AnswerThePublic and Alternatives

When writing a blog for your website, how do you make it exciting and relevant to your visitors?

One of the best ways is to target the most important questions people are asking online. When you do this, you’re more likely to rank high in the search engines and create content people want to read.

In 2022, NP Digital acquired AnswerThePublic, a tool that helps you find on-trend conversation topics, identify the right keywords to use, and craft the perfect article.

However, even if you use AnswerThePublic to help develop your blog posts, you might be curious about what AnswerThePublic alternatives are out there.

While I think AnswerThePublic is the best show in town, it’s always good to see what other options are out there.

I’ve put together ten of my favorite tools, as well as a couple of reasons why AnswerThePublic is the platform you can rely on to see what prospective customers are looking for.

What is AnswerThePublic?

AnswerThePublic is a free tool to see what words and phrases people use on search engines like Google and Bing.

It works by using autocomplete data. This is when search engines predict what users will type and completes the search engine query on their behalf.

Autocomplete can reduce typing time by 25%, so it’s a powerful function!

You start by entering a ‘seed keyword’ – one or two words to begin the process, as well as which country’s search results you want to see. AnswerThePublic then quickly pulls in all the questions, prepositions, and related data people are currently asking about your keyword.

You can download this information as a spreadsheet or as a visualization. This visualization is fantastic as it makes it easy to see which words and phrases are most popular with search engine users and what data is related.

Part of what separates AnswerThePublic from the search listening pack, as you’ll see, is all the different features that it offers beyond your standard keyword suggestions. Let’s take a look:

Cost-per-click data: For paid marketers, AnswerThePublic also shows you the average amount advertisers are playing for each click for an ad for a specific keyword, helping you understand the competition.

Comparing suggestions: By comparing your suggestions with different variations and keywords, you can get a better look into your potential keyword universe and find new ways to optimize or build out content.

Search listening and email alerts: How a given keyword or term is used can change over time. With AnswerThePublic, you can monitor online for mentions of select keywords so you know what people are saying about/searching for that is related to them.

High-resolution images: Remember those nice data visualizations we mentioned? They are also downloadable in high quality, creating great visual report options to add into your presentations and reports related to search queries.

Education/support: If you want more out of the AnswerThePublic platform, we offer an education/customer support package to give your team more information about search listening/training. We also offer assistance for any issues or queries you have about the platform itself.

AnswerThePublic Alternatives

AnswerThePublic is a platform I’m enormously proud of. The team at NP Digital has taken everyone’s feedback on board to refine and create a social listening tool that anyone can use, even if they’re new to digital marketing.

However, there are other AnswerThePublic alternatives out there too.

Here are eleven keyword research tools that you might have heard of.

Ubersuggest

This one shouldn’t be a surprise, but this other tool from the NP Digital family makes a great complement and alternative for AnswerThePublic.

Ubersuggest is a powerful tool that gives you the capabilities to find strong keywords for your digital marketing campaigns, research your competitors to see how they are performing, create reports with important data, gather backlink information, and more.

Where AnswerThePublic is great for putting you into the mindset of your what your target audience is looking for, Ubersuggest helps you reinforce that knowledge into other key areas of SEO. If you’re looking for ways to make the most out of Ubersuggest, I have a lot of great content with insights on different strengths and uses of the platform.

Semrush Keyword Magic Tool

Semrush is the keyword research and competitor analysis platform of choice for businesses worldwide, with several tools on offer, including the Keyword Magic Tool.

You have to register to use the Keyword Magic Tool. Even if you register for free, you get incredibly detailed metrics, including search volume, keyword density, and even user intent. This is valuable for seeing where prospective customers are in the sales and marketing funnel.

However, you only get ten results, which isn’t much if you want creative inspiration. The Keyword Magic Tool is a brilliant addition if you already use Semrush for marketing insights, but not so much if you’re looking for a standalone platform.

Ahrefs Keyword Explorer

I’m a massive fan of Ahrefs – it’s one of the most powerful tools available for content marketing and SEO. For one monthly payment, you get lots of valuable data to help grow your business.

One of the tools included as part of your Ahrefs subscription is Keywords Explorer. Enter your seed keyword, and you’ll receive all the information you need to see which words and phrases will bring you optimum results.

Ahrefs Keyword Explorer is brilliant as it tells you how your keyword is being searched for in different countries. After all, if you’re responsible for an international business, you’ll need to take a localized approach to your SEO.

The disadvantage of Ahrefs Keyword Explorer is that you need a paid account. However, you can sign up for Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for free limited access to some of Ahrefs’ keyword research features. This can help you decide whether to sign up for the paid version.

Google SERPs

AnswerThePublic uses autocomplete data generated by the search engines. So why not go straight to the source and get your data directly from Google?

This approach is quick and easy if you need a few keyword ideas to get inspired. Just type in your seed keyword, and Google will generate some ideas to get you started.

However, Google Autocomplete isn’t ideal if you need keywords at scale, or don’t have much time to dedicate to keyword research. You may need to go through the whole alphabet to get a complete set of results.

Plus, your browsing history can affect the results, meaning you may miss out on some valuable keyword ideas. Another point of consideration is there’s no monthly search volume (MSV) information in Google, so it can make a good starting point but you will need to go elsewhere for that information.

