My list of 30 keyword tools for domainers

[wael]

Took me a long time to compile this list, so I hope you find it helpful.

For those of you new to the game, keyword tools are vital for SEO, but they can also be used as domain name analysis tools. Popular keywords form the basis for good generic domain names. And if the specific domain you want is taken, a keyword tool may help you come up with an acceptable alternative. Keyword tools can also help you optimize your domain’s parking page, analyze a domain or website you’re thinking about buying, and see what your competitors are doing.

All of the tools in this list are free and functioning as of this writing. Some are repetitive, but many present data in different ways, so you may find that you like one more than another. I rejected several other tools because they are ineffective or non-functioning, including the goRank ontology lookup tool, KeywordLizard.com, and the GoLexa search tool.

Here are the tools, in alphabetical order. Feedback is appreciated:

1. 123 Promotion.co.uk Overture Keyword Tool
   http://www.123promotion.co.uk/ppc/index.php
   Combines Overture and Wordtracker results from the previous month.
2. 7Search Keyword Suggestion Tool
   http://7search.com/KST
   I find the double word verification entry annoying, but results are interesting.
3. Apogee Web Consulting’s Meta Keywords Research Tool
   http://www.apogee-web-consulting.com/tools/keyword_tool.php
   This tool may be more useful for SEO than domaining. Put in a URL and it gives you that site’s primary keywords.
4. Ask.com
   http://www.ask.com/
   Do any search then see the “Narrow Your Search” link on the left for alternative keywords.
5. CheckRankings.com Keyword Suggestion Tool
   http://www.checkrankings.com/keywordsuggestion/
   Focuses on Google Adwords, showing the number of searches and competitors in Adwords.
6. Digital Point’s Keyword Suggestion Tool
   http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/
   Like a few other tools here, this one combines Overture and Wordtracker results. Most of them present the data in different ways, so worth a look.
7. Global Promotor’s Keyword Generator Tool
   http://www.globalpromoter.com/seo-tools/keyword-suggestion-tool.cfm
   Adds to the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool by drawing keywords from 6 major search engines.
8. Good Keywords
   http://www.goodkeywords.com/
   This is a download, not an online tool, but it’s free and many SEO experts use it. Makes use of various tools provided by search engines like the Overture Search Suggestion Tool, Search Engines Like Yahoo, Google, MSN, Ask and other services like Alexa.
9. Google Adwords Keyword Tool
   https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
   Suggests up to 200 keywords related to yours, with tiny bar graphs showing search volume and advertiser competition.
10. Google Suggest Labs
    http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1
    As you type a word, GSL tries to complete it for you, showing you multiple keywords with search volume. Choose one of GSL’s suggestions to navigate the results.
11. Google Trends Labs
    http://www.google.com/trends
    Very useful for analyzing domains you’re thinking of buying. Enter a keyword and this tool gives you a search volume chart, a news reference frequency chart, and a list of regions where search volume is heaviest.
12. Google Hot Trends
    http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends
    Not the same as the one above. Trying to figure out what domains to register? Hot Trends give you today’s most popular Google searches. Fertile ground for ideas.
13. KWMap’s Keyword Map Tool
    http://www.kwmap.net/
    Displays its results in a very interesting way, in a keyword chart with two axes dotted with keywords. According to KWMap.net, one of the axes shows keywords that are different but related to your search word, while the other is for keywords that contain your search keyword. The most relevant keywords appear in the middle. It’s fun to play with, anyway.
14. Lycos Top 50 Searches
    http://50.lycos.com/
    Like Yahoo Buzz or Hot Trends, shows you what keywords people are searching right now. Less useful than the other two, perhaps.
15. MS AdLabs Search Funnels
    http://adlab.microsoft.com/searchfunnel/
    A unique tool. Use Microsoft adCenter’s “search funnel” tool to help you visualize how people search. Slightly more functionality with Explorer than with Firefox (the mouseover info balloons only appear on Explorer).
16. NicheBot Classic
    http://www.nichebotclassic.com/
    Claims to extract info from WordTracker, Thesaurus, Overture, Keyword Discovery, Keyword Analysis and Google Keyword Ranking.
17. Niche Watch
    http://www.nichewatch.com/
    This tool, which requires a free registration, lets you type a keyword or phrase and get an analysis of the websites of your top 20 competitors.
18. Online Thesaurus
    http://thesaurus.reference.com/
    Provides multiple synonyms for a word.
19. Overture Suggestion Tool
    http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
    Unfortunately this tool’s data is no longer updated and does not go beyond January 2007. Nevertheless, the historical data may still be useful. You type in a keyword and it tells you how many people are searching on that term and related terms.
20. OVT Keywords
    http://www.ovtkeywords.com/
    This free version of OVT’s tool shows only the top few results.
21. SEOBook.com Keyword Research Tool
    http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword/
    Excellent tool. I use it all the time to help optimize my parking pages, and to choose article topics for my websites.
22. SEOBook.com’s Google Keyword Suggestion Scraper Tool
    http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword-information/
    What a mouthful! Grabs the top queries from Google Suggest and also links through to SEO Book’s own keyword suggestion tool.
23. SEOChat.com’s Google Tool search
    http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/keyword-suggestions-google/
    Queries information from several Google searches and sorts by relevancy.
24. SEOmoz Popular Searches
    http://www.seomoz.org/popular-searches
    This is an aggregation of popular search queries gathered from various sources across the web. This list is updated once per day.
25. SubmitExpress.com Tool
    http://www.submitexpress.com/keytracker.php
    Displays WordTracker and Keyword Discovery results in side-by-side columns.
26. URLTrends.com
    http://www.urltrends.com/
    Enter any URL and urltends.com gives you a “trend report”, consisting of page rank, Alexa rank, incoming and outgoing links. Also features an interesting URL comparison tool.
27. Webmaster Toolkit’s Keyword Research Tool
    http://www.webmaster-toolkit.com/keyword-research-tool.shtml
    Select from among 9 different search engines for your keyword suggestions.
28. Webconfs.com Keyword Tool
    http://www.webconfs.com/website-keyword-suggestions.php
    Pretty basic. Uses Overture’s database. See also their Keyword Playground tool.
29. WordTracker’s free tool
    http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
    First 100 related keyword only, with an estimate of their search volume.
30. Yahoo Buzz
    http://buzz.yahoo.com/
    Find out what people are searching for right now and get ideas for domains to register.

