It is possible to filter and sort keywords any way you want: average monthly searches, three-month changes, etc. year-over-year changes, the level of competition in the SERPs, and more. Your report can also be downloaded as a CSV or Sheets file by selecting the columns you’d like to include.

How does it work?

• Head to ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner.
• Click “Go to Keyword Planner”.
• Log into your Google account.
• Choose your Google Ads account from the list.
• In your dashboard, tap the box that says “Discover new keywords”.
• Click the “Start with a website” tab.
• Enter your competitor’s URL. Choose whether you want to use the entire site or only the home page. Note: We recommend using the entire site at first.
• Click “Get results”.

Conclusion

Regardless of what type of business you are in, you should always analyse and study your competitors so that you don’t fall behind.

We hope that the few we have recommended can do just that.

Remember, your competitors can always teach you something new!