Keywords Everywhere

One of the things I love most about Keywords Everywhere is that it shows you results directly in Google. You install it as a Chrome or Firefox extension, search as usual, and it brings up lots of different keyword ideas.

Keywords Everywhere is pay-as-you-go, meaning you need to pay for credits to see additional data like search volume and cost-per-click.

However, it’s important to turn Keywords Everywhere off when you’re not using it so you don’t waste credits during standard Google searches.

Outranking.io

SEO copywriting can be challenging if you’re new to it. You need to know which keywords to target, how to add them to your copy without sounding spammy, and encourage readers to take action at the end.

Outranking.io is slightly different from the other social listening tools in this article as it focuses on the copywriting process rather than SEO. As well as generating keyword ideas, it can help you create content outlines using AI, and improve content readability.

Of course, if you don’t need help writing blogs, website content, and landing pages, Outranking.io might not suit your needs. Plus, the price point is high, meaning it can be expensive for smaller businesses and freelancers.

Conductor

Conductor claims to be the largest keyword engine on the market, with over 20 billion keywords compared to Ahrefs’ eight billion. Theoretically, this means more keyword ideas for you to take advantage of!

One of the things I like about Conductor is that it lets you look at customer demographics. For example:

• What are the interests of the people searching for specific keywords?
• What do they do for a living?
• What region or country do they live in?

This lets you identify the words and phrases your target audience is most likely to use.

Conductor is designed for enterprise use, there isn’t a free trial, and you have to get in touch with their team for a demo. However, there’s a free Chrome app you can use to carry out keyword research on up to five pages a day.

SE Ranking

Alt text: Landing page of SE Ranking’s keyword suggestion tool

Like Ahrefs and SemRush, SE Ranking provides SEO tools to help freelancers, businesses, and agencies make the most of their search engine presence.

SE Ranking goes into a lot of depth, providing a wealth of metrics for each keyword, including search engine results, keyword difficulty, and cost per click. If you operate a digital marketing agency, you’ll find this additional data extremely useful.

However, if you’re looking for a simpler and easier-to-use option, you may find it harder to get to grips with. There’s a 14-day free trial available, so you can see if SE Ranking is right for you,

AlsoAsked.com

AlsoAsked.com uses Google’s ‘People Also Asked’ results rather than autocomplete.

This means you get slightly different results than AnswerThePublic, which can be useful if you’re looking for ways to get a featured snippet in the search engine results.

Like AnswerThePublic, AlsoAsked.com offers three free daily searches and visualizes your data. This lets you see the connections between topics; for example, if you want to create pillar pages for your website. With that said, if you want more frequent searches, you will need a membership.

AlsoAsked.com and AnswerThePublic complement each other well and are fantastic tools to use in your keyword research and planning strategy. By taking advantage of both, you can get a fully rounded view of what people are searching for in the search engines.

Alt text: AlsoAsked.com result for ‘chocolate,’ shown in a data map visualization.

Content Harmony

Content Harmony is similar to Outranking.io in that it gives you a way to manage the content writing process from start to finish.

You can use the keyword research tool to identify popular and on-trend topic ideas, create a thorough brief, and use AI to make sure your content is SEO-optimized. It’s ideal for large copywriting teams and agencies where consistency is crucial.

Although if you just need the keyword research element, there are more useful and cost-effective alternatives on the market.

Moz Pro

Finally, Moz Pro is one of the world’s most trusted and authoritative SEO platforms. While its Keyword Suggestion tool doesn’t go into the levels of detail that Ahrefs and Semrush do, its filters mean you can drill down to find the perfect keywords and phrases.

For example, while you can’t see cost-per-click information, you can exclude specific keywords, and only include keywords that receive the highest search volume. This means you can prioritize the keywords you know will bring you the best results.

You get ten searches a month with the free version of Moz Pro, as well as a 30-day trial to see if the advanced functionality is right for your needs.

Why Use AnswerThePublic Over Alternatives?

If you’re looking for a keyword research tool you can dive into and get the results you need, AnswerThePublic is still the one to beat. Here’s why:

• You get three free searches a day, and there’s a cost-effective subscription package if you want more searches. You can even pay once and get access for life!
• You can access keyword search volume and cost-per-click data, making it invaluable for both SEO and PPC.
• It’s simple to use – just put your seed keyword in and get the data you need.
• You can download your information as a CSV or an image – perfect for brainstorms and pitches.
• There are lots of free resources to help you make the most of the platform.
• You can track your searches and get email notifications when they’re updated, meaning you’re always in the loop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many AnswerThePublic alternatives on the market. Some are targeted at digital marketing specialists and agencies, while others focus on copywriters and the content writing process.

Which one do I think is the best one? It’s got to be AnswerThePublic. It’s simple, affordable, and gives you all the information you need to power your search engine optimization and pay-per-click strategies.

However, it’s important to remember that no matter which platform you choose, keyword research is essential when creating content.

When you know what words people use in the search engines, you increase brand awareness, understand your online audience better, and boost targeted traffic to your website.

Why not give AnswerThePublic a try today? I’d love to hear what you think of it!