Which tool wins in a matchup between Ahrefs vs. Google Keyword Planner? To answer, you should understand how each contributes to search engine optimization (SEO) because more than half of all website traffic comes from organic search.
Our guide shows how these two compare and when you need one or the other.
What Is the Difference Between Ahrefs vs. Google Keyword Planner?
The main difference between Google Keyword Planner and Ahrefs is that Google’s tool provides limited keyword information for pay-per-click campaigns with Google Ads. In contrast, Ahrefs is a comprehensive platform that offers more extensive data for SEO content marketing.
Each can provide you with keyword ideas to use in your content marketing and SEO strategy. For many users, both options are helpful tools for SEO. A closer look at Ahrefs and Google Keyword Planner can help determine which one best suits your needs.
What Is Ahrefs?
Ahrefs brands itself as an SEO marketing intelligence tool. It collects data about websites to show SEO performance and how its clients can improve to boost search engine results rankings and online visibility. The company has been around since 2011, and over 41,000 organizations use their services.
Like most modern business software, Ahrefs operates as a subscription service. You can start with a free account with limited features. Paid plans range from $29 for Starter to $1,499 for Enterprise.
Key features include:
- Keyword Generator: After entering a topic and target country, it displays up to 150 keyword ideas, their search volume, and the 50 most popular questions that include the keyword.
- Keyword Difficulty Score: The first 10 keywords in the Keyword Generator show whether they are Easy, Medium, or Hard to rank for.
- Webmaster Tools: This feature shows you the keywords you currently rank for in the top 100.
Other top tools that pit Ahrefs vs. Google Keyword Planner are Ahrefs’ average monthly searches and data on how many clicks each search gets.
The main drawbacks of Ahrefs are its learning curve and price. To get over that learning curve, Ahrefs provides many resources to help you get up to speed quickly. You only need time and patience to figure out how to use it effectively. As far as price, you have to calculate whether the return on investment can justify the upfront expense.
What Is Google Keyword Planner?
At its core, Google Keyword Planner is a research tool to use with Google Ads. It displays the number of keyword searches so you can target the best candidates in pay-per-click campaigns. However, the information can be useful for SEO, too.
The primary benefit of using Google Keyword Planner is that you’re getting data directly from Google for search volumes. It also provides suggestions. Enter a keyword, and you receive options for other associated keywords. The program also provides average monthly searches and how strong the competition is for a keyword. You also get info on the high and low ranges for top-of-page bids for ads.
Google Keyword Planner is available to anyone who has a Google Ads account. Though the service focuses on those who want to create PPC ads, you can use it without starting an ad campaign.
Likely, one of your key considerations when evaluating Ahrefs vs. Google Keyword Planner is price. Fortunately, the primary benefit of Google Keyword Planner is it’s free. However, a significant drawback is that the information is very general and not as granular as most SEO experts require.