 

[replic8te]

nice list. thanks.

 

[tonyfloyd]

Great List wael!!

Thanks!
Tony

 

[Varchar]

Thanks, great list. So I guess you have used this keyword tools often. Do you have a few favorite ones you can recommend?

 

[wael]

Thanks for the feedback. Varchar, some of the tools I use all the time, and some I did not know about until I began researching the list. I use the Google Adwords keyword tool all the time; I use the SEOBook.com Keyword Research Tool frequently to decide what topics to write about for my blogs; before bidding on any domain name at auction I run it through Google Trends Labs: if it shows no search or news volume, I don't bid; and I use Yahoo Buzz to come up with ideas for domains to register.

Some of the others look quite interesting, and I'll be considering how to best use them as a domainer.

What about you, do you use any of these?

Someone on Namepros pointed out this one:

Compete.com
http://www.compete.com/
Enter up to three domains and this tool gives you a graph showing traffic levels over the last year.

It works well for domains with high traffic levels, but not so much for new or low-traffic domains.

 

[play]

Thanks for the list Wael

Blacklists check: See if the URL or its associated IP address has been blacklisted at a site like Moensted.dk
http://www.moensted.dk/spam/

Were you in stealth mode prior?

 

[MacyT.]

Thanks for this - lots to look at. Do any of you have an opinion on leapfish.com? It seems to either grossly over or undervalue domains - at least based on what dnjournal claims they sold for. Speaking of...are this sales lists legit?

Some of these prices seem so high for the names...I am too paranoid to think that some of this is embellished to get more people spending money i the domain/hosting game? It just seems like people ARE making money out there, yet you also see so many people who are not! Are there sites that report sales or appraisels that are more trustworthy?

Thanks in advance...

 

[wael]

Macy T., I believe that DNJournal's reported sales are completely accurate. I don't think for a moment that Ron Jackson would publish false information. There are a lot of big sales happening. It's just a matter of finding the right buyer.

As far as automated appraisal tools, they're fine to play around with or to get you started, but ultimately you have to do your own valuation.

If I try my blog domain, DomainerPro.com, on three popular automated appraisal tools I get:

Estibot.com -
Valuation for domain name only : USD 70
Valuation considering traffic: USD 320

Leapfish.com - $861.00

SwiftAppraisal.com -
SUMMARY
Domain: DomainerPro.com
Marketability: fair
Clarity: very good
Memorability: good
$ 3,200 ~ 4,800

Out of the three you'll see that Estibot is by far the lowest, and I think most pros agree that Estibot is the most accurate out of the three.

Anyway, back to the topic of keyword tools, I just found out about this one from Josh at NamePros:

http://www.bustaname.com - a great brainstorming and thesaurus tool for creating new domain names.

 

[MacyT.]

Looks like there is a lot up in the air w/this business. Thanks for the appraisel tips - sorry I got off topic...

 

[DomainMagnate]

Good list.. some of these are useful


~MG

 

[SNOWBIRD]

Super job! Very Helpful.

Thanks