Key Search vs Ahrefs: Which Is Better for Keyword Research?
While looking at SEO tools, you may notice the huge price difference between Key Search and Ahrefs. It does exist for certain reasons, but that alone does not make one of the tools better than another. Everything depends on your needs.
Here you will find out how KeySearch and Ahrefs actually compare to each other in order to determine which one is best for you.
KeySearch and Ahrefs at a Glance
KeySearch is a cheap SEO tool designed for keyword research and SEO. It’s popular among bloggers, small businesses, and novice SEO users who need a great tool at a decent price.
On the contrary, Ahrefs is a professional SEO platform used by SEO agencies, marketing departments, and dedicated SEO experts. It relies on one of the biggest web crawlers and backlink indexers in the business.
The core difference is in the purpose of the product.
Keyword Research: How They Compare
Keyword Database Size
In addition, Ahrefs has a much larger keyword database as it scrapes data not only from Google but from other search engines as well, and supports more countries and languages. The KeySearch database is not so big and contains mainly the necessary keyword metrics: search volume, keyword difficulty, and CPC.
Keyword Difficulty Accuracy
Both Ahrefs and KeySearch offer the users the keyword difficulty score. While the former calculates the difficulty score from the backlink profile of the ranking page, and this technique is considered to be one of the most reliable ones in terms of difficulty prediction in the industry, the latter uses backlinks as well but from a limited number of websites.
Search Suggestions and Related Keywords
In terms of the related keyword discovery, both Ahrefs and KeySearch have their own options for the users to find the long-tail keywords. While Ahrefs offers more advanced features such as “also rank for,” “search suggestions,” and “newly discovered” keyword types, KeySearch provides some solid suggestions but not many.
SERP Analysis
Both the tools will display you the current search result for any keyword along with the number of backlinks and domain authorities for the top ranking web pages. The SERP analysis feature of Ahrefs displays some additional data points as compared to that of KeySearch.
Backlink Analysis: A Major Differentiator
This is when the difference starts becoming significant.
The backlink index of Ahrefs is the most detailed among all available backlink tools. It has a very good history database. This is the reason why Ahrefs will be your better choice if you need to:
- Competition Backlink Profile Analysis
- Discover Link Building Opportunities Based on Competition Weaknesses
- Track New & Lost Backlinks Periodically
- Toxic Links Audit & Disavow Investigation
Backlinks analysis capabilities of KeySearch are quite basic compared to those of Link Research Tools; there is a lack of indexes, updates and competitive analysis. For those who give particular attention to backlink research this feature might be crucial.
Site Audit Capabilities
The Site Audit feature in Ahrefs will crawl your website to find any technical SEO problems related to hundreds of different issues such as technical SEO issues, broken links, link chains, duplication issues, lack of meta tags, page speed and other problems with priority of what should be done first.
KeySearch site audit is less extensive since it does not include such an extensive list of problem categories and prioritizations of what should be fixed first.
Thus, if users have large and complicated websites, Ahrefs’ Site Audit is the better choice.
Rank Tracking
Both applications have the ability to track ranking of keywords in order to analyze their position over time.
KeySearch has a rank tracker that allows for the analysis of the following factors: position tracking, history of positions and comparing positions with the competition.
The Rank Tracker in Ahrefs will allow users to compare positions in several locations and on various devices, monitor SERP features, featured snippets, PAA and others.
Pricing Comparison
This is where KeySearch definitely has a definite and important edge.
KeySearch is sold at an affordable price, with options that would suit both individual bloggers and small-scale businesses and even beginners in SEO. It is way cheaper than the starter plan of Ahrefs.
Ahrefs is sold at a higher price range as compared to KeySearch since it is marketed as a more professional product.
In case affordability is your only concern, then you can go for KeySearch since it will provide more affordable access to basic SEO tools.
Ease of Use
KeySearch is said to be easier to use by beginners. It has a simpler interface, with fewer options to explore; thus, it might be easier for beginners to use.
Ahrefs is said to have a higher learning curve due to the abundance of features it provides. Nonetheless, Ahrefs makes considerable efforts in educating users through the provision of tutorials and other information that can help users learn how to use it better.
Who Should Choose KeySearch
KeySearch would be ideal for you if:
- You’re a blogger or a small business owner who is only getting into SEO
- Money is tight for you
- You require basic keyword research and tracking capabilities
- You handle a limited number of websites that have simple SEO requirements
Who Should Choose Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a better choice if:
- You do professional SEO for clients and/or multiple websites
- Link building and backlinks are key elements in your SEO plan
- You require thorough technical SEO audit for large or complex websites
- You operate in a competitive niche, where depth and precision of data have a significant impact on your SEO strategy
- Your company has substantial income that depends on SEO results
Can You Use Both?
It is possible for some SEO specialists or agencies to use KeySearch as a lightweight tool to check keywords quickly in small and less important projects while leaving Ahrefs for deep research for their main sites. Of course, it is not required for most people, but it makes sense when you really need such tools for different types of tasks.
Final Thoughts
Neither KeySearch nor Ahrefs are true competitors fighting over the same client base; the two products have different purposes and exist at very different price points. KeySearch is an amazing product for those new to keyword research as well as for those looking for a great bang for their buck when conducting keyword research. Ahrefs provides unparalleled depth of data for professionals whose SEO performance is tied directly to the bottom line.
The important thing isn’t which product is “better,” but finding the one that works best for you.